After my pet had a long, drawn-out battle with cancer, I realized that I needed to do a better job with understanding my pet's needs. I wanted to be there for them no matter what, so I started focusing on my other animals. They needed more love, attention, and medical care, so I focused on those things. I started taking them in for regular checkups and working on their physical appearance. I was able to spot a few other potentially catastrophic health conditions with my animals because of my actions. This blog is all about understanding your pet's needs.
Understanding Your Pet's Needs
Letting Your Indoor Cat Roam Free Outside - Is It a Good Idea or Not?
Gisele Pereira
If it pulls at your heartstrings every time you see your cat looking outside longingly while pawing at the glass, know that you are not alone. Although cats have been domesticated over the years, their natural inclination is to go outdoors and explore. Before you give in and let your cat go outside, here are some important questions and concerns you need to consider closely.
Outdoor Dangers
Letting a cat go outside, even for a short time, can be the start of a domino effect. First and foremost, if your cat runs free, know that your beloved pet may not ever return. Whether your cat simply chooses not to come home, is picked up by animal control, becomes seriously injured or is simply adopted by another well-meaning family, chances are that you'll never know your pet's fate.
Domesticated cats are largely unfamiliar with the outside world. Opening the door and giving your cat carte blanche to run amok may make you feel like you are doing a good deed, but you would actually be doing a huge disservice to your pet. Even if your cat has all of its vaccinations, the danger of disease and injury is quite real, especially when released in an uncontrolled environment.
Cat Owner's Liabilities
A lot of indoor cats express an interest in the outside world when they go into heat, or come in indirect contact with another cat that is ready to mate. If your cat were to sire a litter of kittens or become pregnant, you may end up in a dispute with another cat owner over ownership rights and veterinarian costs.
Cats that roam free outside also frequently get into trash cans and other places they are not wanted. Some private communities have restrictions on pets, and, if your cat were to create a nuisance, you may be held liable for damages.
Compromise
Your house cat may always loom by the entrance of your home in an effort to go outside, so you might want to work out a compromise of some kind. Allowing your cat to explore a fenced-in backyard is not a bad idea, but only if you are always present and have taken care to ensure that the yard is well secured. Other pet owners have trained their cats to walk on leashes, while others have gone as far as to invest in cat strollers.
If you want to do what's best for your cat, you will make responsible decisions and never expose your pet to unnecessary danger. It may take a lot of willpower to ignore your cat's longing cries to go outside and roam freely, but keeping your cat indoors is usually the safest choice.
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