The bandersnatch at rest. Photo by Amy Middleton.
My cat, the frumious bandersnatch, has been an indoor cat for much of her life. Often due to circumstances she had limited living space. At Patton Asylum, my last house, she spent some time exploring but had very little interest in going far from my bedroom and never got near the door. But since moving to Avocasa, she’s had her first taste of freedom. She’s gotten outside and enjoyed the ecstasy of rolling around in a huge pile of dirt. Now that she’s tasted freedom she often wants to return outdoors.
Some people believe you should keep cats indoors because of better health and longer lives. But I’ve also heard others say it doesn’t feel right to force them to stay indoors when they want to explore. On the one hand, living with cats has convinced me that they are sentient beings with their own emotions and desires, albeit very different ones from those of humans. On the other hand, domesticated animals have some of their wild instincts suppressed and there’s no way to explain to them the dangers of the outside world. Can pets make an informed decision about their own safety?
Kristen, the owner of Avocasa, lets her pets roam outside at will through a cat door (which the bandersnatch hasn’t figured out how to use yet) even though she lost one of hers to a car. Pet (the human one, that is), has vet training and seems to think we get to decide what to do with our animals. Every time that the bandersnatch stands by the door demanding to go out with angry meows and sharp claws, Mizz Honey J makes jokes about how she’s going to Occupy my room.
I will Occupy your bed! Bandersnatch protest is neither peaceful nor nonviolent. Photo by Amy Middleton.
On the one hand I see Pet’s point. Animals are different from us in some ways, and we own them and are expected to be responsible for them for a reason. That’s always been my opinion in the past. Yet it’s hard to face down a beloved companion’s angry determination to run and play. Especially in light of my involvement with the Occupy movement — weirdly perhaps, it’s making me think more about the rights of all things.
And the reality is I’m just not sure. We have a quiet, partially fenced yard but I can’t ignore the danger presented. Our street is not a very busy one, but we’re a block from Cesar Chavez, which is sometimes high traffic. There are also dogs, raccoons, and other wildlife. At the same time, my cat is old — about 12 — and already has a tumor (probably benign) which needs removal if I can find the money; she has a better health plan than me (I have none) but it still isn’t cheap. Though she is otherwise in good health, she already can’t live forever.
Is it better for her to spend her time indoors and avoid all chance of injury by automobile and other outside dangers and live a little longer, or to let her do as she wills and perhaps shorten her life a little?
For now, neither of us seems to be winning. I let her wander the house with the door shut since the cat door confuses her even when she sees other cats use it. I ignore most of her demands to go out, but when she escapes on her own and I know I’ll be at the house for a while I let her go till she comes back inside.
What do you think?
Comments (5)
I have been thinking about this myself as Amici is growing increasingly interested in the Big Blue Room. and he now has the outdoor living Tenchi to show him around, not to mention, well most dogs and even an opossum or raccoon would probably have a fire fight on their hands with the UberKitty, but he’s also not the sharpest crayon in the box. Skwishy is indoor only. Even if she wants to go out, I’m just too afraid of what would happen to a tiny blind kitty out there.
I would say from a purely objective viewpoint it’s better for any living thing to have more freedom with the cost of the possibility of danger. I had a kitty who couldn’t stand to be kept inside (he was born outside and probably had a lot of his wild instincts). For a while I couldn’t give in to him due to complications with getting him neutered, but once that was taken care of I eventually let him start going outside again and we worked toward a balance of him coming and going, coming when I would call him, and tending to stay around home rather than going really far away later in the evening. I would say for your cat’s sake, especially if she’s getting on in years, let her really enjoy them, but only if you really can feel comfortable doing so. I do believe there is an emotional bond between a cat and their owner and if you’re really nervous about it she may not be as cool headed (or perhaps that’s totally bs, but it really seemed that way to me.) My cat actually died, from what I still don’t know, and though it still hurts very intensely that he’s gone I’m very very glad to know that he had the life and death he would have chosen for himself.
I used to believe that our cats deserved to be safe and cared for indoors. I have since caved to the obvious and repeatedly expressed desire by one of my cats to be an indoor/outdoor cat. She is so much happier, and visibly healthier, that she has convinced me I have been a fool. Many cats have no desire to go outside, and that is fine, but some express a strong desire to do so (often when they never before did) and I believe we owe them their autonomy. So I microchip, give shots, keep on flea control, and pray. yes, she may get hurt…but it is her choice, and her life in the meantime is spent happily exploring, rolling in dirt, catching small things, in other words: being a cat. She is obviously healthier and happier for it than when I kept her yowling and discontented indoors after she let me know she was no longer content to be an indoor-only pampered pet. Everyone has to choose what they can live with, but I believe if you can stand to live with fear and freedom in the face of your nuetered cat’s desires, it is a better choice than safety and slavery. Dogs, now that’s another story, they are much more domesticated, their slavery is complete. Cats desire and, I think, deserve sovereignty.
I’ve heard from a number of vets that cats who have regular exposure to direct sunlight live longer, for whatever that is worth.
I, personally, wouldn’t feel comfortable letting a cat roam outside. However, I wonder how much of that is irrational fear versus a logical conclusion. Does anyone have any statistics on indoor/outdoor cats who are hit by cars or catnapped by the neighborhood psycho or just simply disappear? I wonder if like “stranger danger,” I’ve just heard really horrible stories about the fates of outdoor cats and wrongly assume that’s the norm, rather than the exception.
If you’re really worried about her desire to go outside, perhaps you could watch her? Or get her a leash? My grandmother even has a window cage for her cats so they can enjoy the fresh air and sunlight without fear of injury.
From my research, cats definitely do live longer when kept indoors, but they are more likely to be depressed and not get enough exercise. So it is a trade-off. Some opt to keep their cats inside at night, when more predators are out, and the cats are less visible to cars.
I am not sure that Coco was hit by a car (we found her in the backyard with no visible wounds) but my vet said it was most likely, and very common for animals to use their last adrenaline to come home. That particular week there was construction on Cesar Chavez that rerouted much more traffic to 2nd St. Even so, Coco was a fearless climber of neighbors’ roofs (and immediately held her own with Lulu I), so I think she was destined for an early demise.
Gigi passed away from an aggressive bacterial infection she got from a cat bite, which would have been prevented by keeping her inside. But she was so happy to be outside that I do not regret my decision.
The fact is that any of us could die by leaving the house, or by staying in the house for that matter. I think my current cats are better suited to survive on account of coming from a shelter rather than an indoor housecat’s litter.