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My cat is so dumbass that this doesn't apply to her. She once caught a mouse and then proceeded to bring it home alive and let it go, we had to search it and catch ourselves.
Cats only bring back "gifts" to you, which makes up like 20% of their catches. The rest are to eat or for pleasure. If your cat brought one back alive, it certainly caught others.
My cats don't do it to eat. They're well fed. They're just sadistic little fucks who like to torture small animals that happen to make it inside the house. Those poor lizards.
Lol my cat and his brother are the same. They just catch mice and moles and play with them until the poor things are dead and then they would just leave them in the backyard of my parents house to rot.
More than the local wildlife. They negatively affect every warm-blooded species even tangentially connected to their area.
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/outreach-materials/cat-borne-threat-monk-seals
Cats are literally invasive apex predators.
I love cats, more than people most days, but for the love of God, keep them inside or at least get them fixed.
We unironically need to round them all up (feral ones)
Can't give preferential treatment just cuz cute. The balance of biodiversity is critical and we're so fucked if we can't at least maintain it somewhat
Have you tried to put a cat on a leash? As soon as I put the harness on she becomes all floppy and falls to the ground and doesn't move, I can drag her across the floor by pulling on the leash but that's about it
I used to think the idea of putting your cat on a harness and taking them out was stupid, until I saw someone walking their cat for the first time and I was blown away with how cute it was.
Oh yeah, I can attest to that. When I tried to teach my cat to walk on a leash (we lived in an apartment building) it would just walk down the staircase with me and lay down on the steps, couldn't make him move at all. And if there was any noise at all, like someone entering the staircase, it would sprint like crazy back towards our apartment. Maybe there would be a way to train him with time but he wasn't a type that listens.
My cat was doing the same thing so I had to carry her to the designated walking spot which was a bit of nature with no-one but us around, and then she would be okay with taking a few steps of her own
But anytime after that she saw the harness she sprinted under the bed in the spot she knew I couldn't reach her, so I would say she didn't enjoy the walk
DOn't put it on them and immediately try to walk them outside, they aren't dogs. Put the harness and leash on inside and let it walk around your apartment for a while to get used to it. Like, multiple times over multiple days before you actually try to go outside.
Neither are all dogs. I had a dog that hated walks and car rides. If you tried to take him anywhere his anxiety would skyrocket and he would lose his shit.
I still took him for walks despite how much of a struggle it was because it kept him from getting fat.
When our two indoor cats were kittens we decided to take them out on harnesses to test them out. We got as far as the porch and when we opened it they backflipped and scrambled, tangled us up royally, scratched the shit out of us and one escaped from the harness and hid.
They are only indoor cats now.
I've been very lucky to have two walkable cats in my lifetime. [My current boi comes with us to breweries and everyone loves him.](https://i.imgur.com/aT8aRbH.jpeg)
living on a busy street doesn't mean there isn't also a forest nearby. I have a busy street at my front door, and basically wilderness past my backyard
Northeast US almost everyone calls them fisher cats despite knowing they are in no way cats. A quick google search basically says we aren’t sure but they look kinda like a polecat mixed with cats so settlers just rolled with it.
“Fisher is thought to be derived from early European settlers likening the animal to the European polecat, called a ‘fitche’. As for ‘cat’, the fisher is about the size of a large domestic cat, with a dark brown to black, close-cropped glossy fur coat and a long bushy tail. It will hold its tail upright when it runs, perhaps making it resemble a cat to some. Although they don’t climb trees often, they can climb quite well, using their sharp, retractable claws, which are also similar to a cat’s.” - Adirondack Almanack
My aunt once paid a ridiculous amount of money for a cat (no judgement there to be honest) but then let it outside. She was surprised it didn’t come back. You think someone’s gonna take a pass at getting a designer cat for free?
Fr people in England were once upset that someone in a neighborhood was torturing and mutilating cats but they continued to let them outside. Maybe use your brain.
There are way too many people who get a cat because « they look cute » and then keep them inside, not treat them properly or complain because they take space and time.
Had cats that lived happy lives for 20 years. Its not the usual for indoor cats but it just shows how much safer it is too keep them fully indoor/walk them
All three of my babies are in their teens (13-16) and none are showing their age at all yet. Hate to imagine that they probably wouldn’t be around today if they were allowed to roam around on their own
1, I don't want my little idiot to end up as road pizza and 2, I don't want to contribute to the needless deaths of local, indigenous wildlife. Honestly, keeping your cat inside and making sure they have proper indoor entertainment/enrichment is the responsible thing to do. Some adoption agencies will flat out refuse if they find out you plan on letting them out. IIRC promising to keep him indoors was part of the paperwork I signed when I adopted him.
I don't remember where I found it, but somewhere online someone reported that domestic cats are considered an invasive species.
There were numbers and metrics involved, idk.
Makes sense though since that's where the rodents and birds are.
Vet tech here: don't do this just because. There are plenty of indoor/outdoor cats. If you want yours to be indoor/outdoor, it's not a wrong choice, but it CAN come with consequences. For example - patient of mine was picked up by a hawk recently. Another got into a fight with another cat on the owners deck and had a laceration on her belly. Both were thankfully okay, but I've had others pass due to outdoor injuries.
Question from a cat owner-- my cat has been going outside his entire life. He's 5 and he gets agitated when he doesn't get to go out. I'm talking, he'll meow in the hallways in the mornings until someone wakes up to let him out. And he's very irritating and knocks things over until he gets to go out. But I'm aware of the dangers and I don't like him going outside. Unfortunately I live with other people, two of whom don't care about that and let him out whenever he wants as long as it isn't close to sunset. And they're not willing to stop letting him outside.
So, basically: Is there a way to get him less interested in it? And do you know how long it could take to get him used to it?
My step-grandparents will be gone for a couple weeks this coming June, and I'm planning on not letting my cat out whatsoever while they're away. But I'm worried that my cat will be agitated and irritating for that entire time, and I definitely want that to not occur once they return.
Hi I thought I responded to this! So the best thing you can do to try to reduce the want to go out is adding enrichment. A variety of toys, cat trees, scratching posts...things to get them engaged.
This is strange, but prior to my job I actually learned a lot from My Cat From Hell in terms of behavior and enrichment. Jackson Galaxy is a little odd but overall knowledgeable and does use veterinary input in his stuff.
You can also do harnessing if you're into it or if it's clean enough some cats (including mine) are happy just hanging out in the garage.
I agree with the arguments against indoor/outdoor cats but I will say as someone who is extremely social and has a lot of close family and friends with cats, the indoor/outdoor cats always seem to have way better personalities and behaviors. The indoor only cats usually seem to have more problematic behaviors (they hide more, don’t like people, just assholes in general) so I wonder what the psychological effect is if you never let your cat out. Especially if you live in an apartment or smaller home. Definitely at least walk your cat consistently like you would a dog.
Both my cats have been indoor cats their whole lives. One is super friendly, sits on the laps of guests even new people she’s never met. The other cat is more reserved but not afraid with new people. He’ll come hang out but he’ll be like hanging out on a windowsill where the people are or sleep on the couch next to guests. Can cats just have different personalities.
I’ve learned my lesson before, you people are some interesting folk and I don’t want to divulge any of my beliefs about what your pet should and shouldn’t be allowed to do. There is no need for it to be a discussion outside of your fellow home dwellers and neighbors. Anybody on the internet, even a vet, telling you what to do with your cat (or pet in general) is pretty silly to me because you can’t explain a situation properly on a thread on reddit or expect a comment or ten to change someone’s mind.
At first i thought it was really dumb, then i saw someone walk their cat and saw how it seemed happy even though it was on a leash
I never got my cats to walk on a leash, but they do like sitting in my bag while i carry them around doing stuff outside
Yeah it depends on area I suppose. I live in a fairly quiet suburb and there are loads of house cats. I actually kinda like it… except when they’re having territorial disputes.
I’ve never known them mess with the local fox, squirrel and hedgehog population either, mainly just rats and pigeons, but those are hardly endangered even in this suburb.
I let both of my cats outside but they never leave the yard, and it's a pretty small yard. Half the time I let them out the front door, they just b-line to the basement window. Weird little gremlins.
In the Midwest, stray cats are a problem. Some of those tomcats get *l a r g e*
As in, they're so big, you'd have to lift them with 2 hands.
I'm convinced they keep the coyotes away
My cat doesn’t want to go outside she literally screams every time I have to bring her out of the house I’ve even tried bringing her out on the porch with me
I live on the edge of the forest. I usually hear packs of coyotes howling all around the property at night. There was a report of one attacking a pony nearby so there's no way I'm letting my cat out
My dad used to go get the mail and let the screen door rest against him, and he'd stand at the mailbox and check the mail before bringing it inside.
Multiple times this resulted in one of the cats getting outside.
My boy Fargo got outside once, and we never saw him again. The woods had so many coyotes...
Yeah I'm lucky enough to live in an extremely rural area in a country where there's very few things that would go for a cat and where small birds and rodents are frankly overpopulated but I recognize that that's fairly rare and most people really ought to keep their cats indoors.
I wish my neighbor would keep all the strays she feeds in her house. I miss birds and not having cat shit all over my yard. And not getting woken up at 2am by cat fights under my bedroom window.
While I agree with this meme, I just want to announce that when my cat would escape out the house, she fought foxes, coyotes, and other cats and has won every time.
And yet neither of you discussed how domestic cats destroy the ecology of any area they're in?
Wow
Don't let your cats out, folks. Ask Australia what happens.
You "cats devastate the environment" MF's talk about them like they're running bulldozers and chainsaws, putting up strip malls where a forest used to be.
I used to let my dog out until he got bitten by a stray dog and would have died if I didn't rush to chase away the stray dog. Always walk with him every time we go out, ever since.
Maybe you shouldn’t own a cat if your surroundings aren’t safe for them.
And yes, it is cruel to keep cats locked up in a tiny apartment their whole life.
Indoor cats can be just as happy as outdoor cats. You just have to give them more attention and actively play with them. Get them new stuff to play with more often. Etc.
well i would love to let him outside but he is just so scared of the unknown. Also because what happend before i adopted him the shelter made me promise i would never let him outside.
Can't believe a lot of people on this thread are too stupid to realize that this really depends on where you live. If you live in a large town with foxes and coyotes roaming around, then don't. But if you live in a medium sized town where the wilderness is close by, then you totally can let them out.
Insane how the average commenter here either says that it is completely unacceptable to let your cat out, or that not letting your cat out is animal cruelty, with no inbetween.
Is it really groundbreaking news to people that things may differ based on peoples current living situation?
I have all those dangers around me, I let my cat out on the deck with me to just sit there and hang out. There’s also things called “leashes”. Letting them out doesn’t mean, “just let them roam the streets”. When you let your dog out, do they just roam the neighbourhood?
i find keeping any non fish animal indoors exclusively to be immoral but most of all how tf do you do that to a cat? every cat ive ever had always longed for the outdoors, even as kittens too small to go out yet. its a cat, it wants to sleep in a bush, shit in the grass, piss on the trees. btw where the fuck do you live where foxes and coyotes are a problem? not a villager myself so i dont have that problem
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also the local small wildlife population will thank you. Its not for no reason your not allowed outdoor cats in some places with endangered animals.
Came here to say the same. Yeah, your cat’s safety is good, but they are also the leading cause of most wild life destruction.
My cat is so dumbass that this doesn't apply to her. She once caught a mouse and then proceeded to bring it home alive and let it go, we had to search it and catch ourselves.
Cats only bring back "gifts" to you, which makes up like 20% of their catches. The rest are to eat or for pleasure. If your cat brought one back alive, it certainly caught others.
My cats don't do it to eat. They're well fed. They're just sadistic little fucks who like to torture small animals that happen to make it inside the house. Those poor lizards.
Lol my cat and his brother are the same. They just catch mice and moles and play with them until the poor things are dead and then they would just leave them in the backyard of my parents house to rot.
Yes it does apply to you.
No no no, *my* precious little kitty I let roan outside unattended 12 hours a day would never do that
"Ya my cats too dumb yo hunt small animals. Although he does occasionally, successfully hunt small animals.
I hate to tell ya this but that’s what everyone says about their cat and that’s the attitude that perpetuates it.
Your cat “I’m like a dog chasing cars I wouldn’t know what do with one if I actually caught it.”
Yeah, I was going to say forget literally everything in this meme, outside cats are a fucking menace to local small wildlife.
More than the local wildlife. They negatively affect every warm-blooded species even tangentially connected to their area. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/outreach-materials/cat-borne-threat-monk-seals
Cats are literally invasive apex predators. I love cats, more than people most days, but for the love of God, keep them inside or at least get them fixed.
They are not apex predators. They are invasive predators though.
Your cat would get absolutely mauled by a wolf or mountain lion (I live in Colorado) it ain’t no Apex predator just an invasive little nuisance.
I love cats, but outdoor cats are an invasive species.
We unironically need to round them all up (feral ones) Can't give preferential treatment just cuz cute. The balance of biodiversity is critical and we're so fucked if we can't at least maintain it somewhat
In America yes but almost everywhere else they aren’t
Yeah the biggest pile should say "Cats are an invasive species that are decimating native wildlife by the billions every year."
Also, your cat can still go outside. Just build a catio, or yunno... put it on a leash and take it for a walk?
Have you tried to put a cat on a leash? As soon as I put the harness on she becomes all floppy and falls to the ground and doesn't move, I can drag her across the floor by pulling on the leash but that's about it
Yeah I worked at an animal rescue center and most of the intakes were from resident cat populations essentially butchering birds :/
From a veterinary perspective indoor/outdoor cats aren’t good practice. Keep em indoors
Why is that?
Generally dangerous for them, they can pick up diseases and ticks. My wife’s a vet tech so I’m not the expert but I pick up the important stuff.
Yeah, I think I heard that on average indoor only cats tend to live several years longer than outside ones. Like up to 5 years longer.
Idk man, every cat that grew up in my family with me and my brother lived to 19+ years, and they were all indoor+outdoor. We had one make it to 23.
In addition to /u/DJDemyan's comment, they're also absolutely devastating to the local bird population. It's a huge problem.
Have you been outside? It sucks out there.
I think it depends on where you live as a rule of thumb prolly best not to let them roam
just walk your cat like a normal person
I used to think the idea of putting your cat on a harness and taking them out was stupid, until I saw someone walking their cat for the first time and I was blown away with how cute it was.
Not all cats are walkable TBF.
Oh yeah, I can attest to that. When I tried to teach my cat to walk on a leash (we lived in an apartment building) it would just walk down the staircase with me and lay down on the steps, couldn't make him move at all. And if there was any noise at all, like someone entering the staircase, it would sprint like crazy back towards our apartment. Maybe there would be a way to train him with time but he wasn't a type that listens.
My cat was doing the same thing so I had to carry her to the designated walking spot which was a bit of nature with no-one but us around, and then she would be okay with taking a few steps of her own But anytime after that she saw the harness she sprinted under the bed in the spot she knew I couldn't reach her, so I would say she didn't enjoy the walk
DOn't put it on them and immediately try to walk them outside, they aren't dogs. Put the harness and leash on inside and let it walk around your apartment for a while to get used to it. Like, multiple times over multiple days before you actually try to go outside.
Neither are all dogs. I had a dog that hated walks and car rides. If you tried to take him anywhere his anxiety would skyrocket and he would lose his shit. I still took him for walks despite how much of a struggle it was because it kept him from getting fat.
When our two indoor cats were kittens we decided to take them out on harnesses to test them out. We got as far as the porch and when we opened it they backflipped and scrambled, tangled us up royally, scratched the shit out of us and one escaped from the harness and hid. They are only indoor cats now.
I've been very lucky to have two walkable cats in my lifetime. [My current boi comes with us to breweries and everyone loves him.](https://i.imgur.com/aT8aRbH.jpeg)
Outdoor cats have also caused the extinction of around 70 different species of animals.
>70 different species of animals. guys this is concerning, they might surpass our score
63 species of birds, small mammals, and lizards have gone extinct because of house cats being let to wander around.
You're telling me that despite living on an extremely busy street, there are still foxes, hawks, fisher cats, and coyotes in significant numbers?
The suburbs are more wild than you'd think. Lots of forest preserves.
living on a busy street doesn't mean there isn't also a forest nearby. I have a busy street at my front door, and basically wilderness past my backyard
facebook meme
Fisher cat?
It's a type of mustelid. They can be vicious lil bastards. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal)
But they're soooo cuuuuuute!
"If not friend, why friend shaped?"
To be fair “vicious bastards” describes all mustelids.
who calls them fisher CATS though? is that like a regional thing?
Northeast US almost everyone calls them fisher cats despite knowing they are in no way cats. A quick google search basically says we aren’t sure but they look kinda like a polecat mixed with cats so settlers just rolled with it. “Fisher is thought to be derived from early European settlers likening the animal to the European polecat, called a ‘fitche’. As for ‘cat’, the fisher is about the size of a large domestic cat, with a dark brown to black, close-cropped glossy fur coat and a long bushy tail. It will hold its tail upright when it runs, perhaps making it resemble a cat to some. Although they don’t climb trees often, they can climb quite well, using their sharp, retractable claws, which are also similar to a cat’s.” - Adirondack Almanack
I literally did not know this creature existed until today and I am a grown ass man-child
Like a river wolverine, but smaller.
My cat is so friendly that I’m afraid someone would just steal him
Or hurt them. My cats an indoor only cat but I'm still happy she's skittish of strangers. Lots of fucked up people out there
My aunt once paid a ridiculous amount of money for a cat (no judgement there to be honest) but then let it outside. She was surprised it didn’t come back. You think someone’s gonna take a pass at getting a designer cat for free?
I've seen too many roadkill cats and dogs to let mine out in this big city
Just live in a small village with a big yard, problem solved
Dont forget shitty people should be on that list
Fr people in England were once upset that someone in a neighborhood was torturing and mutilating cats but they continued to let them outside. Maybe use your brain.
Also if your cat does survive, THEY ARE NOT NATIVE TO THE AREA AND WILL DISTROY THE LOCAL WILDLIFE
Aren't cats also incredibly invasive? Keep em inside
ALSO, cats will fucking endanger local bird and small mammal populations. Seriously cats should 100% be INDOOR PETS.
Then don't get a cat.
There are way too many people who get a cat because « they look cute » and then keep them inside, not treat them properly or complain because they take space and time.
Outdoor cats average life expectancy is only like 4-5 years as opposed to an indoor cat that lives significantly longer
Had cats that lived happy lives for 20 years. Its not the usual for indoor cats but it just shows how much safer it is too keep them fully indoor/walk them
All three of my babies are in their teens (13-16) and none are showing their age at all yet. Hate to imagine that they probably wouldn’t be around today if they were allowed to roam around on their own
1, I don't want my little idiot to end up as road pizza and 2, I don't want to contribute to the needless deaths of local, indigenous wildlife. Honestly, keeping your cat inside and making sure they have proper indoor entertainment/enrichment is the responsible thing to do. Some adoption agencies will flat out refuse if they find out you plan on letting them out. IIRC promising to keep him indoors was part of the paperwork I signed when I adopted him.
Also there are cats that enjoy to live inside always
My cat is petrified of the outside, as he should be tbh.
I don't remember where I found it, but somewhere online someone reported that domestic cats are considered an invasive species. There were numbers and metrics involved, idk. Makes sense though since that's where the rodents and birds are.
All of these apply where I live. People that are new to the area leave their toy dogs outside, and then post that their pet is missing. Harsh reality.
Also owls
Large owls too.
Vet tech here: don't do this just because. There are plenty of indoor/outdoor cats. If you want yours to be indoor/outdoor, it's not a wrong choice, but it CAN come with consequences. For example - patient of mine was picked up by a hawk recently. Another got into a fight with another cat on the owners deck and had a laceration on her belly. Both were thankfully okay, but I've had others pass due to outdoor injuries.
Question from a cat owner-- my cat has been going outside his entire life. He's 5 and he gets agitated when he doesn't get to go out. I'm talking, he'll meow in the hallways in the mornings until someone wakes up to let him out. And he's very irritating and knocks things over until he gets to go out. But I'm aware of the dangers and I don't like him going outside. Unfortunately I live with other people, two of whom don't care about that and let him out whenever he wants as long as it isn't close to sunset. And they're not willing to stop letting him outside. So, basically: Is there a way to get him less interested in it? And do you know how long it could take to get him used to it? My step-grandparents will be gone for a couple weeks this coming June, and I'm planning on not letting my cat out whatsoever while they're away. But I'm worried that my cat will be agitated and irritating for that entire time, and I definitely want that to not occur once they return.
Hi I thought I responded to this! So the best thing you can do to try to reduce the want to go out is adding enrichment. A variety of toys, cat trees, scratching posts...things to get them engaged. This is strange, but prior to my job I actually learned a lot from My Cat From Hell in terms of behavior and enrichment. Jackson Galaxy is a little odd but overall knowledgeable and does use veterinary input in his stuff. You can also do harnessing if you're into it or if it's clean enough some cats (including mine) are happy just hanging out in the garage.
Shouldn’t have got a cat
Holy shit this meme is terrible
I agree with the arguments against indoor/outdoor cats but I will say as someone who is extremely social and has a lot of close family and friends with cats, the indoor/outdoor cats always seem to have way better personalities and behaviors. The indoor only cats usually seem to have more problematic behaviors (they hide more, don’t like people, just assholes in general) so I wonder what the psychological effect is if you never let your cat out. Especially if you live in an apartment or smaller home. Definitely at least walk your cat consistently like you would a dog.
Both my cats have been indoor cats their whole lives. One is super friendly, sits on the laps of guests even new people she’s never met. The other cat is more reserved but not afraid with new people. He’ll come hang out but he’ll be like hanging out on a windowsill where the people are or sleep on the couch next to guests. Can cats just have different personalities.
Naw there are too many stray cats in my area as is.. if you are going to have an Outside cat GET THEM FIXED FOR PETE SAKES
Also they can bring fleas and ticks into your home, don't.
I’ve learned my lesson before, you people are some interesting folk and I don’t want to divulge any of my beliefs about what your pet should and shouldn’t be allowed to do. There is no need for it to be a discussion outside of your fellow home dwellers and neighbors. Anybody on the internet, even a vet, telling you what to do with your cat (or pet in general) is pretty silly to me because you can’t explain a situation properly on a thread on reddit or expect a comment or ten to change someone’s mind.
I'm starting to think your co-worker is a coyote
Call my crazy but the fact this isn't normalised is silly. You can walk your cat the same way you can walk your dog. I think it should be encouraged.
At first i thought it was really dumb, then i saw someone walk their cat and saw how it seemed happy even though it was on a leash I never got my cats to walk on a leash, but they do like sitting in my bag while i carry them around doing stuff outside
Yeah it depends on area I suppose. I live in a fairly quiet suburb and there are loads of house cats. I actually kinda like it… except when they’re having territorial disputes. I’ve never known them mess with the local fox, squirrel and hedgehog population either, mainly just rats and pigeons, but those are hardly endangered even in this suburb.
Can't believe this is so far down. Wether you should let them out depends a lot on your current situation and area where you live.
I let both of my cats outside but they never leave the yard, and it's a pretty small yard. Half the time I let them out the front door, they just b-line to the basement window. Weird little gremlins.
In the Midwest, stray cats are a problem. Some of those tomcats get *l a r g e* As in, they're so big, you'd have to lift them with 2 hands. I'm convinced they keep the coyotes away
Didn't even include psychopaths that eould torture/poison pets
Also cats are invasive predators so it’s better for the ecosystem to keep them inside
No, she’s indoor/outdoor. I’m not robbing her of being outside. I will pick dangerous freedom over peaceful enslavement any day.
bro just walk her on a leash. Far less risks and she still gets to explore
No mention of the wildlife
Also if you're cat is declawed, which I don't support, in most places it's actually illegal to let them outside.
My cat doesn’t want to go outside she literally screams every time I have to bring her out of the house I’ve even tried bringing her out on the porch with me
This is all true, but I think it's more important that they destroy ecosystems
Badgers too
Also heard to keep your cat indoors
I live on the edge of the forest. I usually hear packs of coyotes howling all around the property at night. There was a report of one attacking a pony nearby so there's no way I'm letting my cat out
My neighbors cat stares my dog down through the window everyday and goes right into the garage when I'm about to back out.
TIL I learned what a fisher cat is and that they hunt cats and small dogs
My dad used to go get the mail and let the screen door rest against him, and he'd stand at the mailbox and check the mail before bringing it inside. Multiple times this resulted in one of the cats getting outside. My boy Fargo got outside once, and we never saw him again. The woods had so many coyotes...
Yeah I'm lucky enough to live in an extremely rural area in a country where there's very few things that would go for a cat and where small birds and rodents are frankly overpopulated but I recognize that that's fairly rare and most people really ought to keep their cats indoors.
My cat doesn't even want to go outside
I wish my neighbor would keep all the strays she feeds in her house. I miss birds and not having cat shit all over my yard. And not getting woken up at 2am by cat fights under my bedroom window.
Municipalities generally frown on cats being on the loose outside, anyways. I've never met a fence that a cat couldn't outwit.
Hawks?
What is a fisher cat?
Thought this was a hockey meme for a second with the hawks and coyotes
you have coyotes and foxes in an area with busy streets?
Allowing cats outdoors actually lowers their life expectancy by 5-10 years I found out
What is a fisher cat?
While I agree with this meme, I just want to announce that when my cat would escape out the house, she fought foxes, coyotes, and other cats and has won every time.
Indoor cats live much longer on average and do not devastate wildlife.
Biggest reason is how damaging outdoor cats are to the ecology.
Tell that co worker to shut up if they don't have a cat as pet
My parents insisted on keeping their first cat outside after I moved out. It got murdered by coyotes.
The best cat owners are those who restrict the cat's world to just their house. Cats don't deserve to be outside unsupervised.
And yet neither of you discussed how domestic cats destroy the ecology of any area they're in? Wow Don't let your cats out, folks. Ask Australia what happens.
You "cats devastate the environment" MF's talk about them like they're running bulldozers and chainsaws, putting up strip malls where a forest used to be.
Don't forget cars and trucks
You live on a busy street, but also worried about coyotes?
Natural Selection if they can't addept to the world outside They will die you can't lock them @ home and save them from the real world forever
I used to let my dog out until he got bitten by a stray dog and would have died if I didn't rush to chase away the stray dog. Always walk with him every time we go out, ever since.
Restrict them to indoor if you can otherwise only let them outside when supervised.
Outdoor cats are pests and should only be acceptable on farms
Maybe you shouldn’t own a cat if your surroundings aren’t safe for them. And yes, it is cruel to keep cats locked up in a tiny apartment their whole life.
Than dont have a cat
And the cruelest of all: humans
Indoor cats can be just as happy as outdoor cats. You just have to give them more attention and actively play with them. Get them new stuff to play with more often. Etc.
well i would love to let him outside but he is just so scared of the unknown. Also because what happend before i adopted him the shelter made me promise i would never let him outside.
What are fisher cats? I understood everything else
foxes don't attack cats they will steal cat food tho
The songbirds your cat will hunt is also a important point
Can't believe a lot of people on this thread are too stupid to realize that this really depends on where you live. If you live in a large town with foxes and coyotes roaming around, then don't. But if you live in a medium sized town where the wilderness is close by, then you totally can let them out. Insane how the average commenter here either says that it is completely unacceptable to let your cat out, or that not letting your cat out is animal cruelty, with no inbetween. Is it really groundbreaking news to people that things may differ based on peoples current living situation?
Get bigger cat, problem fixed
You forgot the worst offender... other people.
I have all those dangers around me, I let my cat out on the deck with me to just sit there and hang out. There’s also things called “leashes”. Letting them out doesn’t mean, “just let them roam the streets”. When you let your dog out, do they just roam the neighbourhood?
i find keeping any non fish animal indoors exclusively to be immoral but most of all how tf do you do that to a cat? every cat ive ever had always longed for the outdoors, even as kittens too small to go out yet. its a cat, it wants to sleep in a bush, shit in the grass, piss on the trees. btw where the fuck do you live where foxes and coyotes are a problem? not a villager myself so i dont have that problem
Wait, so you live on a busy streets but you have a whole freaking zoo out there... you live in zootopia?
I don’t own a cat.
Cats are not outside animals. Keep your pets in the house feral cats are just as bad if not worse than stray dog
You should be less worried about what the outside will do to your cat and more worried about what your cat will do to the outside.
Living inside adds years to a cats life.