{"id":3699,"date":"2023-12-21T06:42:34","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T06:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/?p=3699"},"modified":"2025-11-01T09:07:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T09:07:38","slug":"8-smart-steps-to-keep-your-indoor-outdoor-cat-safe-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/pet-care\/8-smart-steps-to-keep-your-indoor-outdoor-cat-safe-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Smart Steps to Keep Your Indoor-Outdoor Cat Safe in India"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who are The Mythical Indoor Outdoor Cats?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s get the bitter truth out of the way – if you have a cat who visits your home during meal time and naptime, you have an outdoor cat who likes to spend some time indoors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the max, you can call them indoor-outdoor cats. They are, in no way, an indoor pet and they will never feel 100% comfortable or happy staying indoors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, if you have a kitten (younger than 6 months) who visits you often, you might still have time to get them adjusted to a completely indoor environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just like some people prefer working from home and others prefer office environments, cats have their own preferences when it comes to their own \u201cwork-life\u201d balance. Restricting them indoors is not advisable despite the dangers they face every day while living outside your home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Keeping Your Indoor-Outdoor Cats Safe in India<\/span><\/h2>\n

Now that you know you have an indoor-outdoor cat, we come to the biggest question all cat lovers keep asking again and again – \u201cHow do I keep my indoor-outdoor cats safe?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As the care provider of 8 indoor-outdoor cats, I have some personalised tips for you to keep your cat(s) safe as well –<\/span><\/p>\n

Provide Fresh Food and Water<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Replenish their food and water bowls at least twice a day. Make sure they have access to fresh food whenever they have the time to stop by! Will other outdoor cats eat \u201ctheir\u201d cat food? Yes! Is that bad? No! I believe in the simple motto when it comes to feeding outdoor cats – The more the merrier!<\/span><\/p>\n

Put their feeding and water bowls in a no-conflict zone. This would include avoiding your neighbour\u2019s doorstep, the shared garage space and the main entrance of an apartment building.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have your own building\/house, keep the bowls in an easy to access place where refilling and clean-ups are a no-hassle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep multiple bowls with at least 2 feet distance between each to avoid cat-on-cat conflict.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Complete Their Vaccination<\/span><\/h2>\n

I understand how difficult it is to vaccinate cats, especially outdoor cats. However, it is A MUST if you want to keep your cat community healthy and protect yourself from unwarranted heartbreaks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To get your cats to trust you enough, it might take you between 6 months and 1 year! But it\u2019s worth every second. Take it from the self-proclaimed cat lady! And once they begin to trust you, you can <\/span>deworm your cats<\/span><\/a> and treat their wounds as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Protect your community cats from feline parvo, calicivirus and herpesvirus infections by repeating their CRP vaccines annually. Give them their annual anti-rabies as well at the same time to protect them from rabies and keep your neighbours relieved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Invest in Neutering and Spaying of Indoor Outdoor Cats<\/span><\/h2>\n

TNR (Trap Neuter and Release) is again another challenge for outdoor cat caregivers. However, to keep the number of your outdoor or indoor-outdoor from growing exponentially, you will need to focus on <\/span>cat birth control<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Neutering male cats will reduce fights and you will have happily roaming, and coexisting tom cats for years to come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Spaying will prevent unwanted pregnancies in kittens and cats. It will also prevent diseases and complications including UTIs, pyometra and false pregnancies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Preventing diseases in streetie cats is much easier than treating them.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Take Flea Protection Seriously<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

I find it much easier to use spot-ons on all my outdoor and indoor-outdoor cats. One of the biggest reasons I rely on spot-ons is because they <\/span>get rid of all fleas<\/span><\/a> and ticks, which can hop onto my indoor cats and give them diseases as well!<\/span><\/p>\n

Another reason you might want to rely on spot-ons is because they are cost-effective and super easy to apply! You can apply the spot-on solution while petting your cat and they typically do not understand a thing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One spot-on provides at least 28-days of protection unless there\u2019s a deluge!<\/span><\/p>\n

Get Them Breakaway Collars and Tags<\/span><\/h2>\n

A breakaway collar with a tag might seem a bit much, but this is necessary for multiple reasons –<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Your furball may be receiving food from multiple houses and if you are thinking of starting a particular diet or prescription food, you need to know where they are going.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. If they leave the area (which male cats often do during the mating season) you have the chance of locating them.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. If they fall sick or meet with an accident, you will receive the information and have the time to treat them.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Use easy <\/span>BREAKAWAY collars only<\/span><\/a> since our feline gods love finding themselves in the most impossible places and if their collars get snagged, it can simply break off instead of choking them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    I do not recommend giving cats pretty glow-in-the-dark or reflective collars unless they have an \u201cEasy Breakaway\u201d guarantee.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    PS: Include your contact information in their tag instead of putting the cute name you call them!<\/span><\/p>\n

    Keep Activated Charcoal and First-Aid Handy<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Outdoor cats can get up to all kinds of antics. Although it\u2019s quite impossible for a cat to poison themselves, they may accidentally consume something toxic!<\/span><\/p>\n

    If you know the signs of toxicity in cats, you can give them the first <\/span>dose of activated charcoal<\/span><\/a> after asking the vet about the correct quantity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The same goes for emergency situations where you need to stop bleeding or stabilise a fracture before you can take feisty kitty to the vet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Which also reminds me, do keep a cat carrier handy for these situations. There\u2019s no way you are transporting a cat to the vet on your lap!<\/span><\/p>\n

    Take Photos and Videos of Your Cats!<\/span><\/h2>\n

    In case you cannot find your indoor-outdoor cat, you will need a photo reference to ask your neighbours. Not everyone will remember the \u201cCute white chubby cat with the black spot on the head\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    And, honestly, God kind of ran out of options while printing cats, so we have to work with a very limited repertoire of adjectives. Take clear photos and videos whenever possible. Use them to locate your cat in case they don\u2019t show up for lunch or dinner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Set Up Easy Access Routes for Your Cats<\/span><\/h2>\n

    \"A<\/p>\n

    While you don\u2019t need to construct a stairway for your indoor-outdoor cats, you should clear a path for easy access to the resources they need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Some people use step stools near their windows, while others install two or three wooden planks for their cats\u2019 easy access to the indoors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    In India, the concept of cat flaps isn\u2019t as common, but you can find options on online e-commerce sites. Or, you can create your own version of cat flaps on your door or window for your feline friends.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Additional Tip: Want more cats to visit your home?<\/span> Grow a bunch of cat grass and catnip<\/span><\/a>. You will find the entire community of cats at your doorstep at all hours of the day!<\/span><\/p>\n

    While I understand and acknowledge that these are not enough to keep any cat 100% safe if they are roaming outside without your supervision, these 8 steps will weed out most of the health and wellbeing risks that plague our indoor-outdoor cat population in India.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Who are The Mythical Indoor Outdoor Cats? Let\u2019s get the bitter truth out of the way – if you have a cat who visits your home during meal time and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[118,65,71,66],"tags":[120,137,7],"class_list":["post-3699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cats","category-pet-care","category-diet-and-nutrition","category-pet-parents","tag-cat-behaviour","tag-cat-health","tag-cats"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3699"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6750,"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3699\/revisions\/6750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vetic.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}