Outdoor cats should be illegal
Yep, I can’t believe the hypocrisy either, pretty much all major cities require that dogs be on a leash or in a yard. Cats though? Can’t have them on a leash! Are you crazy!?! 😱
It’s almost like cats and dogs are different animals or something.
You’re right, dogs don’t kill billions of birds a year!
Birds and people are the same, so I see your point
Birds and people are not the same BUT ANIMAL LIVES STILL HAVE VALUE. The life of a bird IS NOT WORTH NOTHING, just because your life is worth more by some metric you can’t explain.
My cat is far more than literally thousands of wild birds to me. It’s either let my cat play outside or put her down. What do you think I should do?
How bad it is depends on where you live, but yeah, for a lot of reasons most of the world probably shouldn’t have outdoor housecats. As the article you linked pointed out though, most of the damage is being done by feral cats, and well… that cat’s out of the bag, so to speak.
Feral cat populations are created and maintained by outdoor non-feral cats. Lots of people who don’t keep their cats indoors also don’t get their cats fixed either.
Created yes. Maintained not so much. Feral cats can make more feral cats on their own just fine. In fact, outdoor housecats are really bad for feral cats, because they hunt prey, fight for territory, and contribute to overpopulation of small predators without having to deal with the constant dangers that an actual feral cat does.
let’s arrest cats living as cats!
Alright then, people should be allowed to let their dog be free so they can live as dogs.
Also, people aren’t allowed to adopt cats anymore and house cats need to be exterminated on the American continent and in Oceania.
You know… So cats live as cats historically did?
You are saying my 10 pound cat who avoids people while killing the voles that plague my yard should follow the same rules my 85 pound golden retriever with stranger danger anxiety does?
Are we really getting the indoor cat brigade on lemmy too? Yes, in the US outdoor cats are a danger to local wildlife. Stop pushing this on people who this does not apply to. Outdoor cats are fine in many other parts of the world. The USA isn’t the whole world.
This was my family when I was a kid. We never had a cat for more than 2-5 years because there were coyotes and pumas out there. Except for one cat who lived to old age. I think we had a dozen cats during my childhood. I remember thinking they were happier with their freedom, even though it meant their lives were short.
I know better now. I still think cats are happier when they can go outside, but it’s not worth the risk to their lives and also the lives of the local smaller wildlife.Mine started life as an indoor cat, but after we put in a dog door for the pups there was no chance. She figured it out by watching them and lets herself out for the occasional prowl (around 4-6 hours a day, she usually goes no farther than the neighbors yard). She doesn’t stay out overnight though, she’d rather sleep inside with her dog.
Honestly that’s really shitty dude. You should figure out how to keep the cat indoors
It breaks my heart with how many irresponsible pet owners there are. There’s no good reason to let your cat outside. People who can’t accept that shouldn’t have cats.
Not all places in the world have coyotes. Some places are safe for cats. I don’t have cats, but there are several out-doors cats where I live that seems to be doing just fine.
I think the risk can be weighed and mitigated. Coyotes mainly come out at night, and you can keep a cat indoors at night. If every new cat gets promptly snapped up anyway, maybe it’s just not a safe enough area.
Honest question, how do you keep a cat indoors at night? We used to call them, but sometimes they wouldn’t show up. That meant you might see them the next day, or never again. One little poofy grey cat we had disappeared for a week before turning up soaking wet and meowing frantically. Cats are quick and can make pretty good distance from your house, so when you’re calling them in for the night, they could be literally anywhere. They also like to hunt at sunset, so might just ignore you on purpose.
That’s my experience anyways. I think some of the other comments here are right, that a limited outdoor space that they could enjoy but not escape from would be ideal. I don’t have a yard so my cats are indoor only. I did try to leash-train the smarter one but she was not having it.
edit: we would clang their food dishes and shake the food bags. Calling them in for the night was also feeding time. My experience was that despite this they wouldn’t show up sometimes.What the fuck is wrong with people
You just close the doors and windows after they come in for dinner, before they eat their dinner.
You feed them at the same time every day before sunset, and then don’t let them out after that. Most cats will not want to miss dinner.
I remember thinking they were happier with their freedom, even though it meant their lives were short.
I know better now.You can be trapped in the most luxurious palace, with your every want attended to, but you cannot leave.
Or, you can be free to go where you please, still have your wants attended to, but there is a chance you will die young and the last hour of your life will be spent in terror and excruciating pain.
Which do you choose?
Honestly a bit of a tough question. I’m not sure, myself.
Interesting concept but cats don’t have the sapience to understand the risk involved with being outside. You could say the same thing about children, but because adults know better we don’t let them do whatever they please.
Remember kids, keep your cats indoors. Unless you live on a farm, outdoor cats are either dead cats, or pests.
Oh I got into a “discussion” with my neighbour who’s friend said she was cruel for having indoor cats.
I said her friend is thick and should be ignored, because she is and she should be.
Well the neighbour decided instead to give her cats to the Shelter and now has indoor dogs.
I don’t like my neighbour, she’s stupid with stupid friends, and cruel to animals.
In other news, one of my indoor cats is 19 years old.
The alternative would be to not get a cat at all, unless it can go outside without being in danger or causing damage to the ecosystem.
There are so many cats that would require euthanizing them. They can’t be released. At least an indoor cat you give them a nice life.
It depends on where you live. If you live in a city without predators, then letting your cat go outside in the backyard gives them a very exciting experience. If you live somewhere with coyotes, then your cat is going to die.
Outdoor cats have a shorter average life span in cities, too. One big cause is cars. Also, it’s worth noting that house cats are essentially an invasive species and do a lot of damage to bird populations.
It’s pretty widely recommended to keep cats indoors.
Dogs have to be put on a leash when their outside, outdoor city cats should be too. Stops them from running away, and killing birds.
If your dog or cat runs away then you weren’t meeting their needs.
Or they’re an animal that doesn’t have an adult rational brain?
