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Description
A photo from last autumn, just before the leaves fell and the grass died.
Honestly, the cats just never are able to go far enough from home! Who cares if their mom gets a heart attack if they get lost? (which has happened twice now)
I wish they could just stay in and be safe, but it is unhealthy for cats' psychological health. If a cat is old, keeping said cat inside is understandable. However, if a cat is young or middle-aged, he/she needs to be able to go outside in order to function properly. They require grass to chew on and help their digestive systems, and also, keeping a cat in this stage of life inside denies the instincts that they have built in to them. Felines are natural hunters, and whether it is going on a chase for a mouse or just stalking (my poor Inky is pretty slow, she has no chance of catching anything), this satiates the cats' primal instincts and keeps them happy. When cats are stuck indoors before being very old, they slowly lose their minds, quite literally. There is nothing for them to hunt or wild scents to pick up; they simply are at a loss on how to cope with it.
None of this is meant to offend anyone. I recently did extensive research and did not realize on how important it was for cats to be able to exercise their natural instincts. Though, I did suspect it - when I was a kid, my dad refused to let our cat always stay inside and she behaved much better than our neighbors' cats that were always confined inside.
One important thing to keep in mind, however, is to always have them vaccinated and/or treated for FIV and rabies. FIV stands for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus - it is basically the cat version of HIV. They can go years with it and not display a sign, and then become sick overnight and die from something that could normally be handled easily for a cat that wasn't infected. This happened to my first kitty, Sugar. She was only ten years old when she passed - one day she was fine, and the next, she became ill, her liver failed very quickly, and died. Please take care of your cats, and always research what is best for them. I regret not having been aware of the disease sooner - don't make the same mistake. Pets are as much your family as humans are.

Description
A photo from last autumn, just before the leaves fell and the grass died.
Honestly, the cats just never are able to go far enough from home! Who cares if their mom gets a heart attack if they get lost? (which has happened twice now)
I wish they could just stay in and be safe, but it is unhealthy for cats' psychological health. If a cat is old, keeping said cat inside is understandable. However, if a cat is young or middle-aged, he/she needs to be able to go outside in order to function properly. They require grass to chew on and help their digestive systems, and also, keeping a cat in this stage of life inside denies the instincts that they have built in to them. Felines are natural hunters, and whether it is going on a chase for a mouse or just stalking (my poor Inky is pretty slow, she has no chance of catching anything), this satiates the cats' primal instincts and keeps them happy. When cats are stuck indoors before being very old, they slowly lose their minds, quite literally. There is nothing for them to hunt or wild scents to pick up; they simply are at a loss on how to cope with it.
None of this is meant to offend anyone. I recently did extensive research and did not realize on how important it was for cats to be able to exercise their natural instincts. Though, I did suspect it - when I was a kid, my dad refused to let our cat always stay inside and she behaved much better than our neighbors' cats that were always confined inside.
One important thing to keep in mind, however, is to always have them vaccinated and/or treated for FIV and rabies. FIV stands for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus - it is basically the cat version of HIV. They can go years with it and not display a sign, and then become sick overnight and die from something that could normally be handled easily for a cat that wasn't infected. This happened to my first kitty, Sugar. She was only ten years old when she passed - one day she was fine, and the next, she became ill, her liver failed very quickly, and died. Please take care of your cats, and always research what is best for them. I regret not having been aware of the disease sooner - don't make the same mistake. Pets are as much your family as humans are.