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That cats should remain indoors. Pet cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds in the US alone, not to mention all the other animals that they also kill. I love cats as much as the next guy but keep them indoors for the love of nature
Plus, they are %99 less likely to get hit by a car or eaten by a coyote.
also they just live longer.
outdoor cats average..what..5 years? Indoor cats can get to 20. a lucky few even more.
Definitely!
I have a take on this that I think no one will have fun with:
In my opinion there is no moral way to keep a cat as a pet.
Allowing cats to roam as they desire results in the aforementioned ecological damage. The opposite - keeping cats locked in a few thousand feet at best for twenty-odd years of life - is cruel.
As someone who was raised in the woods with outdoor cats and couldn't imagine keeping them inside - even though we lost two as I grew up - it's a circle I just can't square. So I figure that if and when I get cats, I'll dodge the question and adopt some older cats who were already raised inside and couldn't be trusted to go outside safely anyway.
Counterpoint: leash laws for cats on non-private property. You can and should be able to take your cat for a walk, but you definitely shouldn't let those little murder machines out on their own.
I wouldnt say its a counter point. A cat on a leash is definitely fine. Its letting the cats roam freely that is the problem
depends on your country. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7909512/
edit: sorry was talking with someone and realized that this isn't as clear as it should be. this isn't a 'moral that most don't agree with' in all countries. like the US.
In my experience, humans do tend to prefer this policy but cats do not. Consequently, outdoor cats tend to be cats that are particularly good at getting outside in defiance of their owners' interests - either by physical escape or social manipulation.
Are the cats wanting to be outside, or are they just wanting to be away from you?
Cause I've never had a cat that wanted to be outside. Sit in a window and watch the world, yes, but as soon as you give them the ability they ran and hid.
Ive picked put my cat outside a few times just for her to run back to the door and want in. 4 cats in the house, and only once did one get out. It was a freak accident, dog started barking while i was opening the door and the no brain cell cat fled at the noise but instead of up the stairs like normal it ran out the freshly opened door. Took a couple days to get him back but now hes so scared of the front door.
In my experience, they want to go outside early in the morning and kill something (bugs are popular - my cat's never been big on tree climbing or bird killing), bring it back inside and meow until I acknowledge their triumph and give it a head-scritch. Then they want to bask in a sunbeam in my study while I work, attack my computer cord, and meow for dinner when it gets late in the day. Round out the evening curled up on my lap watching a movie. Sleep at the foot of the bed. Wake up and repeat.
Omg, he'll meow at the door for an hour straight if I don't let him out. Then he'll stick his head outside for, like, ten second and demand to be let back in again. Then go back to the door and ask to be let out again. So I typically just leave the door cracked, when the weather is nice, and save everyone some drama.