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Thread: Indoor Cats in Apartments

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    Member fashion_freak's Avatar
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    Default Indoor Cats in Apartments

    Hi, I would just like some advice, or stories from other people who keep their cat indoors in a small apartment. I live in a 2 bedroom top floor apartment with a housemate and my cat who stays inside all the time. We don't have a balcony and I can't let her out to roam the streets when I'm not there (I don't think cats should be allowed to roam for their own safety). My housemate says I am being really cruel by keeping her inside.. I play ball games with her every night when I get home,and give her lots of cuddles and attention. I do feel guilty that she is bored because she can't go out.. I have a pot of cat grass for her to eat so she is getting the proper nutrients.

    I'm thinking of getting a cat harness to take her for walks outside (though she would probably not let me put it on her)..

    What does everyone else do to keep their kitties happy and entertained?

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    God/dess Lysondra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    You kidding? Letting a cat out near roads is much crueler than keeping them in!

    My babies are happy and healthy inside and are entertained by cat dvds (when I'm gone), loooots of toys, moving things, paper bags, carboard boxes...


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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    I used to know of a vet that had all of the things that you kept your indoor cat from like Feline Leukemia. It was a very long list so do not feel bad about it. Make sure that there is a window that she can get sun in and can look out and make sure that there is some place that she can climb up and be high. Other then that they get used to it and it does not seem to hurt them. I know of one cat that was so fat that you could not believe it and lived its entire life just short of 20 years in a very small florist shop. Used to see him in the window all of the time. You are taking good care of them do not worry about it they well be great
    O and to had to it 2 of the sweetest cats you have ever seen have disappeared in the last month form other people taking them 2 blocks away form where I live. There seem to be a lot of people that feel that a cat outside even if it has a collar and tags on can be taken of they like them. Keep them inside, where they are yours and safe
    D

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    Member fashion_freak's Avatar
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    No I agree, I would never let her out alone that'swhy I was thinking of getting the harness.
    Lysondra where do you get the cat dvds from? What is on them?

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    God/dess Lysondra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.a...487&pf_id=6538

    I have this one. It's a 'hunting' dvd with mice and bugs the cats can chase. Other ones have other things. There's many types.


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    God/dess MrChristopher's Avatar
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    Keeping the kitty inside is fine. I have a friend who lives in an apartment building downtown and she has something like this :

    http://www.thefelinesolarium.com/

    Her cat adores it. Pretty nifty idea, too.
    waffles are just pancakes with little squares on them.

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    Veteran Member italianbeauty's Avatar
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    I have a cat harness. It was a bit difficult to get onto my boy at first because he is so squirmy... but now that he knows I take him outside on it, he allows me to put it on him. I take him out a couple times a week when its nice out. It gets me some relaxation time and gets my cat some sun and exercise! I got mine really cheap from Petsmart.

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    God/dess Polekitten's Avatar
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    I now how you feel, I keep my cats as house cats. There are too many roads and other cats around here and if something happened to them I'd never get over it. Sometimes I feel guilty when I see them sniffing under the back door at the outside smells but I know its for they're own good. Honestly they seem fine, they've never been outside so they don't miss it at all. Strangely enough they don't really play with toys I give them, they'd rather play with random things like a newspaper or a ribbon. They have each other to play with tho and they seem content enough. The harness idea is a good one but it takes alot of patience and training. Very few cats like having a harness on and will just lie on the floor till its removed. You can train them to like it but it could be a long long journey.



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    Featured Member iseestars's Avatar
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    My roommate's cats are strictly indoor cats. They never even want to go outside, and are perfectly content inside the house. They seem pretty good at amusing themselves so they aren't bored.

  10. #10
    ajbaer
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    All my cats were strictly indoors growing up, and around here if you want to adopt you have to sign a promise that you will not allow your cat outdoors unless leashed. In fact it's a law in many of the US states that all cats must be leashed.
    Leaving them indoors is FINE....urban outdoor life and speedy cars IS not OK for the kitties. Christ in some areas the rats are larger than the cats around here (more DC than where I live).
    Find ways to entertain them indoors. Lysondra pointed out some great vids. If you have two, and they get along a lot of times that's enough for their stimulation.
    Don't listen to your roomate..she must be on kitty crack.

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    Featured Member R-209's Avatar
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    I strongly agree with what everyone else has said- a cat is much safer being indoors. Only one of my cats seems to miss being outside; she's an adopted stray who loved to hunt and leave dead things by the door. She became a permanent inside cat when another stray tested positive for feline Leukemia and feline AIDS.

    A cat, unlike a dog, usually doesn't mind solitude. But you could always get another cat!

  12. #12
    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    Cats are solitary and very territorial. Indoor cats are happy to establish their territory within the apartment and stay there. They don't need huge amounts of interaction like dogs do, and they're most comfortable when they can stay within their established territory. So you're fine. I think dragging your cat outside on a leash would be a lot more hassle than it's worth, for you AND for the cat.

  13. #13
    AudreyLeigh
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    Both my cats are indoor cats. At my last apartment wed let Nikki on the porch to lay in the sun everyday but the new place we cant do that because she could get off the porch too easily. She seems perfectly content inside. The baby seems fine too. They do like to sit in the windows an sniff the outside but they never try to get outside when the door is open...

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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    I used to take mine out on the leash and at first it was HILARIOUS!!!! She'd twist and fight with it or just sit in protest. GOD, was it funny!!!! She'd stage a spontaneous sit-in on the sidewalk! God bless her anarchist's heart!!! Then the second and third time she seemed to like it as long as I walked between her and the traffic. I stopped after a few months but she didn't seem bitter either way.
    “What a caterpillar calls the end of the world we call a butterfly.” - ECKHART TOLLE

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    Senior Member ShadyRed72's Avatar
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    My kittyman is 15 years old now and lived with me in apartments for about 7 of those. He's never been any further than the porch and that scared the crap out of him.LOL He has a special window seat in our home where he can watch the squirrels and birds. We have various cat toys such as balls and stringy things and OMG he loves a laser pointer. It makes me sad when I see cats running loose in my neighborhood cause I know eventually I'll see them run over. He is perfectly happy in his climate controlled,everything is a bed, home.

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    God/dess Polekitten's Avatar
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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    My cat Betty escaped into the back garden once. She ran outside and it was snowing so she just ran back inside again. I think the cold put her off for life, shes never tried to venture out again!



    "I don't take a piss without getting paid for it." - Harlan Ellison

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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    My cat is a year old and he's always been an apartment cat, in fact, for the first six months of his life he was a dorm-room cat! He's never had any problems at all; I think its definitely worse to risk your baby getting run over and attacked by something bigger while out.

    I bought mine a harness but the second he realized he was being "led" he would always lie down and refused to be move. He would rather be dragged, so I ended up carrying him and the leash became pointless. Some people's cat's love being taken for walks though, so you could definitely try it! Or maybe you could take him out in the car if you wanted to give him a change of scenery?


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    Default Re: Indoor Cats in Apartments

    Quote Originally Posted by Yekhefah View Post
    Cats are solitary and very territorial.... They don't need huge amounts of interaction like dogs do, and they're most comfortable when they can stay within their established territory.
    I agree they're territorial, but they are social beings who cannot be left alone or without interaction for long. They get lonely and bored.

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