Indoor vs. Outdoor Cats: Which Lifestyle Is Healthier?

Just like many cat owners, sometimes I wonder if my indoor cats would be happier and healthier living the lifestyle of an outdoor cat. I think I am qualified to write about this as someone who has transitioned their outdoor cat into an indoor cat. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, Stormi used be an indoor/outdoor cat until I brought her with me to college to be an indoor cat full time. Sometimes I think she would have been happier if I left her at home, but whenever I did, my parents would tell me about how much she missed me. So at least she is with me now.

Pros and Cons

Although having your cat be fully outdoors might be fun for the cat and make them more adventurous, there are definitely some draw backs to this. Lets start with some pro’s to having an outdoor cat:

1. Exercise & Mental Stimulation
   Outdoor cats get natural exercise from climbing, hunting, and roaming. They also experience more sights, sounds, and smells, which can help prevent boredom.
2. Natural Behavior
   They can express instinctual behaviors like stalking, pouncing, and marking territory—behaviors that might be harder to replicate indoors.
3. Reduced Litter Box Use
   Less litter scooping for you! Many outdoor cats do their business outside, which some owners see as a perk.
4. Environmental Enrichment
   Access to sunshine, fresh air, and seasonal changes can contribute to a cat’s sensory health.

These things are all well and good until you run into the cons of having an outdoor cat:

1. Injury & Illness Risks
   Outdoor cats face dangers from cars, predators (like coyotes or dogs), poisoning, and fights with other animals. They’re also more likely to pick up parasites like fleas, ticks, and worms
2. Shorter Lifespan
   Statistically, outdoor cats tend to live shorter lives—often half as long as indoor-only cats—because of exposure to these hazards.
3. Weather Exposure
   Outdoor cats are vulnerable to heat, cold, storms, and other severe weather conditions, which can lead to hypothermia, dehydration, or heatstroke.
4. Getting Lost or Stolen
   Cats that roam far from home may become disoriented, trapped, or even taken by well-meaning strangers.
5. Impact on Wildlife
   Outdoor cats are skilled hunters and can seriously impact bird and small mammal populations, leading to ecological concerns.
6. Disease Transmission
   Outdoor cats are at higher risk of contracting and spreading diseases like feline leukemia virus (FeLV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and upper respiratory infections.

As you can see, the cons do outweigh the pros of having an outdoor cat. But I do think that the pros are all super important to the happiness of your cat. For Stormi, I think she was at her peak happiness level whenever she lived the life of an indoor/outdoor cat. But I do see some of the cons of being an outdoor cat for her because she got injured several times or she would go missing occasionally. She came home limping one day and so I took her to the vet and they did an X-ray on her. Turns out she had fractured the bones in her little paw. But there wasn’t to do to help her heal other than just letting time do the healing. I think as long as your cat is up to date with their vaccines, being an outdoor cat and greatly increase their happiness level.

In conclusion, I think that it’s all about balance. The lifestyle of being indoor/outdoor is the best compromise for this. If you aren’t willing to leave your cat outdoors unsupervised, having supervised outdoor time for your cat is a good compromise. In this way, you are gaining all the pros to having an outdoor cat without any of the cons. If you do want to leave your cat outdoors sometimes, I think it is important for your cat to be trained to come whenever you call for them. Stormi did a great job of this, so whenever I let her inside for the night, I didn’t have to spent a lot of time looking for her. She knows her name and knows to come whenever I call. If she didn’t do this, I might have allowed her to be either fully indoors or fully outdoors. In order to train your cat to be like this, I think the most important thing is to have a strong bond with your cat. If they like you and see you as their mom, then they will want to come to you whenever you call them. With Miso, she is mostly indoors, but I have been trying to take her outside for supervised outdoor time and this helps release her energy.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope this blog has helped you in understanding your cat more and prioritizing their happiness!