*Author’s note: James Bowen, I suggest you skip this article. It won’t make you feel any better about what’s happened.
Regardless of your opinion of the late Princess of Wales, I think we can all agree that her death was entirely avoidable – an unfitting end to such a colourful life. A drunk man behind the wheel of the car? How does that even happen to someone so high profile? So beloved by so many? It’s unimaginable. And yet, it happened. The same thoughts have been running through my mind ever since I heard that Street Cat Bob had been hit and killed by a car. This sort of thing simply isn’t supposed to happen.
According to the website www.vetsnow.com, the average indoor-only cat will live to around 14 years, and longer than that is not unusual. Meanwhile, the average cat who is allowed outside usually lives just 2 to 5 years. An estimated 90% of UK cats are let to roam outdoors, indicating that the debate as to whether strictly-indoor cats can be happy rages on. But consider this: the number of vehicles on our roads is around 35 million. The number of cats is around 7.5 million, making them outnumbered by cars by almost 5 to 1. An estimated 630 cats are run over every day. Every day.
I’ve been trolling the internet since I first heard about Bob’s death, but I cannot find out whether owner James Bowen allowed his cat the opportunity to spend time outdoors. The articles I’ve read state only that Bob was outdoors. Not wishing to throw salt in Bowen’s no doubt horribly painful open wound, I am nonetheless compelled to suggest: let Bob’s death be a lesson to you in keeping your cat safely indoors at all times. I’ve been doing it for years, and my cats have all been happy and well-adjusted. It doesn’t take much effort on your part to ensure that.
I’ve read that Bowen had a ”catio” made for Bob – a secure outdoor structure from which he could enjoy a little bird-watching. A catio is an excellent place to start, if you have the space for one. If you don’t, that’s o.k. There are plenty of differently sized and shaped cat hotels, cat condos, whatever you want to call them. Cats love to climb around on them, and they absolutely love to perch on things that are up off the ground.
Catnip is also essential to the happiness of your cat. You can buy it in toys, or, better yet, you can easily grow some yourself. Catnip is basically a weed, and I’ve found that the more you ignore it, the better the plant grows. I currently have three plants growing in different locations around the garden, and my cats love to eat the leaves. I harvest all the buds and make catnip toys for my cats, as well as those in shelters still waiting on their forever homes.
The most important element of all, however, in keeping a strictly indoor cat happy, is you. Take time to play with your cat every day. Have a feather toy on standby, or a laser pointer – for some reason that I have never been able to fathom, cats seem to love laser pointers. Every playful interaction strengthens the bond between you and your pet. Snuggling together is equally important, and a great excuse to have a nap!
I know what you’re thinking: you’re concerned that if your cat is kept indoors, it will start clawing all your furniture. The answer there is to make or purchase good, sturdy scratching posts. It’s important to ensure that the post won’t tip over when your cat pulls on it, so you’ll want to make the base large enough to keep it from toppling. In addition, you’ll need to put scratching posts in more than one room of your house, and preferably near the door: cats scratch to shed the outer layer of their claws, but they also scratch to impart their scent, announcing to those who enter the room that this is their territory. Naturally, your cat will want more territory than just one room, hence my suggestion to not limit the number of scratching posts to one.
If you absolutely can’t bear the idea of keeping your cat indoors its whole life, then teach it to walk on a harness and lead. Three of my cats were taught, and we had lovely adventures in the garden. One cat so loved our walks that he took to dragging the lead to the middle of the lounge floor so that I’d know he wanted to go walkies.
The overall point I’m trying to make is that, kept strictly indoors, your cat can be just as happy as those who are allowed out, and it will almost certainly live much longer. While it’s too late to avoid what the Daily Mail called an “utterly unfitting end” for Street Cat Bob, surely we can all learn a valuable lesson from the manner of his death. Please, dear readers, keep your cats indoors!