The headline comes from the Yorkshire Post in an article written by Sarah Todd but as I can’t access the article as it is only available to subscribers, I have decided to nick the title and write it myself.
I can actually guess where she is coming from: domestic cat welfare. Whether it is completely crackers to keep cats indoors depends on your priorities as a caregiver.
It is crackers to keep cats indoors if:
- Your first priority is to allow your cat to express their natural behaviours in order to be mentally stimulated, exercised and healthy with an optimal body weight.
- You are prepared to accept that there are some dangers outside, the most severe of which is usually road traffic and one day your cat might not return home.
- You are prepared to accept that rarely cats are stolen but it does happen and once again you may never see your cat again.
- You accept that your cat might just wander off and choose to live somewhere else; perhaps in the wild or in another home. The same outcome for you: no cat.
- You accept that your cat will be free to kill native species and sometimes eat them. Sometimes she may bring the prey animal home and eat it in the kitchen or it may be alive and escape to a hiding place under furniture.
There are a lot of potential downsides to declaring to the world that it is crackers to suggest cats should be kept indoors. But for you the upside as listed in item 1 above it greater than all the downsides together.
But if you are anxious when your cat goes outside through the catflap because you fear that he might not return or return injured and this anxiety starts to bear down on you and become a problem, it positively isn’t crackers to keep your cat inside. It is good sense.
And if you are also concerned about protecting wildlife it adds to your desire to keep him inside.
It is easy to achieve isn’t it? That depends! Probably not if your cat has been allowed outside all his life and he is 6 years old. He’ll hate being locked inside the home and complain bitterly and drive you nuts to the point where you may open the cat flap again.
But if all your cat knows is the inside he’ll probably accept it after a while and give up trying to get out.
Then he’ll snooze most of the time as there’ll be nothing to do because you did nothing to make the home suitable as cat environment as it is all set up to be a human environment.
If you are concerned about the mental health of your cat you’ll be anxious because your cat will be banged up and bored.
It is all about your priorities; where they lie. The best solution for most cat caregivers, like most things in life, is to find a good compromise between the two extremes: inside only or inside/outside. There is a third way, something inbetween: an enriched indoor environment and a catio which your cat calls his entire home.
He is safe from outside dangers. You no longer feel anxious. Your cat is mentally stimulated to a certain extend.
The problem is: will you do it? Make the home cat friendly? Not sure you will because very few cat owners do this which is why cat obesity has risen with associated health problems such as type 2 diabetes and urinary tract issues such as stones.
If you are a concerned cat owner cat, caregiving can be complicated. There is a fourth way: live in a place where there is very little road traffic and where there are very few predators of domestic cats. But you are not going to move home just to accomodate your cat’s mental wellbeing.
I think people who are thinking about adopting or purchasing a cat should consider all the ramifications some of which are mentioned on this page.
