Advice for a kitty

[mummysaz21 10]

well im glad to say alfie is never ever bored lol, he has the pick of 2 dogs to play with, or he sits and watches the hamster or guinea pigs on there cages,or i play with him with some string or something for a bit,or my son is always carryign around lol, but he does crave cuddles, as soon as i come in from work hes on ur lap n he stays there all night and then follows us to bed he gets in between me and the 2 dogs we fight for space lol, unfortunatly, he did get out today, becouse my sons only 18months he needs a bit of help from time to time climbing and things, so helping him up the front steps i dident have a hand spare and alfie came flying out, luckey though i cought him before he got off the steps himself lol, what i was thinkign is, once hes been castrated and if he still wants to go out as im sure it would get more difficult as he gets bigger and stronger and faster, would it be ideal to get a cat flap but only if i he does escape and i cant keep him in?

[Jennie80 10]

I think it's cruel to not allow your cat to roam free outdoors. If they've got a cat flap they can come and go as they please. Tragedy may occur yes but they should be given the chance to run free and not kept cooped up. Definitely wait until neutered and injected though - male cats tend to roam looking for females if they are not castrated which could lead to them getting lost.

[Aries22 10]

As l dont agree with animals in zoo's caged up all their lives, l think you have to let him go out occasionly, our last kitten i bought a small dog, harness and lead, and took her out in the garden a few times. We had the cat flap on locked to go out, but after a fortnight of keeping her in, she played with the switches, opened them and went straight out.

[mummysaz21 10]

im not asking if its right to keep him in or not, has to stay inside or who knows how long he will last with the neighbours not so very nice dogs, hell be ripped apart if got hold of him and as he loves dogs so much hes very likley to go up to them so i will never willingly let him out no way

[Tess 10]

Smitch is getting on a bit now and though she always used to be an outdoor cat, we've had new doors put on which means no cat flap

 

Since her sister died in Jan/Feb time she hasn't really wanted to spend time outdoors and now goes out for half an hour in a morning and that's it It's very easy keeping her in, getting her to go out is the problem!

 

I feel so much better now knowing she's inside. Personally, I wouldn't have another outdoor cat now. If I did have my own cat when I get my own place it'd be allowed out but only when supervised and possibly in an enclosed space.

 

Adolf (my childhood cat) was run over aged 10 and though Smudge died from diabetes, not a road incident, it does make me feel safer knowing Smitch is in most of the time now.

I did also worry not only about Smitch getting hurt but someone swerving to miss her and causing an accident, or the long lasting effects on whoever did hit her - I've seen a cat run over and even though it wasn't me that did it, the image was left burned in my memory.

 

Can you get him a little harness to go outside with? So he gets to experience the outside but only with you there to check he's ok etc?

 

Good luck! They are inquisitive by nature but remember the old saying 'curiosity killed the cat'!

 

Weird question i'm sure - but why Adolf ?! Lol

[medusa 16]

I think that some cats make good indoor cats and some don't- the problem is that you can't necessarily predict which ones will make good indoor cats until you try it. Some kittens are like little furry Houdinis and if they're like that then you're facing an uphill battle on keeping them in as they grow up.

 

I've had dozens of litters of kittens, some of which have been absolutely fine as indoor babies and some haven't. One litter were already escaping out of upstairs windows by the age of 10 weeks, and one of the same litter got out of the small casement window in the kitchen when it was only open by a couple of inches (and 7 feet up!).

 

If you have a kitten from being tiny then they're likely to grow up fine with being an indoor beastie, as long as you do make the changes necessary for this. One of mine is an almost entirely indoor cat and the rest go out sometimes but never stay out for long (and Arthur rarely goes out at all if it's cold, windy, raining, dark or there's a 'y' in the month). Adult cats are much harder to force and are likely to find a way to go through your legs as you open the door if they really want to.

[JarvisCocker 10]

I think it's cruel to not allow your cat to roam free outdoors. If they've got a cat flap they can come and go as they please. Tragedy may occur yes but they should be given the chance to run free and not kept cooped up. Definitely wait until neutered and injected though - male cats tend to roam looking for females if they are not castrated which could lead to them getting lost.

 

Mmmm... there was a time when people though it was OK to let dogs roam free, and they did, they don't now though do they.

 

Each to their own opinions, we've had this argument before numerous times. The OP was asking for advice on how to keep a happy indoor cat.

[mummysaz21 10]

well im hoping, for christmas he can have scratching posts and other toys i can think of at the moment he dosent have anything like that, just balls and string and things, been living on the cheap side lol, but a think for a crimbo presents its well worth investing on new toys for him,as the dogs will be getting toys aswell theyll all be happy,and to the person who said its cruel to cage them?well yes it is but alfies not caged hes just a house cat, but lets be fair even if i did want him to be an outside cat he couldent for another 4 months anyway so it dosent make much difference at the minute