Converting Outdoor Cats to Indoor Cats

Today I was driving through the city I go to school in, and all of a sudden the car in front of me stopped short. What is this person doing, I thought to myself. And then I saw a light orange kitty running in the middle of traffic to the other side of the road. It was probably still under a year old judging by his or her size. My heart stopped for a second. I have never hit an animal while driving, or even seen an animal get hit. I wouldn't be able to stand it. My immediate reaction is always to slam on the brakes if an animal darts into the road.

This made me think how happy I am that my cat, Duncan, is an indoor cat. I especially hate seeing outdoor cats in a city, but there are dangerous things out there even for kitties in suburbia. One of our neighbors spotted a coyote walking down our quiet, suburban street recently. More and more people have spotted coyotes in residential areas, and many cats go missing all the time. My neighbors have had two of their cats never come home, so now their third cat is an indoor cat.

I think it's more difficult to convert an already outdoor cat into an indoor cat than it is to just keep your cat inside in the first place. Their cat, Flik, got used to going outside and knows all he is missing. He spent nine years running around outside and enjoying the fresh air. He's been an indoor cat for a few months now and seems depressed. But then again, there could be other factors contributing to why Flik doesn't seem as happy. My neighbor's brought home a one year old Siamese cat named Judah a few months ago, and Flik is not eager to share the attention with him. Also, Flik is getting older, so he's going to slow down whether or not he's an outdoor cat. In the long run, he's healthier staying inside.

On the other hand, my boyfriend's brother took in his neighbor's cat who was being neglected. Munkey was just under two years old when he started living with Ricky's family and up until that point had been an outdoor cat. Unlike Flik, Munkey has adjusted well. He seems to have no problem staying indoors. Maybe since he is younger and hadn't spent as much time outdoors as Flik, the change wasn't as traumatic for him.

Although I feel bad for Flik that he can't go outside carousing, it is ultimately better for them. We form such strong attachments to our animals, how could we stand to lose them in such a way? I don't know what I would do if Duncan was an outdoor cat and just never came home one day. They are safer indoors, but we need to make sure we play with them often so they work off their energy.


On another note, this cat's name is Cheezits. How cute! What are some of your favorite kitty names?

He is one and a half years old and currently available for adoption at the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, MA. For more information on Cheezits, you can click here.