Indoor Cat
Initiative
The most significant risks to a cat’s safety are outdoors. Interaction with other outdoor cats carries risk of exposure to fatal diseases such as Feline Leukemia Virus (FELV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). Encounters with dogs and wild animals can cause life threatening trauma. In urban areas, cars on busy streets also pose a dangerous threat to a cat’s well-being. As a result of these risks, the safest lifestyle choice for a cat is to remain indoors. Most cats will adapt well to an indoor-only lifestyle, but some indoor-only cats will develop health and/or behavioral issues related to this lifestyle. The Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine has developed the following website, The Indoor Pet Initiative, as a resource for pet owners that have chosen to keep their pets indoors, to help identify and alleviate the stressors that can come along with life indoors. Most commonly pet owners will choose to keep their cats indoors, but you will notice that there is information on this site for dog owners that have made this choice as well.