Persephonies Korats

Why Keep an Indoor Cat?

Liz, founder of Persephonies Korats breeding cattery, says:

We champion indoor-only homes for our kittens for the following reasons:

We know from experience that people who live in a quiet rural area mistakenly think that this will discourage their young cat from wandering onto a busy road. Cats can have a large territory and will not stay in your garden, or close to home, by choice. Gardens are not cat proof no matter how high the fences are – cats climb by nature! Sadly, two of the young cats we have bred have been killed on roads close to their new homes within their first 18 months. Both families thought that because their gardens backed onto fields, their cats would not stray near to cars.

Our cat psychologist recently told us that ‘road sense’ is imparted partially by the kittens’ mother, and partly by firsthand experience. Because our cats live in a cattery environment, and their outside access is restricted to a completely enclosed cattery, they never have this opportunity. Our kittens have no road sense whatsoever when they go to their new homes.

Indoor cats are happy and healthy as long as they have a scratching post, toys, and another feline companion if you are out at work all day long. This doesn’t have to be a pedigree – it can be a companion ‘moggy’ although they will get on better if introduced when still young rather than years down the line!

Some people have a special outdoor cat run leading directly off the house. We’ve found that it’s cheaper to employ an odd-job man (or a family member!) to build one than it is to go to an established cattery maker such as Bransby Bunny, who are brilliant but VERY expensive. Cattery supplies, such as the correct mesh, can be purchased from the back pages of magazines such as ‘Your Cat’ and ‘Cat World’.

Finally, we’ve met one family of die-hard cat enthusiasts who paid a specialist company to cat-proof their back garden. This involved putting very high posts with inward-leaning tops, designed to prevent climbing whilst giving their seven cats free access to the garden. The garden looks great but we’ve never dared ask how much it cost. The details can most likely be found on the internet or in the back pages of the two magazines mentioned above!