In 2025, there were about 10.2 million pet cats in the UK; almost a quarter of all UK households (24%) have a feline friend.
But, per Cats Protection, 3% of these were injured by cars outside the home, and the most common cause for injury was fights among other cats in the great outdoors (15%).
Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that a new paper has suggested the best way to help our cats live longer is the simple, free technique of keeping them indoors.
Why might keeping cats indoors help them live longer?
Roaming cats may die as many as 10 years before their indoor peers, the researchers wrote.
This is partly because outdoor cats are exposed to “substantial risks of traumatic injury and infectious disease, plus lesser risks of poisoning and abuse”.
They added that the “cohort of outdoor cats has approximately 70-80% of the lifespan of the cohort of indoor cats”, and that chronic conditions created by e.g. injuries sustained outdoors ...
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