you know the obsession with keeping cats indoors is a purely American view of the world? Most Europeans let their cats outdoors without any problems. Many Europeans even think it's cruel to keep them indoors all the time
No, itβs not. European cats arenβt magically smarter and less environmentally impactful than American cats, itβs just more socially acceptable to let them roam. Do you not have cars in Europe? Foxes? Raptors? Stray dogs? Rat poison? Parasites? Diseases? What about the Croydon Cat Killer in England, where the dismemberment of over 400 cats was being investigated, and it turned out that foxes were mutilating the bodies of cats that were killed by cars? Suddenly itβs all ok because it was only horrific death via automobile, instead of decapitation like they suspected? Totally acceptable to outdoor cat owners, who cares if your cat gets hit by a car and dies on the side of the road? There is real concern for the hybridization of wildcats in Europe, Asia, and Africa, but sure, itβs just a US problem. How about how outdoor cats are effectively reducing the protective area of a national park in Poland? How about the increased incidence of lungworms and GI parasites in European free roaming cats? How about this small study from Denmark where 90% of free roaming cats tested positive for GI parasites on necropsy (and the risk was higher in rural areas). Not Europe, but for the sake of completeness, free roaming cats kill ~377 MILLION birds per year in Australia, and 61 million of those kills are thought to be from owned cats. You can also talk to @drferox about how problematic outdoor cats are in Australia. Free roaming cats are bad for the environment, and are put in unnecessary danger. Why donβt you provide enrichment for your cat instead of letting them run around unsupervised where they will kill native wildlife and get sick or injured or die (or all of the above). Other resources from @catsindoors about the impact of domestic cats around the world. Snagged a lot of these links from their blog.
Humans would also be safer and the environment protected if we all just stayed indoors. No passing of parasites, bacteria, or viruses. No harm to other species. No cross breeding either (if that bothers you). Do you want to stay indoors?
I generally try to ignore responses like this, but I want to address this because I see this ridiculous argument a lot.
The reason that this comparison is inaccurate is because humans have the ability to use reason and make logical choices, but cats donβt. Humans see a car coming and wait until the street is clear to cross. Cats donβt. Humans know not to eat strange food on the ground. Cats donβt. Humans can look up which plants are toxic and avoid them. Cats canβt. Humans donβt eat raw rabbits and rodents that may carry disease. Cats do. Humans who hunt follow laws that prevent them from killing endangered species (besides shitty poachers). Cats donβt.
A far more accurate comparison would be a cat and a toddler. They lack the ability to recognize danger and donβt have the ability to reason that an adult does. Iβm sure a toddler would have a great time roaming around the neighborhood, but no one is going to argue in favor of that. People can understand that doing that is irresponsible and dangerous. But no sane person is going to lock their toddler inside and provide them with nothing to do; no one is saying we should do that for cats either. Play with them. Provide cat trees. Rotate their toys. Give them puzzle feeders. And if you want them to go outside you can leash train them. Or build a catio. The options arenβt let them roam vs. never provide them with entertainment. If it is unbearable to entertain and care for a cat that is kept indoors, you probably shouldnβt own a cat.
Would you let your dog roam? Or your bird? How about your rabbit? Iβm sure all of these animals would have a great time running (or flying) around the neighborhood, but we generally recognize that this is a bad idea. Itβs no different for cats. We are caretakers for our animals, so it is up to us to use our big brains to make logical choices about what they should or shouldnβt do. We have the ability to understand the risks associated with free roaming. Cats donβt. We can weigh risks and benefits before making a decision. Cats canβt.
tldr: Humans have the ability to make logical decisions to keep themselves safe but cats do not.
Outdoor cats are also more or less an invasive species. They are such good hunters, they are capable of permanently changing an ecosystem by killing native prey animals.Β
Protect your kitty and local biodiversityβkeep them inside!
I just wanted to tack on that, there is no βmore or lessβ, cats are an invasive species. Domesticated animals are invasive species and allowing them to interact with the local environment without monitoring will harm the local biodiversity. Cats especially. Domestic cats have a very high success rate for hunting. Historically, they have lead to multiple extinctions of animals because people brought cats along as pest control and pets.
Iβm very pro indoor only cat. But sadly, this is not common in the UK, most people free roam their cats despite the dangers.
Iβve seen two cats who were roadkill, multiple poisoned rats that make easy prey, gardens full of poisonous (to cats) plants, and a cat at the vet who survived his arm being mauled by a fox through a catio. Yet people still do it. Iβm in a small village, no idea how much worse in a bigger place it would be.
It is entirely cultural. Sadly, it also means people donβt tend to play with their pets and let them free roam as their only enrichment. So they baulk at how βboredβ a cat would be indoors. Forgetting itβs not just kittens who need playtime. You are seen as a βweirdoβ for harness/lead training a cat here, which I donβt agree with obviously.
Most rescues will not let you adopt a cat if you do not let it be indoor-outdoor. They will even check up on your garden to see itβs safety (like a cat canβt jump a fence lol). Charities do this, too.
I still keep my cat indoors only. My step mum thought I was being cruel until I explained to her the dangers of a cat outside.
I wish attitudes would change here. Please keep your cat indoors!
Itβs not even a fucking Yank thing. Here in Australia we do have people with outdoor cats, but most people see them as irresponsible wankers. People actively letting their cats outside are shrinking to the point that I saw an anti-missing poster outside of my doctorβs surgery one day telling people to stop calling them when their cat is outside, meaning that thereβs now a lot of people who see an outdoor cat and assume itβs lost by default instead of the other way around.
Across the pond in New Zealand ONE SINGLE CAT drove an entire species to extinction. There are still arseholes over there but theyβre generally even stricter than we are here in Oz.
Also itβs fucking weird that people say itβs understandable that we do it because of our ecosystem. Do Europeans not have ecosystems? Or are you just subscribing to the colonialist idea that your ecosystem is a boring default and only βexoticβ ecosystems should be preserved?
CATS. ARE. INDOOR. PETS.
KEEP. THEM. INSIDE.
This is pretty different from my usual posts but this was on my mind recently and since we talk about animals a lot here I figured it wouldnβt be too unusual to talk about this.
If you let your cat outside and it gets attacked by another cat, gets kidnapped by another person, gets lost, gets eaten by a predator, gets a disease, gets hit by a car, whatever, that is entirely your fault as the owner. Your pet is practically your child, you shouldnβt be letting them roam around who-knows-where without supervision. Back when I had a cat, I would put him in this enclosed pet-stroller and walk him around the neighborhood and he loved it. Iβve also seen one person who trained their cat to be on a harness and was walking them outside like a dog. Iβve seen outdoor cat condos that attach to a window and form a little mesh house for your cat to hang out in outside while still being contained. There are ways to let your cat enjoy the outdoors without just abandoning them to their own devices. And I hate the argument that indoor cats are unhappy or destructive. WELL MAYBE THEY WOULDNβT BE UNHAPPY IF YOU GAVE THEM MORE STIMULATION KAREN. People think that because cats are aloof and self-sufficient that all you have to do is feed them and they should be fine. Wrong. Cats need attention and stimulation too. Give them new things to explore. New toys to play with. New spaces to hide in. Cats get bored just like me and you if all they can do is sit around all day. This is also why so many house cats are overweight too.
THIS IS THE WORK THAT COMES WITH HAVING A CAT AS A PET. IF YOU DONβT WANT TO DO THE WORK THAT COMES WITH THIS PARTICULAR KIND OF PET, THEN YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE THIS PET.
I have seen way too many dead cats on the side of the road, and itβs so so sad. This couldβve been prevented so easily if people just kept their cats inside. Protect your beloved furry family members. Keep them inside. Protect your local ecosystem. Keep your adorable killing-machines inside.
Australian with 3 cats here, and all 3 of them are indoor ONLY. It is not safe for your cat or local wildlife to keep it outside. One of my cats desperately wants to explore the backyard, and we don't let her because it will put her in severe danger. I've known people who have found their cats dead on the side of the road while going to go catch the bus. I've had my mum tell me to look the other way when I was little because there was a dead cat. I've seen dead cats on the highway. And that's just roadkill. Snakes, spiders, dogs, and OTHER CATS are all big dangers to cats. My cat that wants to go out is a former stray, and in the end, the thing that made it so I could catch and bring her in was a leg injury she got from being bitten by another cat. I'm almost certain I know what cat bit her, too, and he was a visibly owned tomcat who'd steal the food we left for her even though he was chubby.
And that's another thing. Owned outdoor cats make it way more difficult and dangerous for stray cats. Stray cats are very often weaker because they don't usually eat well. Owned cats will take food from strays, attack strays, and chase them away from safe territory. And because of free roam laws where I used to live, shelters and rescue centres would do nothing for a stray cat because the laws were placed to make ut so your cat could roam without any risk of being put in a shelter. But this meant that stray cats were left out in the cold because "what if they belong to someone?"
While my cat was a stray, we'd find a lot of dead animals like birds, rodents, lizards, and snakes in our backyard. There was a population of rainbow lorikeets in the area. By the time I left, you'd basically never see them. And there were a lot of free roam cats.
An indoor cat will live far longer than outdoors. I have never heard of an outdoor cat living a full lifespan. Even taking aside the dangers, keeping your cat inside makes it so you can catch the signs of sickness before it's too late. And with an animal that likes to hide when its unwell, that can be very hard when they're outside.
My cats are happy inside. They get played with. They get hiding spots. They get affection. Up until I moved, my stray was actually afraid of outside! She got very upset when she saw someone out there. This new yard is much smaller, and it's been a few years now, so I don't think she realises that what she wants is to go outside. My other 2 cats aren't interested in going outside. They're all happy, healthy, and well cared for cats. They would cause havoc on the local wildlife.
Keep cats inside.
(You don't have to get them stuff like heartworm medication if you keep them inside too (provided you don't give them raw meat))
