I was very pleased to read the letter from Mark Beazley of Cats Protection encouraging readers to get their cats microchipped (Microchip plea, Shuttle, June 21).

However, an even more effective action that people can take to prevent their cats from getting lost (or killed or injured) is to keep them as indoor animals and not allow them to roam.

This would not only protect the cats, but also the many birds and other wild creatures they kill when they are allowed outdoors.

Some may claim that it is not natural to keep cats indoors, but the outside world in this country, with all the traffic, cat-haters and other dangers, is an equally unnatural world for creatures that are not native to this country and originated in the arid lands of the Near East.

I have a number of rescued cats who are perfectly happy living indoors, as I provide them with plenty of toys, climbers and several litter trays.

Increasingly, cat welfare organisations are advising people to keep their moggies indoors and I would urge everyone who cares about their cats to heed this advice.

Jane Hargreaves

Stourport