The Cat Handbook. Karen Leigh Davis

cats of their outdoor freedom is cruel. But most experts agree that cats kept indoors live longer, healthier lives.

      Cats that live their lives totally indoors are less likely to be exposed to diseases, plagued by parasites, hit by cars, attacked by dogs, killed by coyotes, bitten by wild animals, caught in wild animal traps, poisoned by pesticides, and harmed by cruel people.

      You can also expect to have fewer veterinary bills related to injuries from cat fights and similar mishaps, if you keep your cat indoors. In addition, you will have peace of mind, knowing that your well-cared-for indoor cat has a smaller chance of contracting illness or parasites, such as Lyme disease-carrying ticks, that could affect you or your family.

Keeping your cat indoors will also help ensure that he has the best opportunity to live out his full life expectancy. As long as you provide love and attention, your cat will be quite happy and well adjusted living indoors. If you feel your cat must experience the outdoors, supervise outings in the yard, build an outdoor exercise run, or install a cat flap that provides safe access to a screened-in porch.

       Purebred or Mixed-breed Cat?

      Many people who consider acquiring a cat as a companion wrestle with the question of whether they should adopt a homeless cat from a shelter or invest in a pedigreed animal whose temperament and appearance are more predictable. To some, this is a real ethical dilemma, given that there are so many unwanted cats destroyed each year simply because there aren’t enough homes to go around for all of them. For every purebred purchased, they reason, a homeless cat loses its chance to be adopted.

      Regardless of whether you choose a purebred or a random-bred cat, you are still offering a good home to an animal that can become your valued companion. And aside from the expense of acquisition, the costs of caring for a random-bred versus a purebred cat are virtually the same as far as cat food, veterinary care, and routine vaccinations are concerned.

      Ultimately, your choice depends on what you’re really looking for in a cat. Certainly, random-bred cats make just as good companions as purebred felines. Also, the so-called alley cat is much less expensive to acquire. But where mixed-breed cats are purely potluck, purebreds, on the other hand, have a recorded ancestry, called a pedigree. The advantage in knowing a cat’s family history means that certain health factors and other important qualities can be predicted with greater accuracy. In acquiring a kitten with papers, you’ll have a general idea about what he’s going to grow up to look like and about what kind of personality he will possess as an adult.

      If your ultimate goal is to show cats, you’ll most certainly want a purebred to register and compete in championship classes. Keep in mind, however, that most major cat shows also have a special household pet category for exhibiting non-pedigreed, random-bred cats. In household pet classes, cats are judged according to their beauty, condition, and personality rather than a written breed standard. Typically, the associations that sponsor household pet divisions require that cats entered in this category be spayed or neutered.

Many cats exhibited in the house-hold pet category have heartwarming stories behind them about being rescued or adopted from shelters. And, no doubt, many seasoned cat show exhibitors got their start showing in this category, learning the rules of the trade along the way.

       One Cat or Two?

      If your lifestyle and financial situation permit, acquiring two cats can be the perfect solution to the dilemma of whether to invest in a purebred or to adopt a nonpedigreed cat. Why not get one of each, as long as you can afford the double cost of caring for two animals?

      Like people, cats can become bored and lonely when forced to stay alone all day while you are away at work. One way to avoid this problem is to get two kittens at the same time, and at about the same age, so they can bond as friends and keep each other company. Besides, two cats are twice as much fun to watch. Once acquainted, the two will romp and play and give each other exercise.

       Adult Cat or a Kitten?

      Kittens are cute and adorable, and few people want to miss the joys of this short-lived stage. However, you can save yourself the expense of spaying or neutering by adopting a grown or nearly grown cat that already has been altered.

      If your heart is set on a purebred, you may get lucky and find one that is being retired early from a breeding program or the show ring. Such cats typically cost less to acquire than a purebred kitten, simply because it is harder to sell adults or find good homes for them. Usually, purebred cats placed in this way are altered and up to date on their annual vaccinations prior to sale, saving you, the buyer, these initial expenses.

      Certainly, kittenhood holds special joys for cat lovers, but this stage can also be the most destructive. Kittens are not born knowing how you expect them to behave in your home. They have to be properly socialized and patiently taught not to climb your draperies and not to sharpen their claws on your couch.

      On the other hand, many adult cats are surrendered for adoption because of behavior problems related to their past care or to a lack of proper socialization and training. House-soiling and destructive clawing are two of the most common behavior problems that result in cats being surrendered to animal shelters for adoption (see page 25 for tips on adopting a cat from a shelter).

       Male or Female?

      Unless you intend to become a professional cat breeder, the sex of the cat you choose as your companion should not matter. If you simply want a household pet, both males and females make equally fine companions after you alter them–that is, once you spay a female or neuter a male cat. If your interest is focused on the show ring, remember that even purebreds can be shown at cat shows in alter classes, also called premiership classes, after they have been spayed or neutered.

       The internal reproductive organs of the female cat.

      When to spay or neuter: Veterinarians traditionally recommend that male cats be neutered between eight and ten months of age and that females be spayed at six months, but both surgical procedures can now be performed safely at a much earlier age. In fact, to ensure that indiscriminate breeding does not take place, some shelters and breeders may elect to spay or neuter kittens early, before they go to new homes. Studies have suggested that the practice of early spaying and neutering appears to be safe and does not adversely affect feline maturity, as was once thought.

      Generally, early spaying can take place between 12 and 14 weeks, and early neutering can be performed between 10 and 12 weeks. If you are interested in altering your kitten early, discuss the issue with your veterinarian.

      Why bother to alter at all? Choosing a male cat is the strategy some people use to avoid being saddled with raising unwanted litters of kittens and having to find homes for them. Yet, they don’t give a second thought to letting their intact male roam freely to breed indiscriminately with other cats. Such irresponsible pet ownership only contributes to the existing pet over-population crisis and the annual surplus of unwanted, homeless pets that must be euthanized.

      About 75 percent of cats taken into U.S. animal shelters are humanely put to death each year, simply because there aren’t enough homes to go around for so many. Annual humane death figures have fluctuated from a staggering 4.3 million to nearly 9.5 million within just the last decade. Countless other homeless cats fall victim to neglect,