Pros and Cons - indoor and outdoor cats

Photo credit www.pierrejoubertphotography.com

I hope that you are all having a great Friday so far. I’m so sorry that I have not been posting as much lately as I seem to be having a bit of writers block. I thought I would try and post something a bit different from the normal product reviews. They do seem to get a bit hectic on the budget the closer you get to the end of the month, ha ha.

A few people who follow us on Facebook have mentioned that they would like to see a post regarding the benefits of having an indoor only cat. I thought I would tell you about the up sides of both an indoor and an outdoor cat as I have both.

Some of you might know that I have three little darlings *cough* that live at my parents who think they are outdoor cats, even though my parents have completely cat proofed the garden for them, as well as our little indoor princess Isabella.

1. Litter

Best part of having an outdoor cat is that they normally stop using the litter box and will find their favorite "stop" in the garden to do their business. It also normally doesn’t smell as bad as it is buried in soil and recycles itself after a while. Points to mother nature for that!

If you do have an indoor cat you can find litter sand that suits you and your cat’s needs. I use Cats Best – Natures Gold. It is all natural, clumping and does not smell at all! You can get the Cats Best – Green power that has the little green hygiene pearls that help with odourcontrol even further.

2. Behavior

Outdoor cats do seems to be more independent and “wild” as their natural instincts kick in to hunt birds and take care of themselves.

Indoor cats can too be “wild’ from boredom, causing them to become destructive. So if you are planning on having an indoor only cat, do your homework of what breeds are best suited for indoor living. Radgolls, British Shorthairs and Persians are some examples that are best for indoor cats.

3. Health

Outdoor cats are more likely to get ticks, fleas, ringworm and diseases. Pancake once ate a whole grasshopper, (he loves bullying bugs), and the one leg got stuck sideways in his throat causing him pain and coughing. He landed up having a scope to see what the problem was and needed to be put under for the vet to remove the leg.

Whereas an indoor cat is much less likely to ever get fleas, ticks etc. There are more likely to become overweight due to the lack of exercise compared to an outdoor cat. To ensure that your indoor cat gets enough exercise, you can provide him/her with a large cat tree, running wheel, and toys etc. that will encourage more movement and play time indoors. I also try to take Isabella outside on her harness for a walk and exploration time, to burn off energy, every two to three weeks when she is starting to act a little crazy.

4. Safety

Of course there are many dangers out there for cats besides illnesses. Cars, dogs, other cats, and plants can be harmful to your cat’s safety. They are also more likely to get lost if they stray too far from home. People are also a danger to cats as some people will laydown traps or poison for cats that bother them in their yards or houses.

Indoors you can control what plants are around for your cat to munch on, see my Easter blog regarding safe and poisons plants for cats.

· On the topic of safety remember that if your cat is wearing a collar, ensure that it has a safety release or an elastic so that if it gets stuck on anything, the cat can pull it off.

5. Lifespan

As a summary of all the points mentioned above outdoor cats lifespan is averaged around 5-6 years whereas an indoor cats average life span is between 10-17 years

I hope that this has helped you make the desision that you were looking for or put somethings in perspective.

#Indoorcats #outdoorcats #ragdoll #burmese #niki #pancake #truffle #isabella #litterbox #naturesbest #naturalgold #behaviour #health #ticks #fleas #ringworm #safety #collar #lifespan