Looking back at our earlier photos of Luxie, I’m amazed at how much she has grown. Although she’s still a kitten, her features are starting to develop into a more mature cat face. She’s very long and lanky, a look made more noticeable by her extremely short coat — the shortest I’ve seen on a cat. She has virtually no fluff. You know how kittens look when they just had a bath and seem temporarily slim? Luxie looks like that all the time.
We’re still keeping her indoors for now, so she hasn’t needed a heavy winter coat. I’m seriously considering making her a permanent indoor cat. All our previous cats have been indoor/outdoor and we have a screened back porch accessible through a cat door, so they still had some outdoor time. Even so, I worry about their safety when they go outside. Keeping Luxie inside would likely be healthier for her, though it does mean more litter use than we’re used to.
One downside is that Luxie can get bored. I work downstairs and take short breaks about every 30 minutes to go upstairs, and she gets so excited to see me that she follows me everywhere. That behavior makes me think she might enjoy the stimulation of going outdoors. The fresh sights, smells, and places to explore would give her a lot more variety than an indoor-only routine.
So I’m torn: indoor-only for safety and health, or indoor/outdoor for enrichment and variety. What do you think? Should cats be kept primarily indoors, or allowed outside under supervision?