Is it ethical to keep cats as ’indoor cats’?

The short answer is that it depends upon the cat.

Cats with outdoor access benefit from more opportunities to exhibit natural behaviours like climbing, exploring, roaming their territory and communicating with other cats in the area.

Keeping your cat as an indoor house cat will help keep them away from busy roads, but some indoor environments can become predictable and boring, leading to stress, inactivity and obesity.

It can be particularly hard for cats to cope with living indoors if they have lots of energy, love to explore and have previously been allowed time outdoors.

However for some cats, for example those with a disability or medical problem, living indoors could be a better option, and they may feel more comfortable.

Owners of pedigree cats often keep them indoors because they worry that their precious pets will be stolen, although this issue seems to be more of a problem in the UK than on the Isle of Man. So, we were quite surprised that Bella and Lulu, lilac point rag doll cats who came into the cattery last week, are used to being outside. Bella, in particular, loves the fresh air and used to go for walks with her previous owner (who has sadly passed away).

Rag doll cats are very in demand and so we don’t think Bella and Lulu will be with us for long once they’ve been checked over by a vet and put up for adoption.

They are a relatively new breed and were first created by a Californian breeder of Persian cats in the 1960s. They are renowned for being placid, easy-going and cuddly cats, which is how they acquired their name, and Lulu definitely fits this description; but Bella can be quite feisty and ’opinionated’, and she doesn’t like to be picked up. She has a habit of lying in the middle of roads, oblivious to passing people or cars, and so she can’t be re-homed to a busy area.

Bella and Lulu are undoubtedly stunning cats to look at, but Anne and Jasmine give them a run for their money, albeit minus the pedigree and the fluffy hair.

Anne (five) and Jasmine (three) are both a ginger and tortoiseshell colour with white chins and bibs, and Anne has a pink nose and Jasmine has a brown one.

They are very sweet cats and have only ever lived indoors, and so they could be rehomed as house cats but, ideally, we would like them to be given the opportunity to explore the world outside.

For this to happen they will need to live in a quiet, rural area, well away from traffic, and be introduced to ’freedom’ in a gradual way.

They have lived with dogs and other cats before, but we think that they would enjoy being in the limelight and having lots of human contact.

We have another pair of beautiful female cats to tell you about, 10-year-old Pip and Nibs, but these two ’torties’ are not in the cattery.

We are trying to facilitate a ’home to home’ adoption for them after their elderly owner had to move to the UK to live with her daughter.

They are being cared for by a family friend who has several cat-chasing dogs and so can’t take them herself, but she’s clearly very fond of them describes them so well - ’they love the freedom to roam, but they also like their home comforts.

Pip likes to sleep on the bed at night tucked into the crook of your legs and Nibs would rather have company during the day, although she has on occasion slept on my son’s bed, usually lying on top of him’.

Both Pip and Nibs crave human attention and Nibs shows her pleasure by dribbling when she’s purring, and we would love to help find them a new owner who can give them the care they need.

Please contact the cattery on 851672 (option two) if you think you can help, and leave a message on the answer machine if the team can’t answer straight away.