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Am I an asshole for having indoor cats?

Some cats desire to go outside and some don't. I had this really cool fat cat that would just go outside during the summertime to lay on the porch and sunbath. I only had one cat that never came back and I don't know what happened to him. I've had a lot of cats(something like ten or more, my mom loved animals as do I). My cat Moe loved the outdoors. By far the most bizarre cat I've ever had. Sometimes he would eat the dogfood just cause when he had his own. He loved weed and would purposefully try to get into my room when I smoked and would lay right where he could be in the blown smoke. Super chill but literally insane. He would just go crazy sometimes. He'd play with my dog Molly. Sometimes she would walk by exciedtly when I would be able to to go out and Moe would be laying in my computer chair. He'd wack her with his paw then sometimes grab on and go for a wild ride. Molly would kinda headbutt him and knock him over. He'd just up and start wacking her and they'd roll around on the ground. Sometimes she'd be laying on me and he'd hop on top of her then start kneading on her and go to sleep. Cutest shit eva! He'd come for walks with me and Molly. He was like a homing missle. I honestly had no idea how he would know to find us. I'd see a white streak running through the darkness from a mile away and know it was him. He'd climb the trees and manically flip his head back to look at you then meow at you. He was obsessed with me. I felt so bad when I'd be away. My mom said he would go into my room then meow looking for me.:( He loved everyone though but he was attached to me the most. He was a true addict to pets though. I picked him out from a shelter when I was 13. My mom wanted this nice chill cat and I saw Moe's crazy ass then feel in love. I miss him and Molly terribly but I had fifteen beautiful years with Moe and twelve with Molly. When I was at the bottom of the darkest holes they were always there calming me with their serene loving nature's! <3 animals so much! I wouldn't worry about it to much Xork. If you do the porch thing it'll be good. Their old too. I never worried about moe because he was an agile baller even in old age. He barely slowed down.
 
Yeah they're old, they'll live a lot longer most likely too having been indoors. 15 isn't super old for an indoor cat. I think my girl is feeling her age now, but my boy seems kinda like a baby still. He still gets the crazy eye and dashes around the house at the speed of light almost every afternoon.
 
Xorkoth said:
Yeah they're old, they'll live a lot longer most likely too having been indoors. 15 isn't super old for an indoor cat. I think my girl is feeling her age now, but my boy seems kinda like a baby still. He still gets the crazy eye and dashes around the house at the speed of light almost every afternoon.
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haha. I know the crazy eyes. Mine will be 19 in August and she's been an indoor kitty all her life. Crazy to think I was 10 years old when she was born 8(.
 
Xorkoth said:
Yeah they're old, they'll live a lot longer most likely too having been indoors. 15 isn't super old for an indoor cat. I think my girl is feeling her age now, but my boy seems kinda like a baby still. He still gets the crazy eye and dashes around the house at the speed of light almost every afternoon.
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Yeah that's what Moe did. He was truly crazy! I mean I doubt being outdoors would shorten their life unless they have something happen out there.
 
I'll tell you one thing. I saw a black cat dead on the side of the road Monday. Today, I was driving and my son spotted a tabby also. That was a bummer. So you're not being an asshole for wanting to keep your fur babies safe!
 
I think you're right to keep them indoor.

One option might be to section off an area outside where they can be outside in safety. My family had something like that, a cat enclosure. Basically an area outdoors that was surrounded by net walls and a net roof that kept the cats safe but able to go outside.
 
That's a good idea, thanks. :)

I didn't expect to get 100% support here, where I live seriously almost everyone has indoor/outdoor cats, quite a number of times I've had people treat me like I'm running a cat prison or something. My girlfriend was like, are you serious? And tried to get me to start letting them out for months, when I first met her. She accepts it now, but she grew up around here, her family had cats, and they were indoor/outdoor.
 
Over several decades I have given forever homes to many cats. They are precious, they are family. Always keep them indoors. There are so many predators who are after cats- animal, human cars. Be sure to give them access to see out of windows, places to climb, toys to play with, and be sure to play with them (mine go wild over a mylar crunchy ball tied to a strong that I hold and swing in front of them - but I put it away when playtime is done, cuz never let cats play with string). Love your cats.
 
Xorkoth I just got a kitten and I am going to be keeping her indoors, I too am worried about other peoples dogs etc
Jess will also do your suggestion thank you :)
 
JessFR said:
The internet worships the kitties. They are our gods. :)
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My family has always maintained a mythology that says if you live your life right you get to come back as a domestic cat catered to by our own well-indoctrinated descendants. =D
 
Haha I love you guys. :) I literally don't know a single other person where I live who keeps their cats 100% indoors (I'm sure they exist but not among people I know). My friend's girlfriend, in response to me giving my reasons for keeping them indoors, rolled her eyes and was like, yeah, but Stockholm syndrome only gets you so far. Other people gotten all flustered and been like oh my god, I would NEVER do that, that's terrible! I was starting to feel like an asshole. I still kinda do since they really want to go out, but I spend a lot of time with them (I work at home and one or the other is almost always snuggling on my lap, and they always both sleep with me), we interact a lot. They're kinda old now so they're not really into playing anymore but we used to play a lot too. They also have an upstairs balcony they can freely go on which is outside, and they can get on the roof that way.
 
Xorkoth said:
I've been thinking about taking my boy cat out on a leash. My girl cat HATES having a collar on or a harness, she will figure out how to get out of them very quickly every time.

Well this has been refreshing... around here almost every single person I know with cats has outdoor cats. A friend's girlfriend told me I'm basically a captor and my cats have stockholm syndrome which I didn't appreciate. My girlfriend thinks I should let them outside too. They really, really want to go outside which is why it sucks. Here in the mountains it's very much the norm to have cats be indoor/outdoor which is very different from other places I've lived.
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I just wanted to pop by and say, don't listen to those deluded hippy types in your area man. Modern cats are meant to live indoors. Those saying otherwise near you are simply deluding themselves via their "pets are slavery" type attitudes. It's one thing not to let dogs have outdoor time, but cats are irresponsible creatures who will indeed die in the outdoors. Not to mention, I knew a cat who was intentionally injured by the neighborhood sadist. You want some serial-killer wanna-be snapping your cats' legs for pleasure? Keep them safe man. Please don't let the extreme liberalism of your town convince you to act against your beloved pets' best interests. You said it yourself, your girl cat ate poison flowers. She'll do it again if you let her out.
 
Thanks man, yeah I won't, no worries, my kitties are safe and sound. But yeah, I love my hippies but sometime they can be pretty silly with the group think. My girlfriend was raised by hippies (and most people consider her one although she doesn't want to identify with them, but it's so extreme over here compared to most places that anyone from anywhere else instantly labels her a hippie) and she believes all sorts of commonly held hippie beliefs that have in many cases become huge fads to sell overly expensive products... for example believing that fluoride toothpaste will calcify your pineal gland. Some of the stuff she has since given up on because we talked about it at some point but I don't think she can quite believe me that (a) the pineal gland stuff is silly and (b) that fluoride won't absorb through your mouth/gums. I agree that fluoride in drinking water isn't ideal, just like chlorine, because both are lighter halogens than iodine and as such, they displace iodine and can cause us to become deficient. But hey, at least she readily gave up the "certain fact" that DMT is released in a flood during birth and death. :)

Okay I'm tangenty today, time to move on to another thread.
 
Nothin' wrong with hippies, I used to live with many during college lol. Some part of me misses it. Just important to keep ahold of some rationality and reason. We can all save the earth while still retaining reason, science, and the self.

More importantly, we can all save the earth while not allowing our pets to make stupid decisions. My ball python shits in her water bowl every time she sheds, doesn't mean I'll let her drink it.
 
you are not an asshole, you are just protecting and keeping your kitties safe, my two cats never ever go outside, one time my black cat got outside, and i almost had an anxiety attack man, i am so used to 'if my cats get out of the house, or when i lived with my motherrr... were forced outside cats all of a sudden, they die pretty quickly... a lot of humans unfortunately hate cats i have learned and apparently like will purposely swerves to hit run cats over or where i am from beat them to death with baseball bats.... so i am extremely against letting them out ever or really trusting anyone that i do not know well with my babies. and the black is a like on special side and ends up trying to lick all the different liquids (had a bleach freakout emergency trip to the vet one night, never ever had any harmful cleaners in my house again!) and he loves to try to eat alllllll the different plants and grass and there is way too many that could kill them, so yeah eff that.
 
My girlfriend got some harnesses and leashes for my cats and we're starting to take them out for walks. They aren't quite sure what to think of it, but warming up quickly. :)
 
Ha ha ha we have harnesses and leads for our two big boys as well.

Yoshi is still too small. He's only a bitty kitten.

They both love their time outside but when Clyde comes in he acts like a complete knob end to everyone in the house.

Jerk.

The harnesses are quite fun for them both. Let us know how you get on.
 
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