Indoor cats denied opportunities for natural behaviours including hunting, climbing, scratching and social play face significant welfare risks from boredom, frustration and obesity.
Indoor cats face a welfare paradox: safer from external dangers but at risk from the internal dangers of boredom, frustration and obesity in environments that fail to meet their behavioural needs. Cats are obligate hunters with prey drives that must be expressed daily for psychological wellbeing. An indoor cat denied hunting-like play becomes frustrated, may develop compulsive behaviours, overeat, or develop stress-related urinary disease. Enrichment that simulates the complexity of an outdoor environment - vertical space, hunting games, foraging opportunities, varied sensory stimulation - allows indoor cats to thrive. The commitment to a truly enriched indoor environment is the welfare exchange for removing outdoor access.