I can't believe I just lurked in this subreddit just to know what other cat people's take on Indoor vs Indoor/Outdoor cat? And I'm quite surprised that people do take this debate personally lol! I'm starting this post because I do believe that we are all adults here and Hive is a safe and healthy space for cat arguments.
Do you guys remember my cat Feliz back in the day? He was an indoor/outdoor cat, meaning, he can go out and come back to his comfortable home whenever he feels like it. He's a male predator, so you know, he needs to go out there and follow his hunting instincts. But of course I made sure he's neutered and all. I've always been a "set the damn cat free" believer. If he comes back, then he really IS my pet. And if he doesn't, then either he found another loving home with better and tastier treats or he's dead. Yup, sad reality I know. But prior to giving him this lifestyle, I've already accepted that anything could happen anytime. I mean my Gawd, it could happen to people we love what more to our pets? We set our children free especially when they are older so they can live their own lives and also because it is illegal to possess and contain them right? We treat our pets like our kids and yet we couldn't empathize with them or treat them just the same.
I need to accept the risks of my pet's indoor/outdoor lifestyle so if something happens, no matter how much I love him, I should be able to grieve just the same and let him go. Because this is just the reality of life. Even healthy people die, and cats too. There's nothing much we can do about this.
The argument was that, cats can get diseases, kill wildlife and be treated like shit by nasty neighbors. Sometimes I think it's an American or Western thing to possess, not discipline, and overly pamper their cats. So they grow up obese, spoiled, and not knowing anything else in the outside world. The real world. They won't be ready for pain and the harsh realities of a feral life.
I mean unless you really have a nasty neighborhood with lots of cars and bad people, then I guess it is okay to give your cats a sense of freedom. Let them deal with stuff so they don't grow up like spoiled brats. Let them learn how to survive and protect themselves too (like what if you die?). Let cats be cats.
Some people think cats are not smart and can't think for themselves. Cats CAN and do protect themselves - this is just a natural animal instinct. Diablo's scared of other people and cats. He doesn't trust them. He runs away if there's a threat and he comes back to me whenever I call him. He's that smart and trained.
Yeah sure, indoor cats would have a better chance of living a longer life indoors but at what cost? I think this is just purely the owners' selfish reasons. I myself can't imagine not being able to go out and travel (unvaxxed) lol. I can't imagine someone possessing me, controlling me, and making me fatter and fatter. I'd rather live a meaningful and active life - a life full of adventures out there. And die happy.
The sad thing about Feliz was that he died indoors. The threat of the outdoors (poisonous snakes) got into my place. Snakes can get in our place and in human form too! Threats are everywhere. I could die any minute and my cat too. What we can do is just to enjoy our time with our pets and love them while we still can.
I want to protect and love Diablo and not lose him so early. So for the first time, I tried to just have an indoor cat. I trained him to just live his life indoors. He has toys and everything. Then guess what? It's not working. Because he is just like me. He needs to be free. The thing is I do have a tiny apartment but with a huge gated garden. Diablo will bother me and annoy me nonstop while I work because he's aware that there are far more interesting things outside. He's a cat from hell when he can't get his adrenaline rush. And to be completely honest, he has been bringing out the worst in me. He's actually getting on my nerves lately and I am becoming the worst cat mom ever. I figured that we both need to compromise this time. We both need our space. So I have to set him free, let him go out and come back whenever he wants, and we will both be happier and in better mood.
Having an indoor cat will never work for me. I think even the cat knows my philosophy in life. It's just hypocritical to impose insane rules on him when I myself don't want to be contained and overly controlled. I love Diablo and I am happier that he is happier now with his new indoor/outdoor lifestyle. Because anyway, he still come backs to sleep comfortably, and eat well, of course! That's just what cats do. After all our crazy adventures out there, we still need a loving place called home.
