Welcome to PIF Tails Virtual Cat CommunityIn England the majority of cat adoptions are refused to an inside only home, as it is seen as unnatural and unfair on a outside loving creature like a cat to live imprisoned for life.
The main exception is rehoming deaf, blind or positive cats who need to be monitored at all times.
Shelters try to match these special need cats to homes which can't rehome a healthy inside/outside cat, people who are currently living in a flat or on a busy road.
In the USA many shelters will only adopt cats to inside only homes, as inside only is thought to be the right choice especially in cities.
Some American cities have a leash law which restricts all cats to their own property unless on a harness and leash.
However some cats in both countries defy the normal standards, there are inside only cats in England and free roaming american cats. The choice of lifestyle depends on the local environment the cats personality and the cat owners opinion.
Average life span of a owned inside only cat |
Average life span of a owned inside/outside cat |
Average life span of a Un-owned outside only cats (feral/stray) |
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18 to 20 years |
16 to 18 years |
5 years to 7 years |
It is not true that every cat let outside is in immediate danger of traffic.
Cats who are use to traffic avoid it, cats which are unfamiliar and scared and more likely to freeze or run into a road.
A late 1970's in PA, USA it was estimated that a cat had a life time risk of being run over around 4% (and bear in mind this study was in a busy city not in a quiet urban area).
To gave a comparison the life time risk of death by disease (at the same time 1970) was 15%.
It is not true that domestic cats kills a great numbers of wildlife and birds, a recent report showed that feral and stray cats kill a lot more prey than domestic and they are more likely to hunt mice and shrews etc. Men kill more birds by the destruction of their habits, than the domestic cat does.
Please provide inside litter trays for your cats at all times, it is cruel to force a cat outside to toilet when the weather is bad or the cat is old or sick. Monitoring the litter tray will allow you to see if your cats are healthy or sick. Your neighbours will be happier if your cats don't foul their gardens especially neighbours with nice gardens or children.
In England it is traditional to have a cat flap which can be shut at night but during the day, the cats can choose if they want to be inside or outside, they are never shut outside without access to the central heated inside.
In summer they are outside all day , in bad weather they generally stay in 90% of the time and scold the cat flap for the bad weather
As cats get older (Even the ones who liked being outside when they were younger) they choose to stay inside for longer periods.
Our George is around 10 to 15 years old (estimation) he goes no further than the flowerbed against the front of the house he loves to watch people walk by.
Inside/Outside |
Inside and supervised outside visit |
Inside only |
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Quiet traffic |
Average traffic |
Busy traffic |
|
No predators |
Predators around during the day |
Predators around both day and night |
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No evidence of cat hating activity |
Past evidence of cat hating activity |
Current evidence of cat hating activity |
|
Healthy Cat |
Deaf or blind Cats |
FIV or Felv positive cats |
|
Roaming cats allowed by law |
Leash law in place |
Law restricts cats to own property |
|
Cat actively seeks to go outside |
Cat shows little desire to go outside |
Cat shows dislike of outside places |
Cats can be kept inside and are relative happy with loving owners but a cat can not truly BE a cat without experience life to the full, including experiencing the outside world.
Every cat should have the option of enjoying some fresh air, this can be an open window, a cat run, walks on a leash or supervised visits to the garden.
Cats which are restricted to an inside life can be prone to be overweight, bored, have more behavioural problems, more likely to react badly to any change in the home.
These problems are not present in inside only cats with good cat owners who spends time, money and love ensuring an inside cat has plenty of play times and toys, just a problem in lax pet owners.
In short a good cat owner can have a happy cat in both environments but some cats cannot adapt to the restrictive inside setting and some cats are to scared of the outside world to willingly explore and in both cases their decision should be respected, what ever the owners views. Look at the cat and the quality of life they have in their current environment.