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.
Our cat is terrified of going outside. It doesn't even like to be on a different floor of the house.
Agoraphobic cats for the ethical win
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.
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.
Lol. They like it? That's your excuse? Pathetic.
Go fuck yourself
Lmao. Keep going. you're only getting more pathetic.
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.
By that logic, Humans should be locked up too. We kill for sport and have lead so many species to extinction or endangered status.
Their bird kill is exaggerated
They unfortunately kill tons of birds, accounting for three quarters of non-natural bird deaths. :/
Non-paywalled National Geographic link: https://archive.ph/Ysy0C
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.
Memes for "cats of the soul". Post relatable, weird, funny cats.
