Keeping cats permanently indoors can prevent road deaths and wildlife predation, but requires careful management to avoid boredom and psychological distress.
Cats are obligate hunters and explorers. Without enrichment, indoor confinement causes boredom, frustration, and learned helplessness. Resource competition in multi-cat households (food, litter boxes, resting spots) causes chronic low-level stress. This manifests as overgrooming, urine marking, and hiding. Feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) is a stress-related condition causing painful urinary obstruction.