The purrfect enviroment

LAST week I was left facing a family of five with their kitten in the consulting room.

They had come in for his first vaccination and had asked the dreaded question: “Should we let him out?”

Before I could answer, the little girl had tearfully said she just wanted to keep him in so she could cuddle him all the time.

The two boys had demonstrated their research into cats and announced he was a natural hunter and needed to be allowed to express his normal behaviour.

Mum had raised her concern that they lived on a busy street and was worried about road traffic accidents.

Dad had made it pretty clear he wasn’t keen on litter trays in the kitchen.

Now the family stood silently, expectantly, anxiously, all hoping my answer would agree with their opinion.

At times like these, it can be most uncomfortable to be a veterinary surgeon. But you do what you have to do.

Which is to present the information as it is and try to avoid adding personal opinion.

It is all about identifying the risks and benefits involved and taking account of the welfare of the cat, the family, other cats in the area and, perhaps, local wildlife.

Obviously, cats that are kept in cannot be run over but a recent study at the University of Bristol produced some unexpected results.

Only 49 cats out of 1294 (that’s just 3.9 per cent) had been involved in a road traffic accident by the time they were 12 months old.

Rural rather than urban locations were associated with higher odds of RTAs and there were increased accidents when owners reported seeing cats hunting by the roadside and when they lived on long, straight roads.

Another risk factor for cats outside the house is the spread of infectious diseases.

A well-established vet may have good knowledge of this in individual locations and should advise owners of infected cats to keep them indoors.

Neutering cats before they are let out will reduce the risk, as fighting and sexual contact are the most common problems. And cats get stolen.

Of course, while it may seem safer indoors, this is entirely dependent on the home environment.

The space available to the cat, the presence of other animals, the ability of the owners to reliably and consistently provide play, mimic hunting behaviour and have the correct type of scratch posts and lounging platforms all play a part.

So it looked like it was going to be a long consultation…