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We hate to break it to you but while your cat may like you, he likes your property – or his territory – more. And you should hope that he likes it, for a cat’s primary attachment is not to a person but to a place, and if they don’t feel secure in that space or feel unable to maintain a measure of stability, they may very well seek out an alternative arrangement, perhaps with that neighbour who owns that lovely corner property up the the road.
To put it another way, if vows had to be exchanged upon taking ownership of a pet, a dog would accept ‘for better or worse’; a cat would insist that it be ‘for the better’!
So how can we make good on our ownership vows to ensure that kitty continues to stick around? Before we contemplate what kitty considers to be the gold standard, we should first look at what we are able to provide and what we will be defining as ‘his or her territory’ to our cat.
Being the property owner gives you much greater leeway for getting a pet, unless you live in an apartment block or other community dwelling, such as a retirement village, that may have pet restrictions. If you do, or if you foresee yourself moving to such a dwelling within the lifespan of your pet, then it would be worth checking to see what pet policies they might have in place.
It is generally easier to find a rental property that will accept a cat compared to most other types of pets. Nevertheless, you will still need to check with the rental agency, and it may still reduce your options of potential properties to rent were you to move again. You may need to speak to the landlord about installing a cat flap for your cat to have access to the outside, especially if there were no windows to provide a suitable entry and exit point or where leaving one open would pose a risk of burglary and theft.
Remember that renting can mean a more unsettled existence with more frequent moves than from a property that was owned. Consider when your lease may be about to expire and whether you are intending to remain or to move before getting an animal that values both predictable routines and stability in its social environment.
Finally, consider the location of the property that you’re in. Is it near a busy road? Are there already a number of cats in your neighbourhood, and have you seen any of them hanging around your garden? Do you have noisy neighbours who just love to set of fireworks on any occasion? Some of these issues may be resolved by getting an indoor cat.
But before you take that step, it is worth understanding the potential side effects of such restrictions on a cat and what commitments you may need to make to ensure that animal has a good quality of life in your home.
The outdoors brings with it both variety and an opportunity for a cat to explore and express its innate hunting abilities, but it also brings with it certain risks, be they from traffic or from other animals, including foxes, coyotes, snakes, and even other cats. You need to balance the risks to your cat and accept that with the opportunity for greater stimulation and fulfillment there comes the greater risk of harm. The flip-side to all this is that by limiting your cat’s exposure to the outside you may be doing a different sort of harm, in that it can lead to solitude, boredom, and stress in your cat, which can result in compromised immunity and poor health.
There is no doubt that an outdoor cat will have a more fulfilling life – albeit a potentially more short-lived one, depending on the risks associated with its territory. So how can you try to mitigate those risks while not denying your cat the benefits of the great outdoors?
Firstly, can you prevent your cat from wandering beyond the confines of your back garden? This may mean erecting higher fencing or blocking off access to that section of property adjoining a main road, but remember: If you think a cat cannot jump a certain height, it probably can! So the better option would be to create a space in which it would not need to leave.
Ensure there are plenty of spaces that offer shelter and shade in the garden, as well as basking spots under the sun. Plant flora that cats love, including catnip, heather, lemongrass, mint, and valerian. Be sure to avoid plants that are toxic to cats, such as daffodils, germaniums, and lilies. Train your cat to have a good recall (see our page on ‘Training Your Cat’), and summon it in for the night, thereby controlling the time of its prowling.
If your home is located near heavy traffic or where there is clear signs of stress from proximity to the surrounding cat population, you may want to consider stricter measures, such as creating an enclosed space, or a run, inside your garden.
At the same time you will want to provide your cat with the opportunity for maximum stimulation within the home while reducing its opportunity for escape. Ensure that all windows remain closed or that window screens are installed. Check that areas such as fire places are properly boarded up. Provide opportunities for climbing, scratching, hiding, and resting within the property. Vantage points are particularly important, so ensure that you provide each room with a specific high-point that your cat can reach to both rest and view the comings-and-goings within that area.
An unstimulated cat will most likely resort to eating to make up for its boredom, so carefully control your cat’s diet. At the same time, stimulate your cat with frequent interaction and games to challenge it both mentally and physically. Puzzle feeders are an excellent way to incorporate feeding with both mental and physical stimulation.
If you are adopting or rehoming a cat, it might be worth considering what outdoor experience it may have had up until that point. Generally speaking, cats that have not been raised as indoor cats from a young age will not accept such restrictions, although it has to be said that senior cats will tend to reduce their territory and so become homebodies, regardless of prior experience outdoors.
If a cat is not allowed to explore the world outside, it will do its exploring inside the home, instead. You should therefore make your home environment safe, both for your cat and from your cat. Limit your cat’s access to breakables by keeping ledges, shelves, and tables clear of clutter. Anything loose and dangling should be secured or hidden away. This includes curtain and window blind cords, cables from lamps, irons, and phone chargers, as well as hanging ornaments.
Food should not be left lying around, nor should any food wrappings, such as tin foil or plastic, that would cause internal damage if ingested.
It’s not only windows and doors that will need to be kept closed, in order to keep kitty from escaping, but also cupboard doors and drawers, washing machine doors, and tumble dryer lids. It’s sometimes easy, when focusing on the dangers outside that you want to keep kitty safe from, to forget about the dangers within the home.
Be extra vigilant as to where household chemicals are stored, and ensure surfaces are properly wiped after any of these cleaners are used. A cat that treads on a recently cleaned surface may then wash its paws and ingest some of the chemical agent, which can prove toxic to a cat.
As stated at the outset, cats enjoy a stable and predictable environment. If you are one of those people who likes to redesign the living room every couple of months, or enjoys shifting furniture around, then perhaps a cat is not for you. Or to put it more bluntly: You are not for a cat!
That’s not to say that sometimes change is unnecessary or can be avoided. But then, when change needs to occur, it should be planned ahead of time to allow for it to happen gradually or in a staggered fashion.
Regardless of what change occurs in the rest of the house, a cat’s eating and toilet area should both be safe, quiet areas, so away from the sound of machinery, like washing machines, and free from access by young children and other pets.
Remember that not all cats like to share, even with those from the same litter, and so by providing each cat with some social distance from the other cats in the house, you are helping it to feel a bit more secure. To that end, don’t place all food and water bowls together and have at least one more litter tray than you have cats in your home.
If you have decided to grant your cat the freedom to explore outside but he is not availing himself of this opportunity, then it may be that he is not simply being lazy but that he is failing to establish the surrounding space as part of his territory. This can lead to a stressed cat, constantly ill at ease in his own home. He may spend an excessive amount of time watching out of windows, and only leave the house when encouraged to do so or when his owner is outside. He may mark the access points to the house, be they cat flap, doors, or windows, with his scent. This can also lead to inappropriate toileting indoors, especially if his litter tray is situated outside or inside but near to one of these access points.
The problem for a cat that retreats is that it emboldens those who have claimed that space as their own. You may find that they will begin to spray their scent around the access points of your house, and in some rare instances actually enter to confront your cat in its own home.
Purchasing a cat flap with microchip identification and removing the rival cat’s scent from around your home are essential first steps to restoring balance. Once that is done, take a rubbing of your cat’s own scent – be it from a place that he has marked or by rubbing a cloth around its neck and chin – and rub surfaces and vantage points around your property. These may include fence posts, gates, and paths, as well as any other access point. Once this is done, spend some time with your cat outside in the garden, helping it to build a positive association with the area as a space that is worth defending. You may need to assist your cat by squirting some water at its rival, should it make an appearance, but at the end of the day this is a battle that only your cat can win.
The flip side to this scenario is the cat that spends an inordinate amount of time away from the home, returning occasionally to eat but otherwise making itself scarce. It may be that it comes from a multi-cat household and doesn’t feel as though it is able to establish part of that space as its territory. Or if there are no other pets in the home, then it may be that there is some other disruption or instability that is making it feel insecure in its environment.
Locking the cat inside without dealing with the root cause of its insecurity may only work for so long as the cat remains secured but will certainly not help it to feel settled. Use a Feliway spray or diffuser to promote a feeling of calm in your house, and then consider what aspects of your home environment may be causing your cat to feel anxious or stressed. Is there a lot of noise and commotion from children in the home? Does your cat have enough secure vantage points from which it can view the goings on? Are both its feeding and toilet area located in a safe and quiet area of the house? Does your cat receive adequate attention and opportunities for interaction with those that it shares its home?
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