Will a cat live longer when a outside or inside cat?

Question

will a cat longer if living inside or outside.

Answer 1

Indoor Cats Live Longer, Live Better
Your cat may tell you the great outdoors is lots of fun - grass to roll in, trees to climb. However, cats, like children, depend on us to recognize danger and protect them from harm.

In addition to grass and fresh air, the outdoors poses many risks to your pets. Lethal risks that can be completely avoided:

TRAFFIC: To listen to some people, a pet's "getting hit by a car" is just part of pet ownership. Your pet is not likely to agree....

POISON: Cat's don't usually resist the temptation of checking out neighbors' yards, the hoods of their cars, and their flower beds. Although it is illegal and inhumane, some people put out a poisonous substance to get rid of those pawprints on a car. Poison also may be put out for other animals, and pets are accidentally poisoned, such as by eating poisoned mice. A number of yard care products can also be poisonous, such as snail bait and some lawn sprays.

CRUELTY: Unfortunate, but true, there are more than enough people in this world who are intentionally cruel to animals.

INJURIES: If your pet goes outside, it risks injurious or deadly fights with other animals, and also exposure to those animals' diseases.

Bite wounds often abscess, resulting in a serious injury for your pet, and a veterinary bill for you.

DISEASE: Even if your pet is vaccinated, it runs the risk of serious diseases:

Leukemia The vaccine for feline leukemia, although valuable, provides about 80% - 85% protection, leaving your pet still at some risk of contracting leukemia, a deadly disease transmitted basically by saliva, from another cat.
FIV Feline Immunodeficiency Virus FIV is a disease that compromises the immune system of the cat. There is no vaccine for FIV, and there is no cure. FIV is generally transmitted between cats by biting. A blood test determines if the cat is FIV positive. Scientific evidence indicates FIV is not communicable to humans. A number of stray cats are FIV positive, and your cat runs a significant risk of FIV contact with these outdoor cats. For more information regarding FIV, contact your veterinarian.
No cat, no neighborhood, is immune from these dangers. Give your cat a long, safe, healthy life indoors!

Once in a while?
Letting your cat go outside once in a while can just reinforce your cat's interest in the outdoors. For many cats, the great outdoors is a bit like ice cream or any other treat. If you never have it, you won't miss it. It may not be a good idea to remind your cat of the outside and stir up the wish to go out.

Convincing your cat
Outdoor cats can be persuaded to become indoor cats. If your cat is a door darter, try keeping a spray bottle by the door to discourage these dashes to the outside. Your cat likes water? Instead of a spray bottle, try shaking a tin can with a few rocks in it. Makes a stop-in-your-tracks ruckus. Although at first your cat may be very distressed about his loss of freedom, give it time your cat will adjust, to their benefit.

Make Life Inside Fun
Toys, play time with you, a window to look out of (with secure screens!), scratching posts, and a few twigs of catnip from time to time more than compensate for the risks your cat faces outdoors.

Answer 2

Actually, 8 years is above the normal life span for an outdoor cat. Indoor cats can easily live 3-4 times longer than outdoor cats. The average for inside/outside cats is around 6 years and for outside only around 4 years. I have always had inside only cats and all have be well adjusted, spoiled rotten and lacking for nothing. Get your cat a cat tree and put it in front of a window. Cats love these. My cats spend hours on theirs.

Answer 3

A cat will live longer as a spayed/neutered inside cat. Inside cats do not have the risk of being attacked by wild animals, abusive people, cars, and have less of a risk of disease.

Answer 4

They say inside.. but my cat's were both in & out & one lived to be 18 (died last april.. :-( And the other is 16 & going strong.
Outside they can get hit by a car or risk danger with docs, and other outside animals like possums or racoons.

Answer 5

I say living inside helps them live longer.I have 2 indoor cats and they are 11 years old now.Inside cats don't have to worry about cars,other animals ect..

Answer 6

I think they would live longer if they live inside because it isn't as hazardous, like getting run over, or eaten by a coyote or shot by an irate neighbor. I think they are happier being outside but it just depends on the owner.

Answer 7

for the first few years of their lives with us our 3 cats had to be indoor cats because of where we lived

one of them became 'untrained' litter-tray wise as he really wasn't happy as an indoor cat

when we moved house we went somewhere quiet with a garden and the litter tray problems resolved themselves overnight!

all 3 of them muchly preferred having an outside to be able to go to so in the summer months we tend to leave the door open and they do protest in the autumn when we close the outside doors to keep the cold out!

one of our 3 passed away last year after a battle with cancer when he was nearly 13 (not a bad lifespan for a cat anyway) but we still have his litter-mate who is now a sprightly 14 and a slightly younger cat who is now 12.

My opinion has to be that cats are happier outside but it is best to try and find yourself a neighbourhood that doesn't have a fast road close to the house (cats can be taught to dislike vehicles in motion tho) and most cats do have a good sense as to who likes them and who doesn't and they tend to avoid the latter.

Answer 8

They have a better chance of living longer when they are indoor cats.

Answer 9

Please, I beg of you, make it an indoor cat. You don't want your cat roaming around getting killed by cars, other animals, or cat-hating people like me. It's especially annoying to have cats in someone else's property and also to be rubbing up against people who don't like to be rubbed against. I especially appreciate cat owners who keep their cats inside and supervise them when going outside.

Answer 10

My cat tore out the screen to be an outdoor cat, when he was a kitten. He became and indoor/outdoor cat and had loads of people he visited daily, wherever I lived. He was not neurotic like indoor cats I've known and people with allergies, including me, did not suffer, as airing out reduced allergens in house. He died at age 23, of extreme old age, but only seemed old in final months.