Should I let my cat go outside? Outdoor vs Indoor cats

hi everyone welcome back to my channel and 
welcome to all new viewers my name is olka and  i’m a uk based vet and today i’d like to help you 
answer the question should i let my cat go outside  before i get to it please like subscribe and ring 
that bell if you enjoy my content it really helps  okay so have you already got a cat or planning 
to get one and thinking about the logistics now  one of the big decisions to make as a cat owner is 
whether your cat will be an indoor or an outdoor  pet let’s dive in and try to make a little pros 
and cons list let’s start with the good stuff  okay so entertainment obviously the more variety 
in your cat’s environment the more stimulated  it will be being confined in a small space all 
the time with very little change can be boring  and frustrating going outside offers countless 
opportunities for your adventurous cat to play  explore new sights and smells experience different 
textures and learn if your cat goes outside it  will be able to display its natural behavior 
freely suppressing these can lead to stress  and frustration your cat will be monitoring its 
territory scratching climbing and much more some  believe cats which live exclusively indoors 
are more prone to destroying your furniture  carpets etc okay the next one is exercise the more 
time your cat spends outside the more chance it  gets some exercise in our modern society obesity 
in our pets is more common than ever in fact  over a third of cats in the uk are overweight 
regular physical activity helps battle that issue  so what’s the bad stuff then obviously 
your cat can encounter a lot of dangerous  situations outside one of the scariest 
is the chance of a road traffic accident  cats getting seriously injured or being 
killed by cars is extremely common  in a study from 2001 researchers found that 
51 percent of outdoor access cats that died  suddenly and unexpectedly died as 
a result of road traffic accidents  another study from the same year discovered 
that road traffic accidents were the fourth  most common cause of death for cats after old age 
cancer and renal failure interestingly the older  the cat the less likely it is to get hit by a car 
your cat can get into fights with other animals  most commonly other cats and dogs these can 
result in injuries or even death most common  reason for fights between cats is defending 
what they believe to be their territory  in 2013 cats protection logged that 32 cats were 
reported killed by dogs within a four month period  but they say this number is likely underreported 
anyways frequently forgotten dangerous factor  would be various plants toxins poisons your pet 
can encounter whilst outdoors you should research  types of plants around your garden and in close 
neighborhoods and make sure that by munching on  them your cat won’t get poorly ask neighbors what 
chemicals they might use in their yard as wellcats which frequently go outside can have multiple 
families taking care of them without their primary  owner even knowing friendly neighbor might have 
no idea that the cut they’ve been feeding for  the last few weeks isn’t homeless chances 
are they will think the cat needs a home  and will claim him as their own make 
sure you always microchip your pets  making your neighbors aware of the fact you’ve got 
a cat and it does go outside might not be might  not be a bad idea either a similar situation 
happened to our family cat when i was a child  we let him go outside and then he disappeared 
for days after a week or so we found out that  a different family in a neighboring block of 
flats took him in of course we got him back  if your cat goes outside it might get in contact 
with certain infectious diseases which can be  serious or even lethal make sure your cat is 
vaccinated remember though there are some diseases  which we don’t have vaccines against yet picking 
stuff up and chewing on them can infest your  pet with worms so make sure you follow your best 
advice regarding frequency of deworming protocols  external parasites like fleas mites or 
ticks are more common in outdoor cats too  many studies have shown that domestic cats 
activity has a big impact on wildlife population  especially birds and small mammals they kill 
millions to billions of animals every year  many studies were conducted and 
proved this food for fought there i guess  if for some reason you decided against 
neutering your cat chances are they will  either get pregnant if you’ve got a queen or 
cause a pregnancy if you’ve got a tom cat  it is a serious problem if you’ve got an entire 
which means a cat which wasn’t spayed or castrated  i would always advise to keep them indoors to 
help control feral cats population getting lost  with healthy adult cats which know their outdoor 
environment it doesn’t happen often however if  you’ve just moved the house your cat is very young 
or physically not well there is a chance of them  not finding their way back home your cats 
might encounter aggression from people  it is very upsetting to know that some 
people are simply cruel to animals  but there is a risk your cat maybe may get 
kicked may get rocks thrown at him or worse  ultimately every cat has its own personality some 
cats truly prefer to stay indoors and are not  interested in exploring the outdoor environment 
some might even be scared i wouldn’t force them  some cats enjoy going outside a lot if you adopted 
a cat which was used to spending a lot of time  outdoors they might get really stressed if 
you try and keep them in the house exclusively  stress and frustration in cats can 
result in poor physical health too  very commonly urinary tract problems i couldn’t 
find any reliable studies about the number of  indoor versus outdoor cats however most sources 
and anecdotal data mentions that an estimated 88  to 92 percent of british cats 
have free access to outdoors  this number would align with my experience working 
with animals and their owners it is much different  in other countries around the world with usa 
for example having more indoor than outdoor cats  to sum up the answer to our initial question is 
complex and in my opinion should be approached  individually on a case-by-case basis consider all 
the factors and your cat’s personality and needs  whatever the decision there are certain 
advantages and disadvantages to both  and lastly thank you for watching like subscribe 
and i hope i’ll see you here again soon bye