Confining cats to the upper level of the house
We have 4 senior cats , all rescues, that we love dearly and have with us for the last 13 years. We also have one toddler and planning to have one more child.
We had been living in flats but now will be moving to a two storey house. In the upper floor we will have 3 bedrooms , 2 bathrooms and a huge catio in the balcony with unlimited access, cat tree and toys. Also food and litter will be upstairs. My main concern and why i am thinking the above (keeping them confined upstairs) would be a good idea is the following :
- Protecting them from going out in the yard and going into the street - we have balcony doors but we might forget one open , or our toddler could open it - or if we have guests it will be difficult to remind them to close
- They are seniors and never had stairs before so i guess after going down they might have issues going up again
- Furniture is so much more expensive and although all bought as cat proof they will still make some damages (but honestly this is my least problem i dont mind)
- I am honestly really tired to be finding litter trails and hair on my kitchen countertops. We keep them off during the day but in the night they run around and make a mess. Its unhygienic and it started bothering us and the toddler (keeps finding hair everywhere)
Why i think its not the best idea :
- Lonely - they will get lonely throughout the day if we are home and they will hear us but cant get to us. - honestly i think this is the only con.
Saying that we can have a tall cat stair gate and keep close if needed , for example when guests come or when we are sleeping (and they sleep with us) or when we are not home. But do you think its too cruel to keep them upstairs permanently?
Thanks