Outdoor Cats Vs Indoor Cats: Which Is Best For You

Should you keep your cat indoors or outdoors? It's an age-old question that obviously doesn't have a set-in-stone answer and entirely depends on your particular circumstances. In this blog post, however, I will describe the benefits and downsides of indoor and outdoor cats and which environments best suit both types of cats so that you have the information you need to decide for yourself which is best for you.

Let's start off with indoor cats. The general benefit to keeping a cat strictly indoors is that it improves the cat's lifespan and keeps him or her away from the alien dangers lurking outside like drops, vehicles, other animals or even on occasion, sadly, humans. According to this WebMD article, indoor cats have a pleasant average lifespan of 17 years whereas for outdoor cats it is only 2 - 5 years. On top of this, it is easier to protect against disease and fleas when a cat is kept strictly indoors - not to mention no nasty surprises when your cat returns home to greet you with dead birds and rodents.

Speaking of which segues us to the next benefit to indoor cats: it protects the local wildlife. A 2013 study from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the US Fish and Wildlife Service found that domesticated cats are the number one human-caused threat to wildlife in the United States, killing an estimated 1.3 - 3.7 billion birds and 6.3 - 22.3 billion mammals every year. It should be noted, however, that the majority of these killing were from stray cats rather than from pet cats.

Some cats are also better off living indoors entirely. If a cat has a condition of blindness like FIV or is an older cat with reduced mobility then confinement to indoors is going to be much healthier and safer for them.

This may seem like a damning condemnation of outdoor cats but outdoor cats are certainly not without their benefits: outdoor cats exercise themselves and entertain themselves; litterboxes need less cleaning; they can mingle with other fellow cats of the neighbourhood and they are less reliant on their owners - he will be able to keep himself entertained while you are away from the house for a while - although if you are away for more than a day then your outdoor cat should be kept in someone else's care for the time you are away from your home.

It should be noted, however, that there is a grey area of compromise here: you can still allow your indoor cat to experience some outdoor life by building an enclosure in your garden where your cat can safely get a breath of fresh air outdoors. On top of this, you can try and walk your cat on a lead. She could be grumpy at first but, with training, it may be possible to go for a walk with your cat.

To summarise, an indoor cat is the much safer and overall healthier option but you may feel it is the right of your cat to be able to roam the outdoors and experience a life that he was born to live. Either way, it is up to you to decide which is best for your situation.

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