Average Lifespan of Indoor vs Outdoor Cats

I can say, for one (as my beautiful kitty of 10 years lays beside
me) that, even though he loves the outside he probably would
not be beside me now had I let him roam around here. In the
country, no problem, but in the city it just doesn't work. Some
cats can handle the dual life of coming and going as they please,
others cannot. Personally, I think once they get to be a few
years old they are at great risk for kittie diseases and numerous
parasite infections. I'm about sick of treating for fleas, ear mites
and such, not to mention other ailments like leukemia.. So, much
as he'd love it, the big old red boy don't get to go out no more!


"studio" wrote in message
...
On Dec 15, 8:37 am, " wrote:

Well stated, and I'm in agreement.

My cat is a inside/outside cat...whatever she wants to do, I let her.
Outside my home, the risks are few, but there are risks, and she
knows most of them.

When she was younger, she would climb trees....
I suppose she could have fallen out of the tree, but she never did.
She doesn't climb trees anymore because she's gotten too old to
do that anymore...but I'm glad she did while she could...it's natural
for them and made her feel like a cat should feel.

A happier, healthier more content cat there never was.
As I write this, she's sitting next to me purring away for no apparent
reason.

On Dec 15, 7:19*pm, "GMorris" wrote:
I can say, for one (as my beautiful kitty of 10 years lays beside
me) that, even though he loves the outside he probably would
not be beside me now had I let him roam around here. In the
country, no problem, but in the city it just doesn't work.

And pfjw made that point previously, and I agree with it.

The property I live on is 35 acres, and the nearest road is across a
creek.
The risks are minimal.
All the neighbors know her, and she's scared of being anywhere near a
running car.
It is truly the closest thing to heaven on earth for my cat here...and
she loves it.

Interesting information. I keep my cats inside unless i am with them
in my fenced backyard. There is a cute cat blog at www.bustersblog.blog.com

"cwcatartist" wrote in message
...
The average life of an indoor cat is 17 years. The average life of a
cat that lives outdoors is 2 years. - from the Cats section
ofwww.odd-info.com

In what area does this statistic apply? - All cats everywhere on Earth? Just
England? Just the US? Certainly it does not apply on my block here in
Salem, Oregon, USA. There are around a dozen cats on this block, and they
are all outside cats......I have 5 of them myself, and their average age is
around 10. They were all outside cats when I got them, and they still are
all outside cats. If I lived in an area where the average age of an outside
cat was only 2 years, then I would probably not have any cats at
all......This would be true were I to live in Downtown New York City, for
example, or any other large, heavy-traffic city.