We just got two rescue cats after not having had feline companions for a couple of years. Our previous pair went outside every day of their lives once they were old enough, and they lived to be sixteen and eighteen. We figured we'd probably do the same with these, as, quite frankly, the thought of a lifetime spent indoors seems incredibly depressing to me.
I really like it when a neighbourhood street has cats going here and there, exploring and saying hello, doing their thing. It just feels right to me. Alive, vital, homey. Sure, they get territorial. With our previous cats I would hear growling and screeching at least once a week, and I would have to run out and end the standoff between our male and our neighbour's male two doors down. The house in between was no-man's land. It was just a part of the rhythm of life. We all shrugged and laughed about it.
But now we've been receiving unsolicited advice about keeping our new cats indoors. The women at the rescue we got them from, our vet, a couple of neighbours who keep indoor cats, my mother...actually, they're all women, and they have all taken great pains to describe in great detail the terrible things that could happen if we let our cats out.
My wife is starting to become convinced. Me, I'm still on the side of letting them run free. My feeling is that when it comes to cats, a potentially shorter and riskier but fuller life spent exploring the great outdoors is a far better option than a longer, sedentary life sleeping on the couch all the time.
It's getting warmer out. An open window is like a magnet to them. We're fully aware that there's no going back once you let them out, as they will beg and whine and cry nonstop if you don't let them out after they've got the taste for it. So we need to make a decision.
What sayeth SSP cat lovers?