Keeping cats permanently indoors protects them from outdoor risks but requires deliberate effort to meet their predatory, social, and environmental needs. Behavioural enrichment is essential for indoor cat welfare.
Indoor confinement without enrichment creates a welfare deficit for cats whose evolutionary history equipped them for active hunting, territorial exploration, and environmental complexity. Cats in barren indoor environments develop stereotypic behaviours, over-grooming, excessive vocalisation, and obesity from inactivity. The solution is deliberate environmental engineering: multiple vertical levels, rotated novel objects, daily interactive play sessions of 10-15 minutes, puzzle feeders, and where possible, safe outdoor access through enclosed catios or supervised garden time. Multi-cat households require careful resource management — one litter tray, food station, and resting spot per cat plus one extra prevents chronic competition and stress.