catsindoors:

Before I answer, I want to acknowledge that ferals are a tricky subject - as such I won’t discuss them in this particular asks. For the sake of this question, I’ll assume we’re discussing cats with some degree of socialization to humans.

That being said… generally, yes! I’m sure that’s a controversial answer, and perhaps not what you were looking to hear, but there’s a few things to consider here.

1) When a cat is unhappy inside, the caregiver is doing something wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this in a “you’re a bad owner, you shouldn’t have a cat” way! 

But there’s a lot of misconceptions about the level of care cats require, a lot of misunderstandings about their body language, and just… honestly, an overall poor understanding of cats as a whole by the general public. They’re not “easy, low maintenance,” pets. They’re not “Dogs Lite,” for if you want a dog but can’t handle one at the moment, and they certainly don’t behave like dogs. 

There’s so many factors to their care that it can be difficult to pinpoint what’s wrong specifically. There’s no detail too small. I could start pointing out things that may be relevant, but the ask would wind up being longer than the “color of the sky” post and I’d probably still only be covering the tip of the iceberg - and that’s not even taking into account if you have other pets!

I don’t think there’s a single person who’s done everything right from day 1, and honestly most - if not all - of us are still doing something “wrong,” but cats are individuals. Not only do some cats tolerate “mistakes” more than others, but they have different priorities. Maybe your cat doesn’t mind if you miss a play session, but another individuals cat might tear up the house if they do.

2. Cats are creatures of habit. Routine is important, which is why your cat’s yelling at you every morning at “breakfast” time. A change can be stressful, even if it’s an undeniably positive change, and some cats handle this better than others. Be patient. Although some cats will be absolutely fine quitting the outdoors cold turkey, don’t expect that of your cat. 

People will commonly talk about how they “can’t” keep their cat inside because they tried once and all he did was yowl and try to escape. This also ties in with part one, you have to make accommodations to replace what they’re missing outside, and try to distract them before they get to that point. However, understand the problem may get worse before it gets better. 

In training Extinction is when a behavior ceases because you stop reinforcing it, in this case you’d like to see the cat stop trying to escape. You may be reinforcing it by letting him out, distracting him too late, punishing him, or any number of ways. What you have to be mindful of is Extinction Bursts, your cats behavior may escalate before it stops - it worked before, but it’s not working now, so let’s try harder! Think of it like this: Your phone is on the fritz, you hit the ‘home’ button and nothing happens. You hit it again, still nothing. Becoming frustrated you hit the button with increasing intensity, but eventually you say “fuck it!” and throw the phone down so you can walk away and cool off. 

3. Can any owner keep an indoor cat? I think this is what it boils down to above all else. Sure, any cat can be kept indoors, but does every owner have the resources necessary to do so? It requires time, patience, space, money - let’s face it, most of us don’t have all of those.

Maybe you’ve just moved into your own apartment, a modest studio. Your parents have agreed to let you take their indoor/outdoor cat with you, and you’re thrilled - you love this cat, he’s been a big part of your life, and you want to keep him safe. You finish the move, bring the cat, and… it’s a disaster. Time passes, more time passes, he’s not settling down - he’s tearing up the walls, he’s urinating everywhere, he’s fearful. 

You work full time, you rent and can’t make modifications (ex. cat shelves) to make the most of the small space, etc. You’ve resigned yourself to having to let him be indoor/outdoor, then your friend says “I just lost my cat, maybe we can see how he does with me?” She works from home, has no other pets, and has an actual house. The difference is like night and day. 

In this hypothetical, the cat could be kept inside… but you couldn’t keep him inside.