Is it cruel to keep cats indoors?

Question

Just wondering if there's any harm in my kitten being and indoor cat. I live near a busy road and there are lots of big dogs around where I live, plus I want to limit her chances of catching fleas and things. Is it cruel, keeping her in?

She has a few fleas left from her old home. She's 11 weeks old, is there a treatment aside from powder thats safe for her? Do frontline do a kitten version?

I also need to know please what injections she needs and if she needs to be wormed.

Thanks very much.

Answer 1

No its not cruel. I had two cats when I worked and lived in a pub in a town centre and they were always inside. I made sure that they got plenty of excercise by having at least an hour of vigourous playing with them in the morning and again in the afternoon. Get them toys on strings, coz that will keep their natural instincts of catching and pouncing...and its really funny to watch.

If it was a cat and it had always been allowed outside then you suddenly stopped it from going outside and kept it inside, I would think that is cruel, but from a young age, they don't know any different, so don't worry about it.

I would make sure your kitten gets a check up at the vet. make sure it is okay, they will be able to advise you on worming tablets, flea treatment, etc. It is a good idea to give them regular check ups. I would also get your kitty chipped, coz if it does happen to slip outsdie, it might get lost. Having it chipped significantly increases the chances of it coming back to you.

Good luck!!!

Answer 2

My cats are both indoor cats. So long as you provide some good toys and a cat scratch post (preferably a gym type one) and play with your cat to ensure it gets enough exercis ethen it should be happy enough. Cats get lonely so another kitten to keep it company would be a good idea if you are out at work each day.

Your vet will give you advice on fleas, there are some treatments that can be used on kittens. Remember to treat your house too so that the fleas do not come back.

If your cat will not come into contact with other cats then she needs only one injection rather than the more usual two (if she will be going into a cattery when you are on holiday then needs both) but your vet will advise. She should have her first injections now and the follow up in 6 weeks time, then it is every year.

You can get a liquid wormer for kittens and pregnant cats which can be added to their food. This is a good easy way to worm a kitten. Even if your cat does not go out she should be wormed regularly, every six weeks.

If you do decide to make her a house cat, I would suggest you try a food specifically formulated for indoor cats. I use Royal Canin and my cats both really enjoy it.

Answer 3

No harm whatsoever in keeping your kitten/cat indoors. Far more dangers outside anyway. Less chance of her catching fleas (with not going outside) but as any of the fleas she does have at the moment would probably have already produced, then you do need to treat your home to erradicate them completely at the same time as treating your kitten. If not, after having the flea treatment (last 4-5 weeks) the offspring fleas will just land on her and the cycle starts again!

Injections are a must, make an appointment with a vet pronto. Not as many jabs required if your cat will be staying indoors all the time though. The vet gave me a sachet of powder to sprinkle on my kitten's food (1/3rd) for 3 days for de-worming (she had already been treated for this by the owners) a few weeks beforehand. A pipette of Frontline (best treatment of all), was given for me to administer in two places at the back of her head/neck - this was first treated when she was 9 weeks old.

If at any time you have to put your kitten/cat in a cattery or even someone else looks after it for you and they have pets, then there will be a possiblity of her catching fleas again, even if you have completely cleared them from your home.

Although most on here that mention Frontline say you can only purchase it at your vet's practice, you can in fact buy it over the internet from a veterinary practice, usually for half the cost - as it is expensive but definitely worth it for peace of mind. Vet.uk was the cheapest, no p+p delivered within 2 days.

My kitten is now 4 1/2 months old, will not be going out (flat) and is as happy as larry!!

Good luck xxx

Answer 4

You can keep a cat indoors if that is all they are used to, they will adapt and use a litter tray and keep clean. There is a frontline spray you can use on kittens, try a Google search and see the products you can buy. If she has fleas then they will infect your home and become more difficult to get rid of. Also she will need to be wormed depending on what the original owners did. But again the products are available on line. Contact your local vet they will tell you exactly what she requires in the way of injections,wormers and flea sprays, the receptionist will give you the info free on the telephone. Then you can decide what route to take, even though she is not outside it is still best to have these done.
It is not cruel to keep her in but cats do love to be outside and it is more natural for them so if your circumstances change with a little help she would enjoy the outside adventure. Enjoy her

Answer 5

hiya,
my cat molly is an 'indoor cat' ..she has been for the past 2 and a half years and ive never had no problems with her sometimes shell go out in the garden but shell always want to come back in..some cats just prefer it i suppose and she still gets fleas funny enough, some cats do whether they are in all the time or not. I reguarly worm her about every 3-4mths cats do need to be wormed on a regualr basis I also 'deflea' her every month or so with flea drops which you just put on the back of her neck under her collar and bruch her through wth a flea comb without all the power and stuff. If your cat is going to be an indoor cat then there isnt really any need for her/him to have injections but some people prefer this just incase they manage to get out and catch something and fall ill. Also cats need eardrops every 3-4mths too!

hope this helps you

Xx

Answer 6

Hun, my cat is 7 yrs old and if I put her out she scratches to come back in. It's not cruel some cats are house cats some are wanderers. Frontline do a kitten version and once you've used it make sure you get a flea collar. Just dont let the cat get into contact with the frontline stuff tho, my cat managed to lick some off her back and she was acting as tho she was drunk. It makes them salavate really bad.
Phone your vet and they will tell you what jabs she needs.
I let my cat have what I thought was gonna be a litter of kittens b4 I had her done but she ended up having only 1 kitten. Hope she's the same.

Answer 7

No, it's not cruel to keep her indoors, especially as you live in a busy neighbourhood. In your case, it would probably be more cruel to let her be an outdoor cat, considering the shortened lifespan, injuries, diseases and many other things that could be caught there.

There are small harnesses and leashes to get for cats (collars are less good with cats than with dogs, since cats tend to figure out quite soon how to get out of collars) so you can take her for walks.

It's interesting how many people seem to consider it cruel to keep cats as indoor cats, but how I've never heard anyone trying to buy a dobermann to have as an outdoor dog ^^;; Why would it be any more cruel to keep a cat indoors than it would be to keep a dog indoors? Just make sure she gets enough excercise and stimulation by playing with her, and take her for walks now and then.

She shouldn't have any problems finding her toilet either if you just make sure to teach her where it is, and make sure she uses it. Cut her claws every week or so (there are special scissors you can buy for that, and small ones are usually better for small cats), and make sure you only cut where it's white/seethrough so you don't hurt her. Also get a scratching post if you don't have one already so you can teach her where it's okay to scratch.

I don't know too much about what medical treatment she might still need, all I know is that kittens tend to have their second bout of shots around 12 weeks. Others have already answered that though ^_^

Answer 8

Yes frontline and many other brands do kitten drops for fleas - you put them againsed the skin at the base of the neck. I currently have 2 cats - 1 is 6 the other a year and a half and they are both indoor cats HOWEVER we have a rope at the back door it is about 10 feet long and they occasionally go out on that just so they can go outside. They seem content staying inside. Our older one does try and run away soemtimes but he goes to the end of the driveway and comes back and the little one has no real interest at all except in the summer when she goes outside to lay in the sun. I hope that this helps you

Answer 9

No its not cruel.

I live in a flat in a busy high street and my cats have always been very happy to stay indoors. They would be more at risk if they went out. Just make sure you play with her, chase her up and down the stairs occasionally to give her some exercise!

I think Frontline do do a Kitten version - Frontline is very, very good. You can get it at your vet.

While you are at the vet ask about injections etc, although mine never had them all the while they were kept inside. You can buy worm tablets at the petshop.

Good Luck x

Answer 10

It is more safe to keep cats indoors for many reasons including, getting hit by car, killed by a dog, mixing with other outdoor cats and catching something bad that could kill your cat. Please call your vet. and ask what shots it needs, and if it has not been fixed yet , you will need to also take care of doing that, so there are no more stray cats running around.
The vet. can also give you help in some of these questions you have.
I used to work for a humane society, and I got so tired of seeing people drop off their cats and kittens because they did not know how to care for them.
Please have your cat fixed!
It is never cruel to keep a cat inside.
If you start letting her outside she will cry to go out. So don't let her out, she won't be eager to go out if you always keep her in. Wild cats do not live as long out doors as indoors, because there are just too many things that can harm them out doors.
If you sprinkle Mule Team Detergent all over your home or all over the carpet and sweep it good into the carpet, it will get rid of all the fleas. It will not hurt your carpet and you can even sprinkel it on lawns and potted plants in home.
Wait a few days before you vacume, so that the fleas will be dehidrated and leave. Get rid of the vacume bag after you are done. Don't store the vacume in house with the bag you used to vacume, because the fleas could get out and infest your home again and jump back onto cat.
Your cat needs a mild cat shampoo that kills fleas. Start while she is a baby ,so she will get used to the water.
If you feel you can not do it, then pay the vet to do it or take her to a place like pet-co or pet smart and pay them give her a flea bath.
Your Vet may also do flea baths.
Hope this helps!

Answer 11

I got my kitten at 9 weeks. A couple of days before I fetched her, I went over to her mom's owner and I powdered her with some Bayopet anti-flea powder but all it did was make me sneeze a lot! She was just as flearidden afterwards!

When I came to take her home, we went to the vet for shots (it was a single vaccination for three common feline illnesses), defleaing and deworming. The vet said she was too young for the Frontline pipette (the liquid they put between their shoulder blades) so she sprayed the kitten with some Frontline anti-flea solution and rubbed it into her fur. The fleas started jumping off right away and by the next day she was completely flea free! I was quite surprised by how well it worked.

Of course we still have to treat the house (flea eggs are very resilient) and the vet told us that when we come back to get Izzy her booster shots, she'll deflea her with the Frontline spot-on / pipette thing because she will be over 12 weeks by then.

Also, the vet recommended that we get her Leukemia shots and also Rabies shots (even though we dont really have rabies in South Africa).