Having An Outside Cat Vs. An Inside Cat

I have always had cats. Growing up on a farm, we had four cats that lived outside. My brother and sister and I had caught them at my grandparents house as kittens. Wild kittens that hissed and scratched as we cuddled them close so they couldn't escape. My grandmother loved cats, but the necessity to spay and neuter cats back then was not widespread. There must have been thirty or forty cats that lived outside on their property. Most were strays that had wandered in for a free meal and never left. Few of them were socialized enough to play with, but that didn't stop us from rounding up four kittens to take home. My parents debated as to where the kittens would live once we got them home. Unfortunately, my dad won and our wild cats would remain outside cats.

Many cat owners are torn between keeping their cat confined inside vs allowing them to wander free and untethered outside. For many, it's a personal preference or belief that a cat needs to be outside in order to be happy. Then wonder whatever happened to Fluffy when she doesn't make it home one night.

Unlike dogs who are required, in most cities, to be leashed, tied up or kept in a pen, a cat wanders freely around a neighborhood or in the fields and pastures around their home. The life expectancy of an outside cat is around four to five years. An inside cat can expect to live closer to fifteen to eighteen years or longer and will suffer fewer illness.

A cat free to roam encounters dangers around every corner. They run into problems when a warm car engine is used as a way to ward off winter chills. Many cats have been severely injured when an unknowing car owner starts up the engine with the cat still inside. Antifreeze puddles on a driveway or street can be a deadly danger if a cat takes even a small lick which tastes sweet to them, but is extremely poisonous. An outside cat will usually lose an encounter with a dog, coyote or other animals who will hunt cats as their prey or pick fights with them. A cat who lives outside can actually end up costing the owner more in vet bills due to contracted illnesses or injuries from fights, cars or irresponsible people who injure your pet for fun.

If a female cat has not been spayed, she will likely return to your home pregnant and a male who has not been neutered is more likely to get into fights or just not come home at all. It's unknown exactly how many homeless cats wander the streets and neighborhoods of America and it's largely due to someone's pet female cat who is allowed to wander outside without having been spayed. Not all female cats return home to have their kittens.

An outside cat will often times rummage through the neighbor's garbage on trash day or track dirty paw prints on their freshly washed car. A wandering cat isn't always the best ambassador for a lot of neighborhoods.

My cats have always been inside cats. They are happy, healthy and could care less about going outside. In fact, the only way I could get them to go outside is if I picked them up and carried them out and they would beat me back to the front door. My cats have no desire to go outdoors let alone live in that environment. I know where they are each night when I go to bed. They are safe, have been fed and have vet care at the time it's needed.

A cat raised inside is a pet. An outside cat is a sometimes pet that may or may not return each night for a meal and place to sleep. A cat owner may think their cat is happy having the entire neighborhood or farm field to wander in, but there's danger around each bend that is unknown to a free wheeling cat and you may never know when your cat doesn't come home if it's alright or not. It's a dangerous world for an outside cat. More than you may know.

Life Expectancy in Cats, PetsPlace.com

Kathy Savesky, Loose Cats-Stray Cats, bnet