Keeping Your Cat Indoors

Do you allow your cat to go outdoors? IF so, you may want to consider keeping Fluffy inside. While your pet may really enjoy chasing butterflies, rolling around in the grass, and leaving paw prints on your car, she’ll actually be much better off as an indoor pet. Read on as a Pickerington, OH veterinarian offers some great tips on keeping Fluffy indoors.

Dangers Outdoor Kitties Face

As soon as your beloved pet goes outside, she is exposed to serious dangers posed by predators, cars, chemicals, weather, and other kitties. Fluffy is also much more likely to pick up parasites if she goes outside. Outdoor cats are also at greater risk of becoming lost, hurt, or even killed.

Convincing Your Cat To Stay Indoors

We’ve listed some very valid reasons to curb Fluffy’s wandering. However, if you try telling your kitty about them, you’ll probably just get a slow blink and a yawn from your pet in response. Therefore, you’ll need to, well, basically bribe the furball. Set out lots of comfy beds, and offer your kitty plenty of fun cat toys. We also recommend setting a cat tower or a pet bed in front of a window with a good view, so your cat can relax and watch birds or squirrels. Playing with your feline pal daily will burn off her excess energy, and help sate her natural urge to pounce. The more you make your home into a kitty comfort zone, the less inviting the outdoor world will become to her.

Advanced Tactics

If Fluffy has been allowed outdoors in the past, she’ll probably still want to go outside, and may sniff around the door. Therefore, you’ll want to make Fluffy a bit wary of the exit, without hurting or scaring her. You may need to use a bit of trickery to accomplish this. When your adventurous pet goes too near the door, clap your hands, or activate an alarm sound on your phone. You can also bang two pots together. Your feline friend will probably bolt for her favorite hiding spot. Never yell at or hit your kitty for trying to go outside: you may just scare Fluffy, which will make her want to get out even more!

Do you have any questions or concerns about your cat’s health? Call us, your local Pickerington, OH animal hospital, today! We are here to help!