Do you feel guilty over keeping indoor cats?

Nope, no guilt at all. Yes, I wish I could let my cats out (to cut down the rodent population out here in the country!), but it simply isn't safe. We have a very busy, 55 mph road at the end of the driveway, coyotes, and other pets that people allow to run loose.

25 years ago, when our neighborhood was much more rural, we allowed our cats outside. We also collected a lot of formerly-feral strays who adopted us, but still HAD. TO. GO. OUT! We lost quite a few to the road, quite a few were injured (sometimes very seriously) by other animals, and we had to treat for fleas/worms/other parasites constantly.

Average life expectancy for our outdoor cats was 11 years old. Now that all of our cats are indoor-only, the average life expectancy is 22 years old. They never get sick, never get injured, and never have any parasites. None of the 7 cats we have right now have ever been outside, and they show no desire to go out. When I open the door they run into another room. They are smart cats who know how good they have it.

I wish I could stay indoors 24x7 too. I work at home and only go out to the gym and to run errands. I really don't understand the appeal of the outdoors and neither do my cats.

Nope! I have two cats and they love being inside. During the summer, I will let my one cat walk around outside under my supervision, because he loves to eat grass. My other cat, doesn't even want to go outside, I can open the door, and he just sits there staring at you & He even used to be an outdoor cat as a kitten!

As long as you have love and toys for you cats, the indoors can be just as fun as the outdoors, without having to worry about dogs, or any other things that could potentially hurt them

No. A dear little kitty came to live with us last fall. He was a stray, feral, outdoor kitten. We didn't try to bring him into the house, as we have five indoors-only kitties who would NOT be happy about a strange guy moving in.

Last week we saw him out in the street...dead.

Don't let yourself feel as sad and guilty as I do about this dear little fellow who never had the chance to grow up. Please keep your kitties indoors, always. According to the US Humane Society, the average indoors-only cats live 18 years. The indoor-outdoor cats, live on the average of 2 years.

Nope - I know exactly where my 3 cats are at all times and know they are safe inside the house. They have cat trees to climb and windows to watch what's going on.

And I don't have to worry about them bringing in fleas or other parasites or getting hurt outside.

I DO NOT feel guilty about indoor cats because I have only ever had ONE indoor cat; and that is only because that cat would run in the opposite direction if I opened the door to let it out.

Heck, I had to borrow a cage just to take the poor thing to the vets.

" " How do you feel about indoor cats? " " Any animal that has to be kept locked in a house against it's own desires IS NOT a pet. It is a captive animal.

I would never keep at cat inside at all times. I believe it's cruel, they never can hunt or feel the wind in their fur. My three cats go in and out as they please , and have a great life ... They only go out for a couple hours, then they are in for the night. Another plus side of outdoor cats , is we don't have a litter box! They all tell us when it's time for them to go out .