To all cat owners...

[Kiely]

Small question. I've never understood why some people keep cats indoors 100% of the time, I've always viewed them as natural outdoor pets. Natures Ninjas I like to think of it.
Used to have a cat when I was growing up and it's always had free access in or out of the house and likewise a bunch of cats on my road, never running away or some shit. But I read here the term "indoor cats", is there just some breeds that you have to imprison in your home in order to keep it domesticated? Naive pet owners? Some cats personalities (how can you tell before its too late?) ?

[EmiliaEQ]

I'd go for the "if you can let the cat out safely, just do it"...

I'm on the 3rd floor, no balcony with the building entrance in front of a busy street.
So letting my cats out all day with zero grass/trees/bushes/parks just concree & cars, is just a no way.

I'd understand someone in the middle of NYC having a "house cat".
But if you can "let it out safely", well its natural/better to do it.

[DMyst]

Wow 13 pages ... i posted this morning and came back to find all of this advice.

Thanks you every on.

A small update: I came back home to find him yet again hiding under the bed... i was able to pull him out with treats for a few minutes but he went back in.

He finally came out and ate his dry food that i mixed with a bit of wet food. I loaded up his bowl again and he ate all of it 3 hours later.... now i dont know when to stop feeding him or when to add back food.

He still runs away from me if i try to come to him.... any sudden moves makes him run away from me and he meowls ALL the time. I am able to play with him using toys but the minute my hand gets near him he runs .... thats after he ate treats out of my hand.

[Neph]

Haven't really read much of the thread...

But the vets around me always say that indoor cats live longer since they're less prone to getting diseases from other cats.

[Sabolin]

100% indoor cats live longer for many reasons.

[Neph]

Originally Posted by Sabolin

100% indoor cats live longer for many reasons.

I'd imagine so, but less exposure to disease as a number one reason makes sense to me.

[Black_Death]

If you live in a city you also have to deal with potential strays (or neighbors cats) getting into fights with yours and the debilitating effects of cat bites have been well documented in this thread. Living in Atlanta, there is no reason to risk it. Our cat is fine indoors.

[Phelps McManus]

Originally Posted by DMyst

He finally came out and ate his dry food that i mixed with a bit of wet food. I loaded up his bowl again and he ate all of it 3 hours later.... now i dont know when to stop feeding him or when to add back food.

Keep his bowl full of dry food. Add wet food if he hasn't eaten in awhile.

He still runs away from me if i try to come to him.... any sudden moves makes him run away from me and he meowls ALL the time. I am able to play with him using toys but the minute my hand gets near him he runs .... thats after he ate treats out of my hand.

It just takes time. One cat we adopted from another owner when he was about 2 years old. Another we found in the woods (about 18 months old). Both were skittish for a few weeks but are cuddly or whatever now.

[Kiely]

Originally Posted by Sabolin

100% indoor cats live longer for many reasons.

Well.. my cat lived til 19 years old, spent half of its live outside. Don't get strays around here mind you.. neighbour's cat was same.
Besides my initial point was that I believe its a bit cruel to have them spend their entire lives inside houses or apartments, having seen how mine used to be in the outdoors. Rural cities sure, flats sure etc. But I never understood people who claimed they would never return, just naive about that myself.

[Runnen]

Stray kittens and other deprived cats have a tendency to eat a lot more than necessary, because they are always afraid there won't be a next meal waiting for them later. I had three cats (now only two) and one of them was abandonned by her mother and completely left out of the litter, we picked her up when she was really about to starve (because we wanted to see if the mother would change her mind). She ate way too much, but after a few months, she lost that bad habit. She didn't even really put on too much weight, because usually eating too much would cause her to throw up somewhere (usually on the carpet, or the keyboard.. gotta love cats).

So if your stray kitten is being a bit on the glutton side, it may be pretty normal behavior. If you can remove the food source until the next reasonable time for a meal, then do so. Having three cats previously, removing the food wasn't an option since there was always at least 33% cats sleeping, 33% running and wrecking shit up and 33% cats eating at any time around the clock. As for the remaining 1%, I think that's running around for no reason while screaming like a banshee.

[Samflam]

Originally Posted by Kiely

Small question. I've never understood why some people keep cats indoors 100% of the time, I've always viewed them as natural outdoor pets. Natures Ninjas I like to think of it.
Used to have a cat when I was growing up and it's always had free access in or out of the house and likewise a bunch of cats on my road, never running away or some shit. But I read here the term "indoor cats", is there just some breeds that you have to imprison in your home in order to keep it domesticated? Naive pet owners? Some cats personalities (how can you tell before its too late?) ?

We live in a condo in Toronto, it's not the ideal place for two young cats but it sure beats the cage we rescued them from. In a couple of years we'll have a house and they'll have alot more room (and we'll consequently get alot more sleep), but I'm still doubtful I'll ever let them outside. Growing up, one of my cats got hit in the face with a car (lived but she got fucked up), another lost his tail from a car and one went out and never came back.

[Ripe]

One of my cats, who is now 9 years old, spent the first 8 years of his life under the bed. He was the only one of our many cats over the years that we got from a pet shop instead of a shelter or farm.

[Dabamf]

if the cat is nervous just try to create an environment that is non-threatening....dont walk at it as a 6'0" man when it is 3 inches off the ground, approach it from a lowered position, like on all fours or even crawling...move slowly and deliberately and put your face at an equal or lower level than the cats'. and nervous cats will show themselves when you are sleeping or otherwise occupied since you are non-threatening, and thats how you tell a cat that is friendly but nervous or just an asshole cat

[Vvoid]

I'm sure someone will require me to link tons of evidence, but by far the majority of everything I read when wanting to get a cat suggested keeping it indoors 100% of the time. Cats that go outdoors not only have a lower life expectancy, but they also cost more on average as well. They catch more diseases and bugs and worms and shit, they get in fights, and they get hit by cars. All of those things cost money to fix (assuming you care about your animal), and could have been avoided by keeping it indoors. So not only does it make sense because the cat lives longer, but it costs less as well. (On average, of course.)

[gavinrad]

Originally Posted by DMyst

Wow 13 pages ... i posted this morning and came back to find all of this advice.

Thanks you every on.

A small update: I came back home to find him yet again hiding under the bed... i was able to pull him out with treats for a few minutes but he went back in.

He finally came out and ate his dry food that i mixed with a bit of wet food. I loaded up his bowl again and he ate all of it 3 hours later.... now i dont know when to stop feeding him or when to add back food.

He still runs away from me if i try to come to him.... any sudden moves makes him run away from me and he meowls ALL the time. I am able to play with him using toys but the minute my hand gets near him he runs .... thats after he ate treats out of my hand.

As people have said, you just have to be patient with him. Next time he's eating treats from your hand, just scoop him up into your lap and keep giving him treats. If he absolutely freaks out, let him down, otherwise keep him in your lap for a minute or two then let him down if he wants down.