Should I Let My Cat Outside? 

Trying to provide the best life possible for our cats is an interesting and challenging process. Indoors, we enhance their experience within our own homes with cat walls, cat scratchers, play sessions, and many other enriching activities. However, for those who want to provide the most stimulation and enrichment possible for our feline friends, you might be wondering, “Should I let my cat outside?” 

There is a great big wide world out there, and it’s not uncommon for cats to be able to free roam outdoors, after all. But is it really the best and safest way to go?

Within a controlled environment, letting your cat explore the outdoors is fantastic. They gain so much from the experience, but outdoor cat dangers are real. With your awareness of these dangers, you can provide a safer, more secure experience for your cat. 

Keep reading to learn more about both the benefits and dangers for outdoor cats so you can make the most informed and best decision for you and your kitty!

Benefits of Letting Your Cat Outside

There really are so many benefits to giving your cat access to the outdoors – fresh air, exercise, new sights and smells, increased sense of territory, mental stimulation… the list goes on!

For indoor cats, it is especially important that they get plenty of exercise and enrichment because they are chronically bored and understimulated. And a chronically bored cat can quickly become one with behavioral issues. Access to the outside world can combat and even fix all of that!

Veterinarian Lynn Bahr says in her book Indoor Cat that “Access to the world outside the walls of our home is imperative to our mental and physical health. So it’s not surprising that the same holds true for our cats… In fact, a 2009 study, published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, analyzed more than 300 cats that presented with behavioral issues over an eight-year period and identified a lack of outdoor access as a risk factor for behavioral problems.” 

You can listen to more of Dr. Bahr’s thoughts on why you should let your cat outside in this podcast episode: Benefits of Adventuring with Cats. 

While there is no denying that letting your cat outside is extremely beneficial for them, it also comes with many dangers. Having an understanding of the risks involved when letting our indoor cats outside is important. 

Top Outdoor Cat Dangers

Every time anyone leaves the safety of their own home, the probability of meeting danger increases considerably. This same truth holds true for our pets. Outdoor cat dangers are real, especially when our cats are allowed to free roam without any supervision or help from us. 

With the knowledge of what dangers exist, we can better answer the question, “Should I let my cat outside?” and then assist our cats with having a safer experience exploring outdoors. Let’s take a closer look at some of these dangers, so we can help our cats avoid them. 

1. Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases are one of the top dangers to cats who go outside. While many of the most common ones have vaccines to help protect our cats against them, not all of them do. Below are several of the most common contagions:

• Herpesvirus and calicivirus – Respiratory infections contracted from cats interacting with other infected cats. Both diseases can be prevented with a vaccine. Feline distemper (panleukopenia) – Highly contagious, especially for kittens. Can be prevented with vaccine. 

• Feline leukemia (FeLV) – Highly contagious and contracted through simple interactions between cats, bite wounds, nursing, and more. Life threatening, but can be prevented with a vaccine. Most all cats who contract this disease live only 1 to 2 years.
• Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) – Transmitted through serious or deep bite wounds from fighting and sexual activity. Does not have a vaccine. 
• Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) – Transmitted through infected cats’ feces. An extremely life threatening disease that has no vaccine or treatment in the US.
• Rabies – Transmitted through bite wounds. Fatal, but does have a vaccine.

You can learn more about these common diseases and more in this episode of KittyCatGO LIVE: Disease Awareness and Prevention with EveryCat Health Foundation.

2. Parasites

Parasites, defined as living organisms/creatures that are dependent upon a larger host, are a common danger to cats who venture outside. Parasites feed on their host while potentially spreading disease. 

There are many parasites that your cat can pick up outdoors, including:

• Fleas
• Ticks
• Heartworms
• Mange
• Roundworms
• Hookworms
• Tapeworms
• Ear mites

Thankfully, there are products and medications that can help prevent parasites and their infections. It’s important to note that these products are not necessarily 100% effective, so there is always a chance your cat could pick up something, even if they’re on preventative medicine. 

3. Cars

While some cats are savvy enough to understand they need to avoid cars, accidents can still happen. Due to the higher volume of traffic, cats in urban areas are even more likely to get hit by a car. There is some evidence though that suggests that as cats age, they are less likely to get hit by a car. 

In a veterinary study done in England, 47.3% of deaths in cats aged 5 and younger were due to trauma, with the majority resulting from car accidents (referred to as RTAs, or road traffic accidents, in the study). However, trauma-related deaths only account for 5.8% of deaths in cats older than 5 years of age.  

4. Predators and Other Animals

Predators and other animals, even other cats, pose a high risk for injury and death – especially for cats who have been declawed. A cat with no claws is a cat with no defense and a limited ability to climb and escape a predator or other aggressive animal.

Examples of predators that can be dangerous to cats include larger birds of prey, coyotes, bears, dogs, snakes, alligators, crocodiles, bears, bobcats, other cats, and more. The types of predators your cat could potentially face will differ depending on where you live, so it’s a good idea to gain an understanding of the predators in your area. 

5. Poisons and Toxins

The types of poisons and toxins found outside that a cat can potentially ingest might surprise you. You might be especially surprised to find out how many common plants and flowers are toxic to cats! One of our kitties, Delilah, is obsessed with eating flowers. For this reason, we have to be very careful about what kinds of flowers we allow in the house and which ones we plant in the yard!

Other common toxins and poisons your cat could come in contact with include:

• Toxic plants and flowers – Always better to be safe than sorry. Do not let your cat eat a plant unless you are completely sure it is not toxic. Check the ASPCA website for more info on toxic plants. 
• Lawn treatments – All the chemicals people use in their yards to kill weeds or fertilize plants can be extremely toxic to cats. While your cat might not eat these treatments outright, they can pick them up on their paws as they walk through people’s yards, and then they later groom themselves and ingest the chemicals. 
• Rat, insect, and other poisons or traps – Anything meant to kill or trap other animals or pests is a danger to your cat as well. 
• Mice, rats, or other small animals – If these small animals have ingested poisons, and then your cat ingests the mice or rats, your can can become extremely ill. Plus, mice and rats can carry parasites and diseases that can be spread to your cat. 
• Antifreeze – Commonly found in or around garages, sheds, barns, parked cars, and other similarly fun places for your cat to explore, antifreeze is extremely fatal to cats if ingested. And it surprisingly has a pleasant odor and taste, so cats will sometimes drink or lick it up. 

6. Humans

It is easy to admit and see that humans pose a passive threat to cats, with driving in cars or placing poisons in their yards. However, the unfortunate truth is that some people enjoy being cruel to animals and will certainly take advantage of an unsuspecting, outdoor cat.  

There are many animal cruelty cases, and a desire to hurt cats is at the top of the list. Some people will shoot cats with guns or arrows, set out traps and intentionally poison cats with food that appeals to them, and even do much cruller things. It’s sad to say, but humans can be a big danger to outdoor cats. 

7. Getting Lost

Most domesticated cats will not wander too far from home, especially ones who are well fed and spayed or neutered.  An excerpt from Indoor Cat says this: “The Cat Tracker project, a six-year study that used GPS units to follow the movements of owned outdoor cats in several countries, found that most felines remain within 330 feet of their yard. And that more than half stayed within 2½ acres (about two American football fields) of their homes.”

That being said, there is always a risk that your cat could wander too far from home and become lost. They could get lured away by a prey animal, they could get scared or chased away by any number of things, or they could even get picked up by another family who is unaware that your kitty already has a home. 

For all these reasons, your cat should always wear a collar. You can go a step further and use a cat tracking device as well.

So… Should You Let Your Cat Outside?

The decision about whether or not to let your cat outside is a personal one. You’ll need to factor in the dangers outlined in this article, the benefits the outdoors can bring to your cat’s life, as well as your home’s surrounding environment (rural vs urban).

You take risks on a daily basis every time you leave your house (driving cars, walking in the woods, etc.), and it’s up to you to decide how much of those risks you are willing to take with your cat(s). You have to weigh the pros and cons and make a decision you feel good about. 

I personally do not recommend letting cats free-roam outdoors, but I do recognize that there are situations in which doing so might be okay. Instead of giving cats free roaming access to the outside world, I prefer some safer alternatives, which brings me to my next point…

How to Safely Let Your Cat Outside

Instead of letting your cat out to free roam, you might want to consider these safer ways to let your cat outside: 

• Leash walks – A great way to explore outside together with your cat. Leash walks allow your cat to experience all the benefits of the outside world, but in a safe and controlled way. It is also an excellent bonding experience between you and your kitty. 
• Cat backpack and/or stroller rides – Allow your cat to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors from the safety of a backpack or stroller. 
• Catios – These allow for your cat to have a safe but immersive outdoor experience. Unlike leash walks or backpack/stroller rides, they don’t require any training for your cat to be able to enjoy them. 
• Other outdoor enclosures – These include things like window boxes, mesh tents, and/or playpens. These types of enclosures similarly allow your cat to “hang out” outside from the safety of an enclosed space. 
• Cat fencing – This is an addition made to a pre-existing fence that prevents your cat from being able to escape. That way, your cat gets to “free roam” but is restricted to just your own yard. 

All of the above options are my favorite ways to enjoy the outdoors with my cats. Not only do they keep my cats safe, but they also give us activities we can enjoy together. Since opting for these safe outdoor activities, the bond I share with my cats has never been better, and they have never been happier!