Outdoor Cats Indoor Pets
Keeping Cats Happy Inside
Robert J Holmes
BVM&S PhD MRCVS FACVSc
Animal Behaviour Clinics
35 Sunnyside Avenue, Camberwell Vc 3124
Tel: (03) 9882 6789
Fax: (03) 9882 6205
Mbl: 0419 384 922
email: rholmes@bigpond.net.au
Cats can be happily kept inside all the time. Many People do so and would have it no other way. They say they have deeper and more satisfying relationships with their cats, and the cats are healthier and live longer. Whilst living happily inside, cats are not getting hit by cars, injured in cat fights, exposed to disease such as Feline Leukaemia and Feline AIDS, being stolen, hunting and possibly killing wildlife, urinating and defecating on neighbour's properties, nor harassing or being harassed by other animals. Clearly there are many good reasons for permanently keeping cats indoors.
In’t it Cruel?
However, many people feel that it is cruel to confine cats because they think of them as 'free spirits' that should be allowed to roam because of their nature. But the possible consequences are listed above. So how can we resolve this dilemma?
We can do so by enriching the daily life of the indoor cat to replace some of the stimulation and activity it would otherwise receive as a free-roaming animal. The environmental enrichment puts complexity, unpredictability and choices into a cat's daily life. Without these things many animals and people become frustrated in confinement and show signs of boredom – greater reactivity, irritability and exaggerated or unusual behaviour.
How is it done?
Environmental enrichment aims to satisfy a cat's need for interaction with its environment. This can be done in many ways, some of which suit some cats better than others. Cats are notoriously individualistic. Some activities involve the owner in active participation, whilst others just have to be set up and left for the cat to use when it wishes. By doing more for their cats, owners also enrich their own lives. These suggestions are for normal healthy cats and you should discuss them with your veterinarian to make sure they are appropriate for your cat.
Chasing and Jumping
Small fast moving objects cause the innate chase response in kittens. Most mature cats will continue to show it, particularly when they have practised all their lives.
This can be done with small balls, such as practice golf balls that are hollow and have holes in the surface, or items such as scrunched up newspaper pulled quickly and erratically on the end of a string. You can get objects attached to the ends of poles so they can be cast and moved over a bigger area without the cat seeing you do it. Furry, feathery or flapping things are particularly attractive to cats. Patches of bright light, such as reflection from a watch face or mirror, often get cats chasing. A handheld laser pointer that gives a brilliant red light under any household conditions is a very convenient way of exercising cats. Some, particularly younger cats, will jump and strike at soap bubbles. Quite a few owners admit to playing and really enjoying hide-and-seek with their cats.
Feeding
We can make feeding more natural by getting them to search for food and by providing it in a form that needs chewing. If you feed dried food you could put it in small clumps around the house so the cat has to search them out. The food in the bowl can be made harder to eat – whole raw chicken wings (skin removed), corn cobs and a cube of tough meat exercise the teeth and clean the mouth as well as prolonging dinnertime. Cats like a change to their diet – as long as it is highly palatable! They have been known to eat things such as bread, pasta, raw vegetables, curry, mangoes and tomatoes. It is amazing what they will eat when it comes from them hand of someone they like. You can take advantage of this to do some training.
Obedience Work
It might sound a bit radical but cats can be obedience trained with the same principles of positive reinforcement as dogs. Why do you think they suddenly appear when the refrigerator door is opened? That is not innate behaviour, it has been learnt. It's amazing what will be learnt when you are hungry and your behaviour results in food being given. Cats can easily be taught to come, sit, stay, lie down and retrieve. Reward the desired behaviour immediately it occurs. Break down the learning task into small steps and start at the beginning. Train with very small pieces of the most palatable food. In this way your cat will just get a taste and not a full stomach which will satisfy its hunger. Once you have taught several commands, they can be randomised in order and times of day that they are given. Such a training session, particularly when working on a new command, will add complexity, unpredictability and choice to your cat's daily life.
Watch An Interesting Scene
Given the choice, cats will vote with their feet and show us that they like to watch a changing scene. They will choose to sit or lie for long periods in safe places where they can watch the world go by, whether it is street activity, people or animals. With a little bit of thought we can usually provide that safe and interesting area.
High Level Walkways
One way cats can get to a vantage point is by jumping or climbing. You can make this easier and encourage them to use the height of the rooms by providing walkways between high points. Shelves can be strategically placed on walls or narrow pieces of timber placed between beams.
Indoor Tree
A convenient way for cats to get access to high points is up a tall scratching post that they will climb as though it is a tree. If the cat cannot climb, for instance if it has moderate arthritis, then a series of shelves cut into post will allow the cat to climb from shelf to shelf.
Get-away Areas
Given the chance, many cats will lie for long periods insmall high places from where they can watch the activity below and presumably feel secure. It is a good idea to provide access to such areas for anxious cats and where there is more than one cat in the house. This can easily be done by closing the lid of a cardboard box of suitable size (about 14"x12"x10" for the average cat). Turn it upside down and cut a hole in the middle of one end just big enough for the cat to get in and out. Put in an unwashed garment, such as an old sweatshirt of a favourite person, and place it in the highest accessible place in the house. Experiment with several in different places. The walkways, ‘trees’ and tall scratching posts can give access to these places.
Scratching Posts
Cats can be trained to use a scratching post and not to use other surfaces for their stretching and scratching exercises. Cut pile carpet is an attractive surface through which they can drag their claws. However, a material that can be torn out is preferred. This may be a loosely woven material or a soft wood composition board. The scratchable surface could be firmly attached to a post at least 1 metre high that is firmly held in position, usually by a heavier base. The forefeet of kittens can be gently placed up the post and drawn down it. You can also demonstrate the use of the post to the kitten by dragging your own nails down the post, as kittens do learn by observation also. By rewarding the kitten with praise and stroking whilst it is scratching, and by food when it has finished, it usually quickly learns to exclusively use an attractive post. Shouting at or spraying a cat with a water pistol is likely to reduce scratching when you are present. However, scratching may well still be done in your absence. This can be diverted by putting the scratching post in front of the scratched surface, which has additionally been protected by a non-scratchable cover such as wood, steel or thick plastic, or try bubble wrapping it. Reward the cat, in the same way as for the kitten, for using the post. When it is using the post consistently, move it (less than one foot per day) towards an acceptable position. As cats tend to stretch and scratch after a rest, the post is best placed near the cat’s sleeping area. You may find it helps to have a scratch post in each room. Once the cat is using the post in the new position, the protection over the scratched area can be removed. If the cat returns to that area, it means that its surface is more attractive than the post. You then need to make the post more attractive (catnip) and the other surface less attractive (there are some repellent sprays, and also ‘paddle’ mousetraps which go off without damaging the cat when they touch the surface).
Regular nail-trimming (fortnightly) reduces the effects of scratching, or attaching soft plastic tips over the end of the nails (‘Soft Paws’) helps reduce damage. There are different attitudes to de-clawing. Currently, removal of claws is not acceptable unless the only other option is euthanasia.
Paper Bags and Boxes
They say that ‘Curiosity killed the cat’ and watching cats check out newly arrived containers shows how keen they are to investigate. Allowing them access to these new shapes and smells will add novelty to their lives.
Entertainment Box (busy-kitty or cat-track)
Taking advantage of their well-known tendency to investigate things with their paws, we can put small objects or balls inside a box in which there are holes where the cat can put its paws through to play, but which are hard to actually remove the objects through.
Cat Nip, Cat Mint and Cat Grasses
These plants can be successfully grown indoors in pots from seeds or small plants that are commercially available. Many cats will visit a catnip plant each day to sniff, rub, grasp. roll and kick alongside it. This seems to be play and can be shown by both sexes of reproductive age, whether or not they have been desexed. Cat mint and cat grasses (basically budgie seed mixes planted in a suitable box and watered) are more likely to be chewed than other plants in the house, and provide fresh vegetation to eat, as they would do outside.
Trips Outside
Most cats enjoy a trip outside whether it is on a lead and harness, in their owner's arms, or (some cats!) in the car.They can be trained to walk on a lead by reinforcing the walking forward with tiny pieces of favourite food. The differing sights smells and sounds add to daily variation and stimulation.
Outdoor Enclosures
Various structures can be used to allow cats out into fresh air while restricting their access to certain areas. Wire netting can be used to enclose an area alongside a house, just like a bird aviary. Enclosures of different sizes can be used in different sites with tunnels between them and the house. A modular system (‘Cat Module Parks’) allows configuration to suit and expansion for a wide range of circumstances.
Companion Cat
For cats that are left on their own for long periods each day, it is a good idea to provide a feline companion. Sociable interaction will enrich their daily lives. The younger they are introduced, the greater the chances of their getting on amicably most of the time (after about two years old, acceptance is a bit random, but they rarely totally reject another cat long-term). There may be fights and chases that are not playful but seem to be a part of normal living. Getting litter mates gives you the best chances of a pair getting on. Where other cats are introduced it is preferable to do so with kittens. The ‘curiosity factor’ can be used to advantage by locking the newcomer in a room to themselves with litter tray and food bowl, for two days before introducing the resident cat to them, especially if the resident is older than about six months.
This gives the new cat a place to hide, plus some of its smell will be on you and in the room, giving it confidence. The resident cat will also have become a bit used to the newcomer's smell as well. Urine-spraying and fighting are less likely when all the cats are desexed female as compared to having one or more desexed males in the house. Bringing older cats together, particularly where one has been resident for some time, may lead to hissing and fighting, defecation and urination outside the litter tray, urine spraying and one or more cats becoming reclusive.
Tolerance can increase with time and by using such methods as: feeding them progressively closer together, rubbing them alternately with the same unwashed towel to transfer their smells between each other, and with antidepressant or other drugs (in the short term). Having more than three cats in the same household greatly increases the chances of behaviour problems.
What Are The Problems of Indoor Living
Clearly problems can occur with keeping cats confined all the time. Cats that are suddenly confined to their home may pace and vocalise at the time and place they usually get out. This is the time when they would benefit from chasing play. Scratching furniture and intolerance between cats has been discussed. Jumping or walking on surfaces can be prevented by strategic placement of ‘paddle’ mouse traps, double-sided sticky tape or a low voltage mat that gives the cat a mild buzzing shock when they land on it. Litter tray problems and aggression to people and other animals is a manifestation of frustration and boredom, which can be treated, usually just by implementing these environmental enrichment principles.
Conclusion
Keeping cats permanently indoors requires more effort on your part. However, the more you do for your cat, the more the cat will reward you. Many clients have told me that this program is lots of fun – and their cats like it too!