The Indoor/Outdoor Debate: Should I keep my pets inside or let them roam free outside??
Here's the story. We have just moved house, and it's a LOT smaller than our old place.. up until now, we have kept our pets (two cats and one dog) as mostly indoor pets.
But now that our living quarters are a bit more.. cramped.. my wife is looking to transition the animals outside.. However, I'm a bit less receptive to this idea.. so I need your help.. which should it be...?
The argument goes as follows.. My wife, being a mother first and foremost, is worried about animal hair and smell around the kids, especially our amazing, incredible 4-month old. She believes the animals will be fine outside.. especially because we have a front gated area for parking cars/bikes, etc.
The neighborhood is quiet, and our neighbors all let their cats and dogs roam the street. There's even a forest right behind our house to explore. Besides, my ferociously superior feline has already escaped on multiple occasions and always seems for find his way safely home.. the transition will be flawless, right?
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By from my point of view though, we are opening up to a lot more problems than just a bit of unpleasant odor and scruffs of fur here and there.
Outside animals life expectancy drastically drops.. our cats and diminutive dog will be exposed to a whole host of dangers, including but not limited to, cars and bikes, aforementioned neighborhood cats and dogs that might not be so opened to newcomers on their territory, and also, mosquitoes, fleas, ticks and inclement weather.. i.e. flash floods..
Animal safety aside, the fact is if we put the pets outside, they will be bringing a lot more unwanted visitors in and around the house.. unspayed tom cats will spray everywhere once they catch scent of our female feline. The bugs are also an issue.. the wild cat already has ear mites, probably from some of his jungle excursions, and we've seen two ticks inside the house this week!
Finally, I'm worried that if we ever need to, or decide to revert to raising them as indoor pets again, it's going to be an epic struggle. Maybe not so much with the dog, but the cats dart for the door every time it's left ajar.. the outdoor environment is a much more stimulating place to be. It would take a lot of attention and effort on our part to match that stimulation indoors. Also, it might only be a matter of time before instinct takes over and our furry feline companions decide to make a permanent switch on their own..
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Tough one. My cat stays indoors, mostly. However, she has freedom to roam the garden or go wherever she pleases, she doesn’t roam though. My cats have always had freedom. That being said, I’ve lost a pet to a car, there’s been ear mites and one cat never came home. All of that in mind, I still would let my kitty outside if she wanted to, it doesn’t feel right keeping her cooped up.
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That must have been tragic, losing a pet like that.. I've lost a couple to heavy rainstorms.. which is one of the reasons why I'm a bit hesitant to let them out for too long.. Ear mites and fleas are a pain to get rid of and can spread to the other animals.. But you are right.. they need to roam and explore, it's difficult to keep them caged in all the time.. might have to start taking them out on a leash or something 😹😹😹
I think I may have found a solution though.. 🙂
cute 😻
You can't really keep cats outside in Southern California. Coyotes will get them sooner or later.
yeah, I heard about that. We don't have coyotes here, but Thai dogs are wolf-like and run the streets in packs.. there are also snakes and monitor lizards to worry about in the forest and elsewhere.. I'm working on a solution..