Cat welfare – staying in or out?

We believe that cats should be vaccinated regularly regardless of whether they explore the neighbourhood or roam in their cosy home. Owners often ask for veterinary advice regarding whether they should let their cats go outdoors (Yeates and Yates, 2017). The answer is essentially a matter of risk management (Yeates and Yates, 2017). When letting cats outside, risks include infectious disease spreading, unwanted pregnancies, fighting, theft and an impact on local wildlife (Yeates and Yates, 2017). However, keeping cats indoors can provoke frustration, unwanted behavioural challenges and lead to unavoidable sources of stress and compromised health, particularly if the home has multiple cats (Yeates and Yates, 2017). Cats in multicat households tend to be at risk of stress and infectious diseases because they live near one another (Yeates and Yates, 2017). However, cats in higher cat-density neighbourhoods could also face risks outside of the home due to their outdoor proximity to one another (Yeates and Yates, 2017).

These infectious diseases, either caught outside, from other pet cats or dogs or wild animals, or caught inside from other pets, humans or airborne, can be prevented by vaccinating your cats and dogs regularly.

Visit our practice to find out more about our limited offer of 50% off cat vaccinations.

References

Yeates, J. and Yates, D. (2017). Staying in or going out? The dilemma for cat welfare. Veterinary Record, Journal of the British Veterinary Association, 180, 8, 193-194.