Outdoor cats tend to spend their days roaming and exploring and do a good bit of running and climbing in the process. And when your cat stays active, they are less likely to become overweight.
Ideally all cats would be allowed access to the outdoors to express their natural behaviour. However, cats can adapt to living indoors, particularly if they are used to it from a young age. Some cats need to be confined indoors due to medical conditions and others prefer an indoor life.
Ask any cat owner: there is nothing quite as pathetic – or demanding – as a cat who feels cold. Outdoor kitties will seek out warm, sunny spots or huddle together in dry places for companionship and heat. In winter, you may find them sheltering in parking garages or more public structures for warmth.
Sleeping All Day
As they evolved in the wild, felines developed a pattern for conserving energy. They hunt for a short period and spend the rest of the day sleeping. In house cats, the pattern is similar. A kitten will eat and play in brief bursts, but spend most of their time at rest.
It isn't uncommon for cats to go missing for 24 hours, especially if they like spending a lot of time outdoors. In some cases, cats can even stay away from home for up to 10 days at a time. We also know of cats that leave home while their humans are away on holiday, returning soon after the family arrives back.
And for most of the time, cats that go outside of their homes tend to be just around the corner — literally. On average, it turned out that the cats spent a vast majority (79%) of their time outdoors while being just 50 meters or less away from home, with the maximum average distance being around 352 meters.
Male wanderers tend to stay within a territory of about 150 acres, while females stay closer to home, roaming only about 40 acres. This means that your average male cat is likely to stay within 1500 feet of home, while your average female tends not to go much farther than 75 yards from your door.
You might think that with the 15 hours a day your cat spends napping that she may not have time to get bored. But unfortunately, cats can—and do— get bored.
One of the things many people find very appealing about cats is that they can be left alone for longer periods than dogs. Even with the convenience of a litter box and an endless supply of food, cats left alone for long stretches of time, day after day, can suffer from loneliness, boredom and even separation anxiety.
Indoor cats become bored easily because their entire life exists within four walls. Day in and day out their environment, food, social interactions, and routine stay basically the same. Curious by nature cats have limited opportunities for exploration that keep them interested in their environment.
Cats are crepuscular, which means that they are most active at dawn and dusk. However, some house cats that either started off as strays or spend a lot of time outdoors, may develop the habit of being most active at night due to the fact that night time is when their prey is most active.
Cats love to roam, especially at night. This is because they are creatures whose instinct is to hunt when it is dark outside, especially at dawn and dusk. Those are the times of day that a cat is most active.
They sleep during the day for long periods of time and some spend their nights and early mornings driving their owners up the wall making noise, attacking their feet, or meowing incessantly. Outdoor cats especially enjoy the nighttime as it allows for them to embrace their instincts with less human interaction.
Many cats enjoy the outdoors. They love to climb, feel the breeze on their faces, and chase bugs. Whether or not you let your indoor cat outside can be a tough call. But you might want to be aware of these potential risks before you open your door.
Stress. Stress is another common reason why cats run away. Cats are creatures of habit – they don't like changes in the household or to their routine.
Cats are happier and healthier when they're safe, which means living indoors. If they're eager to explore outdoors, you can give them opportunities to do so under supervision. Cats should be allowed outdoors only for walks on leashes that are attached to well-fitting harnesses designed for cats.
Signs of a Depressed Cat
Changes in body language, including ears held back, tucked tail, and hairs standing on end. Meowing more or less than usual or making low-pitched, mournful meows. Lack of energy or a decrease in activity level. Retreating from humans or other family pets.
While some cats go nuts for on-screen antics, others are content to watch the activity with an air of calm, and still others may not be interested in TV at all. Depending on their temperament and the depth of their hunting instinct, your cat may or may not engage with television or other electronic screens.
Do Cats Get Cold? Unless they're a very short-haired or hairless breed, cats typically have warm coats, and (hopefully) they stay inside. However, they can still get cold.
If you are going to have your cat inside, it is important to make its environment as stimulating as possible. If you don't, cats can quickly become bored, stressed and even depressed, resulting in detrimental and destructive behaviours.
As amazing as it sounds, cats do have a special ability called a homing instinct that helps them find their way back home. Although we don't know for certain how it works, evidence supports the idea that cats are able to use the earth's geomagnetic fields—potentially combined with scent cues—to locate their homes.
The short answer is yes, they absolutely can. One of the first ever studies conducted on the homing powers of cats, published in The Scientific Monthly in 1922, found that a mother cat separated from her kittens was able to locate them seven times at varying distances between one and four miles.