Cats: Indoor vs. Outdoor

April 30, 2010, By Greg Paeth 12 comments

As might be expected because some cat owners seem to have far too much free time on their hands, there’s no paucity of opinion about whether cats should be kept indoors or allowed to roam free as if every backyard were their Serengeti, where they can lurk by the waterhole, preparing to ambush an unsuspecting cape buffalo in the dead of night.

Unfortunately for those who believe that cats should be allowed to live in the wild most of the time, it’s pretty well documented that outdoor cats are far more vulnerable than their indoor brethren to a long list of serious diseases and, at worst, fatal traumas.

A number of different authorities agree that indoor cats live considerably longer although they disagree about how much longer. Some say a well cared for housecat can live as long as 15-20 years while an outdoor cat might live, on average, just 5-10 years.

Cat-vehicle collisions are the single biggest cause of cat deaths every year, according to a wide variety of pet-friendly sources.  One animal welfare organization estimates that 5.4 million cats die every year after being hit by cars or trucks. Think about it.  When was the last time a Dodge pickup slammed on its brakes in your great room because Boots was crossing the truck’s path after someone snipped open a fresh pouch of Smoochies in the kitchen?

Outdoor cats also can become targets of cat thieves (not to be confused with cat burglars) who may want the pet for companionship or, in a worst-case scenario, to sell it for purposes that would give most pet owners nightmares. One python owner confessed that his snake’s diet was supplemented with kittens that were listed in the newspaper as  “free to a good home.”

Outside cats also run the risk of confronting another animal – cat, dog, cape buffalo – that can either wound them or worse.  Domestic cats that have been de-clawed are virtually defenseless in a brawl, even if your arms are covered with scratches and bite marks from your last playful jousting with Mittens.

There’s also the issue of what Mittens might kill when he or she is outside. Besides the fact that Mittens is killing another animal, there’s the question of whether that animal might carry a disease that will eventually lead to the cat’s demise.

Remember, too, that neighbors may not be as infatuated with Mittens as you are.  If he/she has begun using the next-door flower bed as a litter box, it’s a pretty good bet that your neighbor will not be amused.

The travails of Mosley the Cat, generally regarded as the finest example of the Domestic Shorthair to take a breath since the conclusion of the Spanish-American War, provide ample illustration of outdoor perils for indoor cats. When he was young and foolish and occasionally darted out the door for some fresh air, Mosley the Cat routinely slipped over a six-foot fence into a neighbor’s yard that may have reminded him of his ancestral home two hours outside of Kigali, Rwanda.  When he was intercepted in an escape attempt not that long ago, he lost his balance and landed on the upright back of a wrought iron lawn chair. The Saturday night visit to a 24-hour animal emergency room cost slightly more than providing health care for Chicago and he still has a couple of bones that jut out from his ribcage at an unusual angle. Mosley the Cat also has come home after a couple of outside adventures wet, dirty, scratched up and flea-laden.  Upon his return he was threatened with a severe reprimand and a half-hour timeout.

Other perils for outside cats include a long list of diseases that can be transmitted from one animal to another or from rummaging through the detritus that cats sometimes find enticing. The diseases include feline leukemia, feline infectious peritonitis, feline distemper, rabies, feline immunodeficiency virus and skin cancer from too much sun.  Fleas, ticks and ringworm also become health concerns once a cat begins spending much time outside.

And although there are legendary stories about pets (usually dogs) traveling incredible distances to be reunited with their owners, there is a chance that an outdoor cat could roam so far from home that it would become lost, incapable of retracing its return route.  This would not happen with Mosley the Cat, however, who has a cell phone and knows how to use a global positioning system.