{"id":92,"date":"2016-04-21T16:46:18","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T16:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/?p=92"},"modified":"2016-04-21T16:47:52","modified_gmt":"2016-04-21T16:47:52","slug":"indoor-vs-outdoor-cats-whats-best-for-your-feline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/indoor-vs-outdoor-cats-whats-best-for-your-feline\/","title":{"rendered":"Indoor vs. Outdoor Cats: What\u2019s Best for Your Feline"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s an age-old question, but one that gets asked time and again. Should your cat be indoors or outdoors?<\/p>\n

Some say allowing cats to roam outdoors allows them to be free, get exercise, breathe the fresh air and explore, while others say it can put cats in extremely dangerous situations.<\/p>\n

How do you know what\u2019s best? And can you protect your outdoor cats? Not to mention how can you ensure your indoor cats get the exercise and fresh air they seemingly only get from being outside?<\/p>\n

First things first: Because of the likelihood for danger outdoors, indoor cats are safer. \u201cThe consensus<\/a> among veterinarians and organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is that it\u2019s wiser\u00a0to keep cats indoors,\u201d according to the WebMD article \u201cShould You Have an Indoor Cat or an Outdoor Cat?\u201d<\/p>\n\"cat\"<\/a>\n

Outdoor cats are at risk<\/a> for a variety of potentially life-threatening situations such as being hit by a car, attacked or eaten by a predator, becoming severely injured or contracting disease, or being stolen.<\/p>\n

Many cat owners are under the assumption they are doing what\u2019s best for their feline by allowing him or her to roam free under the guise that it\u2019s good for their cat to be outside. Many people even believe their cats won\u2019t stray too far. But that\u2019s just asking for trouble. There\u2019s no way to predict what a cat might do in any given situation.<\/p>\n

Some owners believe their cat could never become one who is indoors. \u201cMany cats have successfully gone from outdoor-only or indoor\/outdoor to indoor-only. The key, again, is making sure the indoor environment is just as interesting as outside \u2014 and being vigilant about preventing escape attempts,\u201d according to \u201c6 Reasons You Might Let Your Cat Out, And Why Not To<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there are allergies, which some people use as an excuse to keep their cats outside. First find out from your doctor if that is true. You also want to ensure your cat is not bringing home anything you may be allergic to and \u201cyou can reduce the allergens in your home \u2014 even when your cat is indoor-only,\u201d according to the article.<\/p>\n

The safest place to keep your cat is indoors, and you can make your home a fun place for your feline. According to Indoor Cats vs. Outdoor Cats<\/a>, you can:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Get another cat as a companion.<\/li>\n
  2. Bring home some interactive play toys for physical and mental stimulation.<\/li>\n
  3. Cats love to scratch, so make sure they can by providing enough scratching posts.<\/li>\n
  4. Provide enough climbing places and perches.<\/li>\n
  5. Got box? Cats love to hide, so simple boxes will fill that need.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you really want to provide an outdoor environment, get creative and build our own indoor\/outdoor cat atrium<\/a> or catio<\/a> attached to your home. This will allow your cat to be outdoors, but also be safe at the same time while under your watchful eye.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    It\u2019s an age-old question, but one that gets asked time and again. Should your cat be indoors or outdoors? Some say allowing cats to roam outdoors allows them to be free, get exercise, breathe the fresh air and explore, while others say it can put cats in extremely dangerous situations. How do you know what\u2019s… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92\/revisions\/95"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secondhomepetresort.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}