Cats are mysterious enough on their own, even without the added confusion of common myths and misconceptions. Although indoor cats generally enjoy a safer and healthier lifestyle compared to their free-roaming feral counterparts, they aren't free from risks. So today, we’re debunking some of the most common myths about indoor cats.

Myth 1: Indoor Cats Can’t Get Fleas

Even if your home is sparkling clean, your indoor cat can still get fleas. Fleas can make their way indoors on shoes, with visitors, or hitch a ride on other pets that go outside. Even rodents that may take refuge in your home during the cooler months can bring in fleas. The best way to truly protect against fleas is to keep all your pets, including indoor-only cats, on a regular, year-round flea preventative.

Myth 2: Indoor Cats Only Need One Litter Box

To minimize the chance of your cat going to the bathroom outside their litter box — and choosing your floors and laundry instead — they should have a choice when it comes to where they potty. Cats are likely to avoid a box that already has “deposits” in it or one that they’ve developed a negative association with. The general rule-of-thumb is to have one more box than the number of cats you have. Ideally, keep the litter boxes in different locations and not next to one another.

Myth 3: Indoor Cats Can’t Get Heartworms

Even if you have screens on your windows or live on a high floor, mosquitoes can still enter your home. Mosquitoes can carry heartworm larvae that can infect cats when those mosquitoes bite. One heartworm can cause significant problems in cats, including sudden death. While there are treatments for heartworm in dogs, there aren’t any safe and effective treatments for heartworm in cats. Thankfully, there are safe and effective preventatives for cats.

Myth 4: Indoor Cats Lose Their Hunting Instinct

While your indoor cat isn’t hunting prey like their outdoor feline friends, you can provide the same stimulation indoors to help to satisfy that instinct. You can engage your cat’s primal instinct with interactive feeders, puzzle toys, laser pointers, and other fun toys and play.

Myth 5: Indoor Cats Don’t Need Veterinary Care

It’s important for indoor cats to get a veterinary check-up at least once a year. Even indoor-only cats can develop a variety of medical conditions and diseases. After all, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and even cancer don’t respect walls and doors. Indoor cats can also contract viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections, as these germs and worms can enter your home on your shoes and clothes or on other cats or dogs that go outside.

Myth 6: Indoor Cats Don’t Need to be Microchipped

If your cat gets out of your home, how will you find them? Indoor cats do occasionally get out, especially during home renovations, when moving, or even when friends and family come to visit. An ASPCA survey found that only 74% of lost cats are reunited with their owners.¹ If your cat gets out and doesn't have visible identification or a microchip, the probability of them getting returned to you is significantly lower than if they are easily identified.

Myth 7: The Outdoors Stay Outside

While your cat may not leave the house, you certainly do. And you can bring a variety of unwanted “guests” like ticks, fleas, or worm eggs back home. Visiting friends, pets, and rodents can carry parasites indoors, too. Even neighborhood strays that visit your cats from the other side of a screen door or window can pass along germs and parasites, like fleas. The best line of defense for your indoor cat against outside invaders is to keep them up-to-date on their vaccines and on parasite protection year around.