So, we adopted a young stray cat from a small service that rescues cats. We had him indoors until he was about a year old, but he would get really antsy and would scratch furniture to get attention. So, we decided to let him be indoor/outdoor which totally calmed him down and he is very happy.
In the neighborhood there are a few strays and at least 1 other cat that is indoor/outdoor (we are friendly with the family). A few weeks back though, we had a lady down the street suggest that we should keep the cat indoors. Her reasoning was his safety/disease, but it felt like it was perhaps a complaint. I am wondering if maybe our cat dropped a deuce in their garden or something.
Wondering if anyone else has an indoor/outdoor cat? And are there any regulations about this (we are in Tokyo)?
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Hi, it’s better to keep the cat indoors. The nature is unforgiving. There are many diseases that are rampant which are deadly for cats. There is FIV(feline version of HIV),Tri cat disease etc
Get him a tall cat tree and some scratch cardboards for 100yen at daiso. Also some mice and they will play with those all day long.
He is probably bored out his mind. They do require a bit of companionship.
Source: have three cats and they are indoors all the time.
If you care about the environment, biodiversity, and animal welfare, keep it indoors. Outdoor cats kill hundreds of BILLIONS of mammals worldwide every year, and have brought dozens of bird species to or near extinction. Cats kill for fun and kill non-stop.
I mean, if you’re ok with them dying sooner rather than later I guess you do you.
But feline aids and leukemia are a very common all over Japan. And your cat can catch both.
Also getting hit my scooters and cars
Not to mention animal abusers who throw rocks, boiling oil, leave poison out, shoot arrows, slip nooses on and hang them or that lovely fellow who blowtorches cats for likes on the Japanese dark web. If your cat is human friendly all the easier to catch.
Keep your cats indoors.
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I’d recommend you keep it indoors or on a leash in your yard. We have one male cat that accepts wearing a leash and will not try to get off of it. So he is free to roam our yard as far as the leash goes. But we only put him out when we are home and when we can get him easily. He will often stay an hour or two in the evenings and then meow that he’s ready to come in.
We have two other cats, one male and one female, that will not wear leashes. So we bought a cat tent earlier this year, and they have really loved it. It’s probably one of the best purchases I made. They can enjoy being outside, cannot escape, and are protected. But we also do not put them out unless we are home and can reach them easily.
If you would like to see the cat tent, then search for Gaori Large Pet Tent.
I had a friend with an outdoor cat, in the countryside whose pet was hit by car when cat was only a year old. I think they are just less willing to slow down etc
I have another friend in countryside who found an injured stray, nursed him back to health and he is indoor/outdoor no problem.
I would make sure to have your cat chipped, give flea treatments & a collar with your cell number on it. I wouldn’t let it out if you live in the city.
Please make sure he has a bell, to limit the destruction he can cause on local habitats. Outdoor cats are utterly horrendous for wildlife.
Walk it on a leash like a dog, the difference being that the cat will decide where to go rather than the other way around. I walk mine twice daily for 20 minutes.
It’s a bit of a cultural difference too, I’m from Australia where indoor/outdoor cats are extremely common (it seems to be the same in NZ, the UK). But what other people are saying is correct that your cat will have a shorter life span (this is well documented), and will harm wildlife.
But supervised play outside is great, if you have your own garden area you can make an enclosed “catio” for your cat to use unsupervised.
My 15yr old cat was an indoor cat but was sometimes let out (once a month at most). She always meowed and returned with 30 minutes. Last year she didn’t return for 2 days and when she did, she was bloodied, dehydrated and barely alive. I don’t know how she made it home. When we found her and she realized it she let go of her bladder and blacked out. We rushed her to the vet and had blood work done and she was put into ICU but she passed 5 hours later. The vet said a stray had probably gotten to her.
Don’t make the same mistake as me. I blame myself everyday for ever letting her out.
Good bless you Luna
Keep it indoors, please. We have had many of our pets (koi and goldfish) killed by cats.
Always keep cats indoors.
I just adopted a second cat last week that was an outdoor cat and he gets really really antsy and tries to open the windows (once successfully…) and is a complete terror indoors. Like piss on the couch knock over the kitchen trash, scratch the fuck out of everything kind of terror.
Cats believe it or not are an invasive species and they are a danger to both themselves and everything around them when outdoors.
They can easily contract disease and their lifespan will be greatly shortened. And they could easily die when attacked by another cat for wandering into its territory.
Be patient and start training it as in indoor cat and it’s behavior will slowly change.
Keep your cat indoors and start to train it.
Reward good behavior with treats. When the cat starts scratching redirect it’s attention with a toy or a treat and pot a scratching post where the cat likes to scratch the furniture. Don’t yell at the cat when it scratches at it will damage the relationship you have with it.
I recommend to get a cat cage/house to slowly integrate it into indoor living and it will also give your other cat a chance to get used to its scent so that they dont fight when interacting.
Good luck and keep it indoors!
It’s actually a quite common requirement here for adopting rescues to agree to keep them indoors. Definitely better to do so. Aside from everything already said (nuisance to neighbors, disease, accidents) feral cats can be very aggressive when defending their territory and he’s not likely to emerge from those encounters the victor.
I can recommend the silk cocoon toys on a fishing pole (my cats – and dog – are absolutely crazy about those) and a battery powered toy called “catch me if you can” that will likely keep him busy for a long time. Also, tension scratch poles going all the way up to the ceiling that he can climb like actual trees. You can even connect them and build entire cat walks with a few of them, just search for 木登りタワー on the internet to get some results.
If you have a balcony or garden, you can build a nice cat enclosure for him using wire nets from the 100 yen shop and cable ties. If you can make it bigger and need more stability, constructing something with erector pipes that you can get in home center is very easy as well (if you don’t want to build with wood).
Kinda depends where you live: a sense city? A town? A village? Alone in the mountains? On a small island?
Also depends on your car, given that it was brought up indoors, many cars won’t go very far from home, but your cat may be different. And the neighbouring cats have their established territories where your cat (usually) won’t go. You could put a tracker on your cat to see what she’s up to and if she’s getting into any trouble.
To all the pro-house folks here, it’s all true, but isn’t it kind of unfair to keep the natural environment away from your cat? Like imagine if you are locked up for life…
Just FYI during Halloween month more cats get kidnapped / killed / abused by cultish psychopaths. I don’t let my cat out for the same reason I wouldn’t let my kid roam the streets without my guidance