Indoor or Outdoor Cat?

Of course as a responsible and loving pet owner, you want to ensure that your cat is both happy and safe. In aiming for those goals, one of the most important decisions that you must make is whether your cat should be an outdoor cat or not.

Many people feel that the only truly happy cat is an outdoor cat. While it's certainly true that cats have been domesticated for many millennia, it's also true that they still many retain attributes and behaviors of their wild ancestors. When we see a cat chasing a squirrel or stalking prey, we see the cat performing its natural behaviors, and we assume that as a result it is a happy cat. On the other hand, an indoor cat seems to be deprived of many, if not all, such opportunities.

The other side of the coin is that, from a safety point of view, provided you ensure that your home is cat-safe, indoor would be the only way to go. Outdoor cats face risks that indoor cats do not:

Outdoor cats can be killed or injured by road traffic.
There are unfortunately some malicious people out there, who may injure, harm or steal your cat.
Outdoor cats may get involved in fights with other cats, wild animals such as foxes (including urban foxes), and dogs.

Of course, all of these risks (except perhaps for wild animals) tend to be much higher in urban and densely populated areas.

All of these issues are something that you will need to consider when deciding whether your cat should be an indoor or outdoor cat. The indoor/outdoor choice is not a simple one: you must carefully weight up all the advantages and disadvantages of both lifestyles for your cat.

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