this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2025
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House cats shouldn't even be outside
Strays who lived outside can't be house-only cats anymore.
Absolutely they can. Perhaps not all of them but I have lots of first hand evidence that outdoor cats and even feral cats can become happy housecats.
Given every single shelter I've ever been to in Germany lists adoption requirements for each cat (one of them if they are a freeroamer or bot, i.e. need outside access) and would not let you adopt a cat if you can't provide them, with the professionals at the shelter even pointing out that "taking away outside access from a cat can, depending on the cat, amount to factual animal abuse" (roughly translated)… yeah, sorry, but there's zero chance any anecdote here could convince me.
I've already posted an example on another reply. Right now they even got an additional box above the list stating that "most our current cats do not accept being held only indoors" (the green one), given that's what most people look for. Most of them specifically state "Freigang" (Freeroam) as requirement.
Both mine were strays and are now happily indoor cats with a catio. It just requires an adjustment period.
I also follow all the local legislation (registration, neutering, etc.). So it can be done and may just depend on how adoption agencies in your state/country function.
Sure they can.
That goes against any knowledge and experiences available, I've never seen or heard of a single adoption centre who'd allow it either; if the cat is an outdoor cat they'll never let you take it unless you can let it out as well, and cats who're accustomed to a secured balcony or a Catio also require it to be adopted. That's why it's important to raise a cat as indoor cat in the first place. Do you have any sort of proof of the opposite?
Adopted a cat that was a stray for 2 years and adoption center encouraged me to keep her as an indoor cat. As she has gotten older I have given her supervised outdoor time as in I am feet away from her at all times but for her first year she pretty happily lived in a studio apt without a balcony and whenever I had to bring her to the car she would get super panicked and nervous from being outside
I'd love to see this cat adoption center that advocates that any cats should be allowed to roam. Sounds pretty sus. Got a link?
Not any cats, but those who're already accustomed to the outdoors. I've been to multiple animal shelters in Germany over the years, all of them had information about if a cat required access to the outdoors to be happy. And that was a requirement for adoption of those cats. You can see it here for example at the Hamburg shelter Süderstraße, the biggest one in the city. Every cat or group of cats has the "Haltungsanforderung" (adoption requirements) mentioned, most of them "Freigang" ("Freeroam") since they often receive strays and there're less people in the city who can provide that.
I've no clue where the hell you all live or how big your houses usually are, but despite the known heavoc freeroaming cats can cause: if they are freeroamers then, according to the professionals at the shelters I spoke with, suddenly keeping them in an average apartment (i.e. ~60m²) would be almost abuse and they will not let you adopt a cat if the cats individual requirements aren't met.
And to be clear once more, the shelters don't advocate for everyone to let their cats out. They advocate and educate so people won't do it in the first place, BUT if a cat already knows the outside and would go mad inside they respect the animals' requirements.
False....