I dont mind keeping him inside at all - but it seems a shame since we
are adjacent to open countryside, and he does want to leave the house.
As I said, I wouldnt want to keep him in if he wants out, and vice
versa.
BTW. This adult cat is I believe from next door. Do you think
therefore that this is a territory thing?

If the "stalker" bites him or scratches him, he could (in all
probability) develop an abcess.  This is quite common in outdoor cats
and they can be deadly.

An indoor cat can live a much longer life and you will probably become
much "closer" to him.

The "harsh reality " of an outdoor cat is they can get injured, catch
diseases, get lost or killed.  At 12 weeks he is still a kitten.
Please take care of him.   MLB

I agree to a point.  But if you have an indoor cat that constantly wants to
go out, and isn't accomodated at least on a harness, you will have one safe
but *very* unhappy cat.  I don't think there's anything wrong with having a
completely indoor cat - obviously, there are a lot of benefits - but I also
think cats should be given some access to the outdoors whenever possible,
whether in an enclosure, on a harness, being taken to a wide open field or
park, etc, particularly if they show a strong desire to go outside.

Ann

--

http://www.angelfire.com/ca/bewtifulfreak

At 12 weeks, I would definitely keep him indoors for now.  I recently
adopted two kittens that I keep indoors exclusively because of coyotes
sighted in our area, fleas, and possible negative interactions with other
cats/animals.  I had a year old male cat that just disappeared one day in
April.  Tonight I received a call from someone who had called the local
animal shelter to report a stray cat they've been caring for..  I stopped
by to look at the cat, but it wasn't my lost cat.  My cat's still missing
since April.  One of my neighbor's cats, an outside male cat wearing a
collar and ID tag, disappeared several weeks ago.  Recently I've been
seeing a large beige ragdoll-like cat that's been wandering through the
back yard and just the other night, managed to take the lid off a plastic
garbage can in our garage and open a plastic bag, feasting on four chicken
bones.  As soon as we opened the garage door, the cat took off like a
flash.  Feeling sorry for the cat, I left some dry food in the garage and
some canned food on the backporch.  The next day, the food was gone.  The
point I'm making is how precarious life must be for an outside cat.  I can
tell you that my Aunt, living in a rural area, has a female indoor/outdoor
cat that will leave for the night and return the following morning.

Chris, if you live in rural North Wales your cat is quite safe living
an outdoor life.

While he is in his earlier stage of his life it is best to supervise
his outdoor exploits until he is a little older and more confident
outside - of course there really is no specific age but I'm sure
you'll know when he reaches a stage where you feel comfortable letting
him out.

By the way, what do you exactly mean by "pinned to the floor"? If one
cat wants to attack and hurt another cat there is no room for
uncertainty about their intent - once they actually make contact all
hell breaks loose!

Troy.