Indoor City Cats

How to Keep Your House-Bound Cat Healthy & Happy

by Joelle Steele

I am not a city person by nature and neither are my cats. One of my late cats, Twinkle, spent her early years living the good life in the country before moving to the big city with me in 1979. And, I only suspect some of my others cats were country cats at heart who would have beenthrilled to roam around a big yard complete with all the fun things that Mother Nature has to offer.

But, we lived in the city for many years, and I was faced with caring for house-bound (actually apartment-bound) felines. To some it may seem unfair to keep your cats inside day after day. However, given the incidence of fleas at the beach where I lived, other hazards such as traffic, and some lunatic who has been poisoning cats in our neighborhood, I felt that indoors was the best option.

Keeping a cat indoors is not really that difficult and it certainly does not have to be hard on the cat. You can make your house-bound feline a very nice life indoors with a little extra effort on your part.

Bring the outdoors indoors. Make sure your cat has sunshine and fresh air. Keep your curtains open, blinds up, and, in warm weather, leave at least one window open, preferably in a place where your cats can perch comfortably. Exercise window safety measures, particularly if you are on an upper floor. Be sure that you have sturdy, very tightly secured screens. (My cat Timmy once dislodged a rickety old screen and fell three stories when he was about four months old -- and survived!). Be sure sash windows cannot accidentally fall shut. And, drapery pulls and blinds should not be left dangling in front of a cat who might get strangled in them.

In the winter it may be too cold to open a window in some places, but if it isn't raining, snowing, or blowing, you can at least open one a crack and let some fresh air in for a little while. Most cats enjoy fresh air, even if it feels freezing cold to their human companions.

If you live in a large house and are away at work during the day, you might want to give your cats a room of their own to stay in during that time. The room can be thoroughly cat-proofed and equipped with every cat diversion known. But, regardless of whether you have a separate room for your cats or not, be sure that wherever they are they have a good variety of toys and activities to pursue.

Provide attention, diversion, and exercise. My former neighbor's house-bound "girls" had a very elaborate kitty condo in which they could sleep, climb, and chase each other around. Another neighbor had a bird feeder hanging outside his living room window and the cats were almost always there watching the activities (sort of like YouTube TV for cats). I keep a lot of toys in a basket and my cats dig in there off and on during the day, pulling out this or that to chase around the apartment, when they aren't busily chasing each other. And, when I am working at home during the day, I try to take a few extra moments here and there to play with them, talk to them, and cuddle them. (A cat can never get too much attention!) If you can leash-train your cat, a regular walk might be nice. My cats Tai and Tansy were both leash-trained and Tai, in particular, demanded to be walked twice a day, and he walked just like a dog.

Offer other feline companionship when possible. My neighbors have house-bound cats and over the years all our cats have met. My four-year-old Timmy was born in the building I used to live in and he still saw his cat-Mom (one of the cats with the kitty condo). Timmy was also especially fond of a little three-year-old female named Max who lived next door. He regularly went to her apartment where they played and hung out together. They both got the chance to see a different face.

Cats are such adaptable creatures that being house-bound is not the worst thing in the world. If you make your house a pleasant place for your feline friends, they will not miss the outdoors nearly as much as you might think. In fact, they may turn out like my six-year-old Muffin. Whenever she was given the opportunity to go outdoors, she would take a quick whiff of air and then turn around and go right back to her window perch -- inside.