# Burmese (or similar) Owners - indoor or outdoor?



## Aurelie (Apr 10, 2012)

Our BSH is an outdoor cat with a catflap, he pretty much comes and goes as he pleases and I am wondering if this kind of lifestyle will be suitable for our Burmese. We live in a rural area - not much traffic, nice neighbourhood and some other cats living nearby but not lots. 

We didn't let Claude out until he was nearly a year old but he is too lazy to go far, I know that a Burmese is likely to be a bit nosier and I wonder how much I need to take that into account when it comes to making the decision on wether or not he/she should be an indoor or outdoor cat - or maybe even just an out during the day cat?! 

I would welcome any feedback on your own experiences


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## rizz (Apr 11, 2012)

I have two Burmese and we keep them indoors, they are very people orientated love their cuddles! Where we live in a busy area I don't like the idea of them going out plus I'm scared of people nicking them! 

If I lived in a quiet area not a lot of traffic in a nice neighbourhood I would let them out!


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

When I was growing up our neighbours had 2 burmese and they were let outside. A friend of mine had 2 siamese cats and her family let theirs out. 

If I had a burmese/siamese type cat I would let them out in my current area but if I moved to a not so nice area then I would keep them in like I would my moggies for fear of either theft or just some not so nice person. 

I think if you are comfortable with your BSH going outside then a Burmese shouldnt be too much different.


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## MollyMilo (Feb 16, 2012)

I've had Siamese for the last 20 years or so and have always let them out. Free to come and go as they please. I find the females like to hang around the house, perhaps go into the next garden but stay in shouting distance. The male I had , loved to be out and went roaming for hours. Always came back in to wee in the litter though! 

I'll let these two ( Siamese) out when they have been neutered too.


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## Jansheff (Jan 31, 2011)

My two Burmese are indoor cats. I once lost a cat on the road and never want to go through that again, so I bought these two with the intention of keeping them indoor cats. They're so lovely they would go with anyone who gave them a cuddle. 

The lady who runs the cattery where we board ours used to breed Burmese (it was at her suggestion we had Burmese in the first place). She doesn't breed any more, but still keeps one neutered male as a pet. The one she has now is about 11 and still going strong, but the one before that was killed on the road and she lives on a lane, in a rural area with few cars. But it only takes one. 

We do have a big house though, plenty of room for them to have their mad chases and we take them out on harnesses in the garden when it's warm. Cat proofing your garden is an option, but we have a large garden with loads of huge trees, just inside the wall, so without losing loads of trees (and there a tree preservation order in this area we can't even prune them without permission) it would be impossible. Burmese are very active and ours regularly scale 12 feet to sleep on top of the kitchen cabinets, so any cat proofing would have to be on a par with Strangeways.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Aurelie -- would it not be a bit difficult, practically speaking, to have one cat going out when he pleased and the other an indoors only cat? Or would you have a magnetic catflap and put a magnetic collar on your BSH ? Only problem being if he lost his collar whilst he was out out he wouldn't be able to get back in the house....

I always let the pedigree cats I had in the past have free access through a catflap in the daytime and evenings, but without fail they were called in at night and shut in until morning. I live in a quiet area, a cul de sac well off the main road. There are not many cats around here. 

I think I might have worried if any of mine had been friendly to strangers, but they were not. But this would apply whether they were peds or moggies -- I just don't like my cats being friendly to anyone outside the home, as I would fear one getting stolen. 

Are Burmese generally friendly to strangers?


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

The first thing to consider is whether your Burmese is being sold to you with a contract. Most breeders sell pets with a contract that states that they must be kept indoors. If that's the case, then I'd abide by that, as it's in the contract or a reason. The breeder will know their own breed far better than anyone else, so is the best person to ask for advice. However, I'd not be letting a Burmese or even a BSH out without supervision at all times. Burmese are very, very friendly, so there's a risk that they will quite happily go home with strangers instead of returning to you. They do have intelligence on their side, mind you.

In short, if they were mine, they wouldn't be going out, but then, I'd not let moggies out either.


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## K337 (May 20, 2011)

My parents let their Burmese out and she still goes into the backyard and has a short wander now at 16. She's never showed much interest in going far but has managed to get trapped in other peoples garages etc a few times, luckily never been hit by a car.

Having said that, I think she would have been perfectly content with being an indoor cat, it just wasn't a common thing in WA when they got her. Personally I'm a big fan of a nice cat run or enclosed garden so they get the best of both worlds.


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## Aurelie (Apr 10, 2012)

*Chilliminx* - I could pop a magnetic catflap in, I am a stay at home mum so if he lost his collar he wouldn't be stuck outside for long. Burmese are super friendly but then so are BSH's and as far as I can tell no one has tried to lure him away (he obviously costs too much to feed )

*Jansheff* - your garden sounds a lot like mine - impossible to cat proof because of its trees and size.

*Carly* - The breeder lets her retired queens and neutered males out, although not overnight, she is pretty isolated so her cats are unlikely to meet anything on the road. I will be honest about my intentions re freedom and ask for her advice, there is nothing written down in her contracts re this subject.

*Babynurse* and *Oggers*, I am happy to hear you let yours out and all is well .

*K337* - does WA stand for Western Australia?

I think I may be wise to strike a happy medium, give Claude a curfew now and bring him in when we go to bed, the new kitten can just fall in with that when he or she is ready to go out and Claude will be used to it by then too.


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