Dear Sparkle,
As everyone knows, some cats are indoor-only cats and never go outside, unless it’s somewhere annoying, like the vet’s. (I’m indoor-only.) Other cats are indoor-outdoor, and they get to go outside on their own. But when it comes to humans, I’ve noticed something interesting: they are almost all indoor-outdoor. Sometimes they’re inside, catering to all our needs and whims, but other times they leave the house, and who knows what they are doing out there! This can be frustrating if I want a treat, or the litter box needs scooping, or I want to play with the Cat Dancer, and nobody is here. So I’m wondering — is it possible for me to train my human to be indoors-only?
Signed,
Humans Belong Inside
HBI,
Other than the obvious — food, shelter and a clean litter box, be it plastic or porcelain — humans and cats have completely different needs. If they are cooped up for too long, humans can develop all sorts of negative behavior patterns. They may stop washing themselves and spend countless hours staring blankly at the moving screen they keep in their living rooms and bedrooms. If they stay inside for too many days, they can get depressed, moody and may even display bursts of anger and impatience. It’s a well-known syndrome, something humans themselves call “cabin fever.” Whereas we cats can find any number of ways to entertain ourselves indoors, humans cannot get enough stimulation inside the house to maintain a normal state of being.
So it’s not a good idea to try to make humans stay inside all the time. When they get bored and stagnant, it can be very unpleasant. Even humans themselves realize this, which is why they create sometimes-frivolous excuses to leave the house, such as that thing called “work,” or even sillier, “shopping” (unless the shopping involves a trip to the pet store). That’s the other thing you need to keep in mind: all the stuff you need for a happy life — food, fresh litter, toys and cat trees — must get to your home somehow. And while more and more humans are using the internet to have these things delivered, most of them still find it necessary to go out and get them themselves. Also consider this: if your human were indoors all the time, she would probably bother you for attention far more than you want, and you would never get a chance to do things she doesn’t like, such as sleep on the dining room table or look for crumbs on the kitchen counter. So an indoor-outdoor human is good for your mental health and recreation too.
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This made me laugh, but it is also oh-so-true! I read recently (wish I could remember where as I’d love to bookmark the site if it was a site, or copy the article if it was in one of the vet mags we get at work) that cats like frequent human interactions, but of short duration. Where humans want to give cats infrequent interactions but of long duration. I thought it was an interesting take on this, as there are behavior issues in cats (petting threshold aggression, spraying, scratching furniture) that can be alleviated by giving the cat your attention every time it asks for it, but that the attention can be as short as one stroke or one head butt (bunting) and it will have the desired effect.
Sparkle, you are so wise! Our humans are more indoor than outdoor lately and although we like them available to cater to our every whim, it is much better they get outdoor from time to time – especially when they take our big sisfur Sadie with them. That gives us time to do all the things we can’t when they are all here!
This was hysterical. You are a great advice-giver!
I couldn’t agree more. Plus it’s nice to have the place all to myself now and again.
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Sparkle, you are so very smart.
My cats would agree that they would prefer us to be indoor all the time with them. I may show them this post so they can better understand. Besides, if I didn’t go to work, there’d be no money for the cat treats.
Great advice Sparkle. But if we humans didn’t ever go outside, how would we get any food for everyone to eat and the clean litter etc. So we do need to go outside unless we train the kitties to drive the car and get a job so there is money for the food and litter and not to mention toys. But it would be nice for us cats, if the beans would just stay inside with us.
That’s some good advice,Sparkle! We want our human to go outside sometimes…it’s the only time we get to do some of the fun stuff we like to do like unroll toilet paper and sleep on the kitchen counters!!
Oh Mighty and Wise Sparkle, I am awed by your excellent wisdom. !!! I will have Livvy read this (as soon as she can read– she’s still in training) so she can be more understanding when I go out without her. For now, I endure her whining. :S
Maybe you should write a book fur cats on propurr care fur their humans! You is sooooo rite bout Cabin Fever an buggin us when they’s inside too much. Also, my humans go outside to play in da grass an snow an we watch frum da windows. Mom also puts out bird seed so we haf more birds to watch. Yup, we needs indoor/outdoor humans.
Purrs,
Victor