Indoor-only cats are at risk of behavioral problems including inappropriate elimination, aggression, and over-grooming that reflect unmet behavioral needs, requiring active enrichment to maintain welfare.
Indoor-only cats face welfare risks from the frustration of natural behavioral needs in impoverished environments. Cats are obligate hunters, and without appropriate outlets this drive can manifest as redirected aggression, excessive vocalization, and destructive behavior. Social conflict in multi-cat households is a major welfare problem, with cats unable to establish territory by spacing themselves adequately in a fixed indoor environment. Stress from inadequate environmental complexity is associated with immune suppression, recurrent urinary problems, and psychosomatic illness. Over-grooming causing self-inflicted hair loss is a documented welfare indicator of chronic stress in indoor cats.