Indoor cats require carefully designed environments that meet their behavioural needs for predatory behaviour, exploration, climbing, scratching, and social interaction.
An indoor-only lifestyle is safest for cats in many environments, but it requires active management of the indoor space to meet feline behavioural needs. Cats that cannot express hunting, climbing, scratching, and exploratory behaviours suffer from chronic boredom and frustration. This manifests as destructive behaviour, weight gain, and stress-related conditions. Creating a stimulating, cat-appropriate indoor environment is not optional — it is a welfare necessity for indoor-kept cats. Fortunately, most interventions are inexpensive and highly effective.