CAT'S OPINION : KEEP CATS INDOORS AT NIGHT
 
Sleep during grey days...Regular behavior...times...patterns.

 
I think it’s a myth that cats must go out at night. During the nighttime hours most cats find a place to sleep. It’s only during the hours of dusk and dawn that they are active unless they’ve been disturbed. At dusk and dawn is when most cats are hit by cars, get into fights, and are chased far from home by aggressive cats. When given a secure place to sleep for the night ‘colony’ stray cats will be healthier and less aggressive. If you keep your domestic cat indoors during the night you will find that not only does he accept this way of life but he enjoys the security it gives. He becomes more attentive to you, and has less aggressive behavior. Once he gets used to going outside during the day he’ll be sleeping before you are at night.


A lot of neutered cats are perfectly content in an apartment or house with no outside privileges.

For an example think of all the breeders whose show cats stay indoors for their own protection and the protection of their coats. You don’t need to raise a kitten indoors to be sure he’ll be happy indoors. Some cats, even those raised with garden privileges, after a period of adjustment will settle down in an indoor environment.
 

Our world today is different than fifty years ago. The dangers cats face now are ones that didn’t exist before. People didn’t use slug pellets as a matter of course, there are more and faster cars (much quieter, too), there are more people and they are busier, less inclined to brake for animals and less inclined to stop if one is hit. Hunters think nothing of shooting cats as they shoot birds and other animals, communities are organizing beats to eradicate cats as an easy way to get rid of an over population. But cats are adaptable. They will do most of the work of adaptation if you do your part. Use patience and know when to distract your cat when he becomes nervous. Know your cat’s personality. Most cats beg to go out to the garden because they want to pee outside. Lead them to the litter pan, most of the time they’ll use it and then stop begging to go out. If they are nervous at night try keeping them in a small, quiet room. They feel more secure and often go to sleep if you provide a box bed and turn out the light. After a period of time they will get used to being indoors at night and won’t need the comfort of a small space.
 
My domestic cats and the ‘colony’ stray cats all sleep like the dead during ‘grey’ days. The cloudy weather means ‘lights out’ for cats, much like some people feel ‘low’ during ‘grey’, cloudy days. Let them sleep, cats on the average sleep 20 hours a day anyway and only open an eye when disturbed. For stray cats it’s important that you give them a secure place to hide and sleep. Most aggressions will come from fights over sleeping quarters. If they have enough room to find beds for everyone, your colony is much calmer.
 
It’s not true that cats are arrogant, independent, solitary creatures. They are what you make them. They like routine as much as dogs do…even more! If you change the way you think, you’ll be surprised at the amount of routine cats thrive on. My house is run to military standards when it comes to cats. The stray cats know when to come for food, birth control pills, and they know when they get only dry food and when they get both wet and dry. They know when they are allowed in the garden and when to calm down. ‘Be nice’!
 
My domestic cats know mealtimes (they have more accurate watches than me), times for fresh milk in the bowl, when to ask to go out, who to ask for treats from someone’s plate, when to be quiet and the big ‘no, no’. They all have their own beds and toys. (Gig has his own toy white mouse kept separate, only Gig and mommy know where it is) Gig is big on herding everyone to bed (even mommy) at a certain time. He supervises the open windows, running taps, fresh water and does spider patrol and garden perimeters. He is the world champion at leaping ‘all four feet on the wall’ jumping. (I have pitty pat proof).
 
Tina Sue is in charge of hiding toys. Only she can make them magically appear. She is also the alto in the chorus of snoring. Timmy, her daughter is soprano. Tina Sue is in charge of waking everyone with her sleep apnea.
 
Timmy is blind. This does not mean she is to be pitied. She climbs on the beams in the barn, into trees, fights invading cats, takes the bed of her choice by force, generally terrorizes whoever she wants. She also melts your heart when stuck on a barn beam, high above the ground she calls out and asks for help. Trustingly she waits until you arrive, climbs out onto your arm and down to your shoulder without a claw used, to huddle, arms around your neck while you walk backwards down the ladder. Once down on level ground it takes thirty seconds for her to launch into the next adventure.
 
Mercredi is the queen mother and eats, sleeps and otherwise nothing else. She has passed on playing with toys to Tina Sue, only catches spiders if they’re tasty and could care less if visitors call her cute. She bites them anyway. Age has its privileges. But she does know mealtimes and becomes testy when I’m late with the tuna.

My point is this. Discipline works.
 
Tummy is still learning the ropes. He is a stray cat that we’ve adopted. He continues to stay out later than he should at night but is aware that I call and look for him at a certain time. If he goes out without the other house cats and is left out all day alone while the other cats are inside, he becomes morose and depressed. He’s solitary, independent. He doesn’t sit on your lap, help you in the kitchen, sleep with you on the bed at night. He stands at the door and asks permission to come in. He feels left out. But the contrary is also true. If I insist that he goes out with the others and comes in at the same time he begins to blossom. If you watch him, he will test out the ‘water’. He timidly goes in and out of the open door, sliding in without asking permission. He becomes more confident each time he goes in and out. He sees that the open door and the other cats are nice things, that he belongs to the group. He is helpful, curious about everything you do, he does funny things for you to laugh about, pushes his way to the front of the food line, in other words, he becomes an interactive part of the family, attentive, calm, happy, content. The more often I insist on a routine with him, the more quickly he adapts to the routine. He thrives on routine, discipline, love. He is becoming more and more like Tina Sue. Snoring aside she was once a ‘wild’ cat from outdoors, arrogant, independent, solitary. Now she hides toys.