Siberian cats

[deeplybaffled]

Does anyone have one ? If so, do you let it out to roam or is it a house cat?
I have a nearly 2 year old female who has a cat flap, because she was clearly incredibly restless during the first few months when I kept her inside.
But her breeder was very unimpressed when I told her and has refused to let me have her sister who is soon to retire from breeding unless I keep the new one in or cat proof the garden so she can't get beyond that.
Neither seems very practical, given the current cat's preference to go out, so I'll have to leave it.
But I thought the breeder was perhaps a bit over cautious.....or maybe I'm missing the point?

[cozietoesie]

If you get a microchip cat flap you can have it that one cat can go out and one cat not.

As to the staying inside - some breeders insist on it. I don't have Siberian cats myself but it's true for many pedigree breeders. Combination of not wanting their cats caught for 'illegal purposes etc' , bred unwisely for money (although I assume the sister would be spayed before coming to you) and general 'worried about her girl going out to the wide world' I guess.

I'm fine with house cats depending on the cat and on circumstances. I read an article by an animal psychologist many years ago in which she said that they had found no signs of problems in cats who had never known anything else but inside.

For myself, I think it depends on circumstances. A cat kept in a one room flat where the human is away for most of the day is very different from a cat kept in a large old house (like my own - lots of room and stairs to run up and down) where the person is around pretty well all the time. Seniorboy was brought up as a housecat after my mother had 5 or 6 cats car'd at an early age. He's happy to have me - being a Siamese he's more concerned about his person than his environment.

I should add, perhaps, that The Lodger when he was here started staying inside more and more. I think he only went out because he felt he ought to.

Your call really - I don't know your circumstances.

[deeplybaffled]

Thanks. Have given up hope of sister cat, even although microchip catflap would have been a great solution - wish I'd thought of that at the time!
Now considering whether stroppy existing cat would take to a rescue cat or whether she prefers to be sole monarch of her queendom......and whether adding another cat to a household where the existing cat does things that are so spectacularly random that no one believes them, would be even remotely wise!