Cats in flats

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My partner would like a cat, probably in about a year's time. We've both had pets, me all my life, and her for most of it.

However, I've never had an indoor cat - they've always been indoor/outdoor. We have a spacious flat and would be plenty able to give playtime, space, vertical space and hidey holes for a theoretical cat but I am not sure whether this is a good way to care for a cat. 

Any owners on here? We'd definitely get it from a rescue centre (if we did get one). I'm currently more on the "not sure this is a good idea" side of the fence. 
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Comments

  • VimFuegoVimFuego Frets: 15476
    whilst they are a menace to wildlife, cats are outdoors creatures. We got ours from cats protection as kittens, and almost from day 1 they were itching to get out and get hunting. To deny them that is to deny them a basic need.
    That said, maybe an elderly cat would be more at home in a flat. Our old tom, as he aged, showed little desire to go out.

    I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.

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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Get one of those bald cats. Friend had one and it spent all its time on top of the boiler.



    Maybe not the prettiest of cats but at least they don't like going out in the cold.
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  • sw67sw67 Frets: 228
    Had both - Persian and 2 moggies were inside and destroyed the house esp couches. Wife talked me into another 2 last year and they are outside cats and better for it. I wouldn't have a 100% indoor cat now 
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Apparently you can keep a cat in a hat.
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  • MusicwolfMusicwolf Frets: 3627
    ThePrettyDamned

    Any owners on here?

    Cats don't have 'owners', they have 'servants'.

    We have been adopted by 2 of next door's 3 cats.  The bloody things have been watching Larry the Downing Street cat which walks up to the front door of No 10 which then opens as if by magic - they expect the same.  The black one likes to get into the tortoises vivarium and soak up the heat.


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  • I thought as much. The rspca suggests some cats are fine with it, but I must admit my gut lay in that they are outdoor creatures.

    Although my old cat lived 99 percent indoors, it still liked to get out and explore the garden. 
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  • RandallFlaggRandallFlagg Frets: 13929

    I thinks it's cruel to keep a cat indoors permanently. They are outdoor creatures that like to have a warm home nest to come back to.

    Don't do it. 


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  • Thanks all - I think I'll say we're getting a pet, but not a cat. We'll try to find more suitable indoor pets :) 
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  • All cats are different. I had a cat for 17 years that would not dare leave the flat. She was too scared of being outside.
    It would be a good move getting a cat from a rescue centre. Maybe one that wants to stay indoors. 
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    I worked with someone who had indoor cats, I think they had some kind of communicable cat disease and so they needed to be indoors only. 
    Oddly enough I've recently been in contact with her again recently so I can ask about it if you want. She's quite active in terms of animal welfare so I don't think it's something she would have done lightly. 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • not_the_djnot_the_dj Frets: 7306
    We have two indoor cats, both from a local rescue center, before that they'd been with a typical mad cat lady who had a dozen or so not being looked after properly.

    The rescue people were fine with them being indoor only, and got us a good match.

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  • KittyfriskKittyfrisk Frets: 18381
    My two cats were house cats, but they had access to the outside whenever I was at home. 
    Both lived very happy, fairly long lives. Actually they behaved more like dogs than cats, would come when called by name & liked being patted. Weird but cute.
    Keeping them permanently indoors was not a thing, but depending on the cat's temperament it might be a possibility.
    They make the decisions about their happiness & needs, not you  ;)
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26753
    We have 3 rescues (2 permanent, 1 semi-permanent foster). All are indoors as we're on the 42nd floor. They're absolutely fine with it. We do have a large flat so they can get up some decent speed when they want to run, but they get used to being indoors just fine. 
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • I had 2 Persians from kittens inside house/flat for 13 years. They never destroyed anything and my subjective view is they had wonderful lives which they enjoyed living very much. 
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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    I'd rather get a small dog for a flat. As long as you exercise it a lot and don't leave it alone too much or better still, get 2 of them.
    Dogs are easily trainable and adapt well. And they're not evil, selfish, spiteful, destructive, smelly, murderous bastards.
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  • SnagsSnags Frets: 5326
    Our cats started off as indoor/outdoor, but a combination of events* got them both grounded.  Both of them were fine with it - in fact, I think one of them kind of preferred it, he certainly settled down again more afterwards.  However, we did have a reasonable size house that they had the run of.

    We've also had friends who used to have three cats who were always indoor cats. They were perfectly content moggies who all had good lives, but again they had a town house and the cats had free run.

    Personally despite the above I'm still not comfortable with keeping cats in though. If the cat prefers it, or if there are extenuating circumstances, they'll adapt and be fine, but one reason we don't have cats any more is it didn't sit easy, but neither did running the risk of endless car accidents, broken cats, and empty bank accounts.

    So now we have a stupid dog.

    *One of them worked his way from four legs down to two, via a couple of separate car interactions and a severe adjustment of our bank balance. Once he was at two legs we had to keep him in or he'd have killed himself.

    The other found a local feeder, and got so fat he nearly got stuck in the cat flap. All attempts to get the feeder to stop feeding him failed, so the little shit got shut in for weight control. Kinda need someone to do that for me, frankly.
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  • RiftAmpsRiftAmps Frets: 3113
    tFB Trader
    We live in a flat with a rescue cat, the only difference being we have our own downstairs front door and internal staircase (no communal areas). This meant we could put in a catflap and allow her to go outside whenever she wishes.

    In the Winter she mainly stays inside anyway apart from toileting but in the Summer she's outside all the time, loves it.

    I personally don't agree with 'indoor/house cats' and think that they should always have unrestricted access to outside but understand some situations might be different.




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  • JerkMoansJerkMoans Frets: 8775
    Thought this was a new Dr Seuss book      :(
    Inactivist Lefty Lawyer
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  • So in conclusion it's a definite maybe?

    Definitely will visit a rescue centre and see what they recommend. I don't want to give a pet anything less than the perfect home, but if we found a 3 legged critter that needed an indoor home we can probably accommodate. 
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  • fields5069fields5069 Frets: 3826
    We had a lovely pair of Ragdolls. Very cute and playful cats but not really lap cats which was disappointing, One died of FIP, and the other threatened to kill my wife with an asthma attack so unfortunately had to go eventually.
    Some folks like water, some folks like wine.
    My feedback thread is here.
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