Do you think a house cat can be happy?

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BabyBerlioz
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Do you think a house cat can be happy?

Post by BabyBerlioz »

My we fur baby is now 5 months old and has just recently been neutered. It was always the plan to keep him as a house cat. Although I live in a quiet cup de sac, there is a very busy road runs along the end of the cup de sac with open railway ground which I imagine would be very attractive to a cat! Then there are my neighbours. A lot of not very nice people and a wee gang of teenage boys. Berlioz is so docile. He lies down in front of everybody that comes in the house. 'See me! Tickle my belly!' At least that's what I imagine him saying :D We chose him very specifically for this reason, my daughter has autism and she freely says she likes animals better than humans and now he is here, he is her only real friend.

last two weeks he has taken to sitting at the back door for hours, watching events in the garden with a twitchy tail. I was totally unprepared for how sad something like this was going to make me feel. I work from home so he is never short of company but I wonder, do you think a house cat can live a truly happy life?
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Ruth B
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Re: Do you think a house cat can be happy?

Post by Ruth B »

I used to be totally against keeping a cat indoors only unless there was a medical reason such as the cat being blind or deaf, then I started watching kitten cams based in the States and chatting with the other viewers and my opinions have been changed. I can now quite understand why some people decide that a cat is better off kept indoors only and believe that in the right home the cat comes to no harm. However in the wrong household it can become a nightmare for cat and owners.

The basic concideration seems to be space. I live in a modern 2 bedroom semi so there is very little space, I haven't anywhere to put specialised cat furniture, no cat trees, no special cat beds, just basic litter trays, food bowls and water fountain. The cats don't seem to mind there are plenty of things like bookshelves and a sideboard they can jump on, bed and sofas to sleep on and they are allowed outside. If you have the room to put in all the cat furniture so that the cat can have a good run around, climb and jump about indoors then I don't see the problem. The only other problems I can see is with windows and doors, you would need to sort out some method of having a window open without letting the cat out, the same when you want to go in and out of a door. A cat that has never been allowed out won't know the area or have any street sense if it escapes (I won't mention a certain b&w of mine who managed to push open the bedroom window when it was only open an inch or so, and promptly fell off the window sill, he was fine, I almost had a heart attack).

One of the other I had refused to use the catflap for a year after we got her. She would go through if it was held open with a peg, but wouldn't push it open herself. As I couldn't bear the thought of her shut outside, she was only allowed out when we were around to make sure we could get her back in. Since she did finally learn how to use it (in a moment of panic after we had been trying to catch her to go to the vets she suddenly went out the flap by herself and has never looked back since) I have noticed that she has seemed more relaxed about the house.

It's a hard call really, some cats are fine indoors only, others need more space. The other option you might want to consider is an enclosed outdoor run, or to cat proof the garden, so the cat can get out, but only so far.
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BabyBerlioz
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Re: Do you think a house cat can be happy?

Post by BabyBerlioz »

I live in a modern 3 bed semi myself but compared to some, the rooms are quite generous. He had lots of things to keep him entertained but he has quickly outgrown his wee cat tree so I have ordered a really big one (just under 2 metres high). Not sure where it will go yet, but I will make it work somehow even if I have to get rid of some human furniture.

Also I pray for a financial windfall that can enable us to move somewhere better for him!
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Mayday21
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Re: Do you think a house cat can be happy?

Post by Mayday21 »

Hi my cats are indoor cats - no cat fights abbesses, no cars accidents, going walk-about & ive just bought a 165cm cat tree that was made for me with an extra large basket at the top as Harper & TC are besotted with ea other. Bentley also gets in with them - but he's only 6mths!! May not be too comfortable with 3 as he grows :lol: Vivian
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meriad
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Re: Do you think a house cat can be happy?

Post by meriad »

Do you have a back garden that you could catproof, that would then allow your cat outdoor access but still remain safe.

Provided you have a basic knowledge of DIY, a 6ft fence all round, a decent cordless screwdriver and a staple gun it's actually not that difficult to do. Fiddly yes, but not difficult.

Cats can and do adapt to being indoors, esp if you as an owner give them lots of things to play with, jump up on and do what you can to enrich their environment as much as possible. Alternatively - and looking at the photo of your cat; is he a pure-breed? - what about another cat to keep him company. I realise he's your daughter's therapy pet but maybe she'd benefit from two? ;)
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BabyBerlioz
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Re: Do you think a house cat can be happy?

Post by BabyBerlioz »

meriad wrote:Do you have a back garden that you could catproof, that would then allow your cat outdoor access but still remain safe.

Provided you have a basic knowledge of DIY, a 6ft fence all round, a decent cordless screwdriver and a staple gun it's actually not that difficult to do. Fiddly yes, but not difficult.

Cats can and do adapt to being indoors, esp if you as an owner give them lots of things to play with, jump up on and do what you can to enrich their environment as much as possible. Alternatively - and looking at the photo of your cat; is he a pure-breed? - what about another cat to keep him company. I realise he's your daughter's therapy pet but maybe she'd benefit from two? ;)
There is absolutely no chance of me being able to build something myself. I have looked at some of these things already. There are local folk on gumtree that install such things so I might consider it. I have just bought him a large cat tree (almost 2m high) and he seems very happy with it.

He is a Maine Coon / Ragdoll cross. Looking at him though you'd probably think he is all Maine Coon apart from the paws, he has got big rag doll paws. He nature is very typical of a Maine Coon too.

If I could afford to keep another one (even a rescue cat) I would but I couldn't stretch to the upkeep of 2. I hope you can see this photo, taken just last night after my daughter returned from spending the night with her dad <3

[img][IMG]http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu32 ... vtg49x.jpg[/img][/img]
LizzyD
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Re: Do you think a house cat can be happy?

Post by LizzyD »

Aww Berlioz is beautiful.

Yes house cats can be happy, but I think it depends on the cat. We've had some cats who could not have coped with being indoor - they would have been too stressed.

Currently we have 3 rescue moggies, 2 are allowed out but Alex is an indoor cat. He was originally allowed out but he went missing a couple of times and we've seen him run in front of cars, so for the last 18 months he's been an indoor cat.
He copes really well - he's very clever! We've had built an enclosure accessed via a cat flap, and I also take him for walks in he garden on a lead. We've had other cats that refuse to walk on a lead but he took to it straight away - as I say he's clever! He lets us know when he wants to go for a walk and if he can't go out he doesn't seem that bothered - just goes to play with something else.
I think it's important to have lots of toys around - our lounge has several large cardboard boxes and a tunnel, if you move them around it's like a new toy!

Liz
Alex, Charlie and Loki
SheilaB
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Re: Do you think a house cat can be happy?

Post by SheilaB »

Hi just to say that I have 10 indoor cats in a 3 bed 4 storey house and they are all fine and happy.
Think it is important to make sure that they have their own space, toys, food, litter trays etc
Gook luck for the future
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