Keeping Indoor Cats Happy | Alaska Mill & Feed

More and more people are choosing to keep their cats inside. There are plenty of great reasons to do so. Indoor cats live longer than outside cats. The average lifespan for an indoor cat is 15 years, vs. 2-5 years for a cat that goes outside. Indoor cats also make excellent neighbors, because they don’t disturb people’s gardens. They don’t hang out under bird feeders, snagging sparrows. And they don’t disappear.

Cats need their space. Outdoor cats’ territories can be as big as 20 city blocks, but an inside cat’s territory is limited to the house, and often, in the case of multiple cats, discrete places in certain rooms. To keep indoor cats happy, create lots of safe spaces for them, so they have good options for escape, and can hide if they feel threatened. Cats prefer elevated spaces, and sturdy cat posts provide such levels, as well as places to scratch and play.

Obesity and the importance of play. In the 2006 study, “Human-Animal Relationship of Owners of Normal and Overweight Cats,” found that owners of normal-weight cats played more often with their cats than owners of overweight cats. Both sets of owners spent the same amount of time for tenderness and caressing their cats, but “owners of normal cats more often used extra play time as a treat than owners of overweight cats, whereas extra food was more often used by the owners of overweight cats.”

Hairballs and coat condition. Indoor cats spend a lot of time grooming–up to four hours a day–so many suffer from constipation and hairballs. Healthy, natural foods with proper fibers can help indoor cats pass ingested hairs through the feces. Adding access to wheatgrass along with an occasional treat of a natural hairball remedy can make constipation or a hairball a rare event for any indoor cat.