Is it cruel to get a kitten/cat if you live in a 2nd floor flat?

[Agent Sparrow]

you can also adopt a cat that has an injury, that couldn't go outside because it couldn't look after itself there.

Yes, my old flatmate, on thinking she was going to move to a place without a garden, was seriously wondering whether to ring up cat shelters to ask if they had any disabled cats. She was a little concerned they'd find her a bit odd though!

 

[May Kasahara]

As others have said, there are loads of cats waiting to be adopted who for various reasons can't go outside - FIV cats, cats with injuries, very timid cats, and especially older cats. Rehoming older cats is a huge problem, and there are plenty of loving moggies out there who would be glad of a cosy home where they could just lounge around all day. Lots of shelters will destroy FIV cats without even trying to rehome them, when they can actually live long healthy happy lives just like any other cat, as long as they are kept inside, so it's worth checking that out as an option too. Contact your local shelter and they should see you right. Alternatively check out www.catchat.org - populated with scarily obsessive cat lovers, yes, but an endless source of excellent info and tips, and they have a rehoming page and great links.

 

[WasGeri]

Did you see the one who would attach a lady's sanitary towel to her cat so he wouldn't spray around the house? The poor thing looked mortified...

He did, didn't he? Poor thing!

 

[_angel_]

It's not cruel but you'd have to work out the logistics of when / how to let him out and come back in again.

It's not ideal exactly but doable. Definitely consider old re-homed cats who probably just sleep all day anyway!

 

[Tort]

Personally I wouldn't. But there again all the cats I've ever had have been either farm cats or rescues & I've always lived in areas where we can happily put the cat out at night & let it get on with what it does naturally. Admittedly there are some breeds which seem to adapt better as housecats but it all just seems wrong to me to keep an animal that still retains an element of feral instinct cooped up in a sterile & unatural environment. And as for all that litter tray business!