I don’t let them out because then they pick up fleas and mites, which in turns means tapeworms and other illnesses related to all that. It’s not good for the cat and definitely not good for my wallet.
I have patiently explained to my cat that he is kept inside not for his safety, but because he is an amazing, large, fast, intelligent, talented murder machine and I can't let him destroy all the birds and lizards and, of course, the other cats in the neighborhood. He seems to appreciate the flattery.
Cats should stay inside. They live a lot longer inside as they don't come into contact with risks like other cats, predators, stray dogs (family lost 2 cats this way), diseases and parasites from birds and rodents.
They should also stay inside because house cats kill for sport and they kill between 1-4 Billion birds in the US every year, driving some species into threatened, endangered, and even extinct status.
The problem with this is that the US is notably one of the worst countries to let a cat outside, but because the US dominates the western internet everyone who speaks English gets scolded for leaving a cat outside even if if they have other bigger local environmental problems to solve instead.
Personalty for my local area i would much rather have we stop having grass gardens because there is a lack of diversity of local plants, or to stop driving cars because roads are creating floods.
Also if you want something environmental, commonly used types of cat litter aren’t biodegradable and cats with free outside access don’t need any.
Oh and cats are also far more likely to kill birds that are already in some way impaired by something like old age or sickness, so while the impact is undoubtedly there, the numbers may paint a worse picture than reality.
And they also kill rats which in most places is a positive.
So now you're just making things up. If the litter is a problem, DON'T HAVE CATS. Cats are bred for us. They are a problem we created.
Injured birds? Predators that'd actually eat them would kill them. Rats? No one has a cat as a ratter these days. We don't live on farms and cats can't get to where rats live in urban areas. In suburban, rats are a much lessa. problem.
These are made up justifications for doing something that has no benefit.
I used to do some work for a local fauna park (like a small zoo) and cats were terrible. If a fox got in you’d find a couple of dead (and eaten) fowls but you could tell if a cat got in because there could be a dozen dead birds that were otherwise untouched. They just like killing. Knowing that each cat could be doing that to native birds each night is why I tell cat owners to keep their cat inside.
I get your point and I do not advocate to let cats freely roam outside because of their impact on local wildlife but by this logic wild animals should all be kept in zoos as they live a lot longer there.
but by this logic wild animals should all be kept in zoos
Domestic housecat is not a wild animal any longer. It's closely related to wild species, but it is different. It's a domesticated animal, meaning humans changed it over generations. This is the same for dogs, cows, pigs, chickens and most other animals we keep for food or work.
We don't and we shouldn't let domesticated animals loose in the world intentionally, barring a few exceptions for controlled grazing. They no longer have a place in the ecosystem and releasing them in sufficient numbers could greatly upset it as we've seen with domestic cats.
Especially since domestic cats don't need to hunt. People who let them out provide them shelter and food. Therefore the only reason cats get out is to prey upon local wildlife for entertainment. That's akin to letting your dogs out to run around in packs murdering any squirrels, rabbits or cats they find. Or letting your sheep or cows wander from your farm into the local town where they cause problems with traffic.
There is no reason to let your domesticated cats out to wander except for a misplaced sense that they "should".
Like most things in life it’s not so black and white. Some domestic cats don’t hunt when let outside. Also most cats like going outside and by your argument you may as well keep them in a cage as that is plenty of shelter and food.
According to your logic people don’t need more than one room and they’ll be fine. It’s some shitty logic though.
It turns out a reasonable amount of space is good. Access to prey is not really healthy for cats, nor for their prey. It doesn’t do any good to let them roam freely. They may enjoy it, but if they aren’t stimulated at home then that’s on you. We don’t let children make decisions for themselves, and we also shouldn’t let our pets.
Yeah I know the downsides to letting cats outside but I my point is that there is a benefit to an animals quality of life with some space to roam in nature. Same as humans and all animals. We’ve had cats that were hunters and would kill birds every chance they got so we stopped letting them outside. Also had cats that sat next to birds in the yard and paid them no mind.
It’s frustrating when people frame issues like these as dichotomies ie no cats should ever be let outside or all cats should be able to roam freely at will.
No cats should ever be let outside unless you’re watching them the entire time. You can’t know what they’re killing away from you. They’re literally genetically predisposed killers. If you don’t want to keep your cat inside, or outside on a leash or in view at least, then you shouldn’t have a cat. If you think their quality of life will be ruined staying indoors then just don’t own one. It’s easy.
As I said before I’ve had a cat that literally lay next to a bird without doing anything. Now that’s obviously not normal cat behavior but I would know if my cats were killing animals outside after living with them for years. Some cats are hunters and some not so much. I’ve had both and we kept the hunter inside.
You can also get a cat bell for their collar which helps if they do hunt.
I don’t see how the comment you replied to, in any way, advocates for keeping cats locked up in a cage. They simply argue against letting your cats go outdoors. There is a middle ground between having outdoor cats and keeping them always locked up in a cage. Life’s not all black and white you know?
I said according to their logic, not that they were advocating for that exactly, which said that cats should never be let outside because they are provided food and shelter inside and there was no other reason to let them out. The middle ground in my mind is being a responsible pet owner and if your cats are killing birds then don’t let them out. This is not always the case.
Or when referred to as “fur babies” “fur son” “fur child” it’s weird. I don’t know what’s wrong with just saying pet, it’s the proper classification for their position in a family hierarchy
Who decided it was the proper term? Some all mighty beings or humans of the past just using language to define things?
Edit: yall downvoting without responding are hilarious. People make up words and language changes all the time. Here yall are butt hurt about how people chose to refer to things.
I blame the places that say you're "adopting" the animal.
No. Legally they are property, I'm giving you currency in exchange for personal property. Doesn't matter how you have to word it for legal purposes, I'm buying it from you.
According to which laws, exactly? My country has animal wellbeing laws that classify pets as companions and living beings, their legal status is explicitly above personal property.
Imagine calling living beings “property”. Your boss should also refer to you as their “property”, as they exchange money to own you for a portion of your life.
You’re adopting, or you are a piece of shit. Can’t have it any other way. Next you’ll be like “well we used to own slaves and I don’t see why that went out of style”.
Maybe you did have prisoners then. We couldn’t force our dogs to run away if we wanted to. If we leave the back gate open and go inside, they just wait by the back door. If we leave the front door open, they just stand there and watch the world. If they ever lose track of us at a park, they go crazy and start running all around everywhere looking for us. Basically dogs that are part of your family know where they want to be, and it’s with your family.
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