Me, an intellectual: Keep your cats inside always (unless they’re on a harness or in a catio).
Some people have tried to challenge me on this so listen:
-Cats are responsible for the deaths of billions of birds and small animals a year, making certain species at risk for extinction.
-Outdoor cats interact with each other, leading to fights (which can cause infections or other injuries), unwanted litters of kittens if they’re unaltered, and contributing to the spread of feline HIV.
People are trying to tell me that roaming outdoors is natural for cats, and it’s cruel to keep them cooped up all day. If you wouldn’t let your dog out to wander the streets and fend for itself, why would you let your cat? You’re saying that being vulnerable to
-Being hit by a car
-Taken as a pet by a stranger
-Being taken by a stranger for more sinister purposes
-Being attacked by a wild animal
-Being attacked by other cats
-Accidentally ingesting antifreeze or other toxins
-Being at risk for rabies or other diseases
is worth your idealized image of an independent cat? Cats, if they’re properly entertained, are perfectly happy being left inside. If they like going outside, harness train them or build a catio (cat patio), so they can enjoy the fresh air while being supervised. According to numerous studies, outdoor cats live a much shorter lifespan than indoor ones, and I just think that’s an irresponsible and neglectful price for a cat owner to pay for their stubbornness.
Gonna guilt y’all. What if my beloved squish bird got lost? Idk, maybe her harness leash snapped or something. Shit happens.
Look at that face! Now what if you happened to have an outdoor cat, mind you this bird is domesticated and lives with cats and has no fear of them. How shitty would y’all feel if your outdoor cat got a hold of her? Pretty damn shitty, I hope. Keep your cats in, if not for the sake of your cat or wildlife, but for the sake of this lil pigeon.
also the argument that “my cat is bored” is a weak one because guess who is the responsible care giver in this scenario? you, the person who got a cat! the person who got the cat is wholly responsible for making sure a cat has the proper stimulus in their environment, which includes a scratcher, a hide or two (could just be cardboard boxes they’re not fussy) and toys! can’t afford toys? crumpled paper balls, play with a spare shoestring or drawstring, or just a piece of yarn, give them milk rings, cats love to play with garbage! a bored cat doesn’t need to go outside, a bored cat needs toys and time with you to play and interact with them.
Now, I don’t have cats, I will never own a cat, I’m allergic to cats.
But when people make this argument I want to ask them “Why not keep the cat in a tiny little kennel except take it out to play with every once in a while?” Bird people have already made this compromise and don’t even realize it. Jebus, clipping a bird’s wings??? Not allowing it open air?? Tiny bird cages as a common standard and nobody asks “isn’t that cruel?”? Hey, I’m fine with that, really, but own it, and don’t expect everybody should feel the same.
The argument that cats shouldn’t cat because catting is evil argues that we should get rid of all cats, right? Because cats can’t cat indoors and if you feel cats shouldn’t cat outdoors (because what about the birds and mice?j, it’s cruelty either way, therefore nobody should own a cat.
Orrr, we can agree that some of us feel that cats can cat and that we get to play God with the universe, or at least share the role within our neighborhoods, like we do when we hire pest control, build houses, water plants, mow, farm, kick off our leather shoes and go sit in our wooden chairs in our woolly socks, walk into a grocery store to buy a single damn thing, raise birds to not be afraid of cats when we know that outdoor cats exist, ….
ALTERNATIVELY you could actually care for your animal!! Crazy right??
See, I don’t put my bird in a cage. Sure is convenient I bet, similarly to how having an outdoor cat is convenient because you don’t have to put effort in providing them with mental stimulation I wouldn’t have to clean up poop all over the house, I wouldn’t have to entertain her when she demands it and could just ignore her while she’s in her cage…but instead I put the extra effort in and provide her with a safe space where she can stretch her wings!
It’s not always easy, I spend an hour a day cleaning shit, I step in shit a lot, but damn if that bird doesn’t get praised for being so muscular and the perfect weight compared to other house birds every time she goes to the vet.
When you get an animal, you should be able to provide them with all their natural behaviors without putting them at risk. If you can’t do that, you don’t deserve to have that animal. Rex can fully spread her wings and fly any time she wants, she has foraging toys to keep her occupied, I spend many hours a day training her to stimulate that ridiculously intelligent mind, she had her own outdoor aviary built so she can get some sun, if she wants a bath all she has to do is ask, she has nesting areas and material since going broody is important to pigeons.
Yes, she is trained to not be overly fearful of cats and dogs, because in a house where she lives with them (but is never in the same space as them without someone there), I don’t want her to freak out all the time near them. I want her to be able to relax while I keep the cats and dogs stay in check and away from her so she can interact with her flockmates (my family members) and get even more exercise. Not an unreasonable thing to teach your animal. Also pigeons are domesticated and have been for thousands of years, they don’t have a whole lot of fear to begin with.
If I can provide my pigeon with all her natural behaviors inside, you can with your cat. You don’t have to put the environment or the cat at risk. It’s selfish to believe you do, and real fucking lazy. And yes, nobody should own a cat if they’re not willing to do that.
Cats like to hunt so take an hour or so a day to actively play with them, you can use a laser pointer, a fishing toy, it’s up to you to figure out which your cat likes best. Cats like sunlight, so build them a catio, harness train them, you can even let them outdoors WHILE SUPERVISED with a SOLID RECALL harness-free just like you can with dogs. My pigeon has all of the above, an aviary, a harness, and she is trained to recall outdoors (though I don’t like the risk of doing so, so I don’t). If I can do it with a pigeon you can with a cat.
Cats like smellin shit, so get cat grass, bring in rocks, logs, buy scented things specifically for cats to stimulate their senses. Provide them with a quality scratching post, places to hide, places to jump and climb, window perches, foraging toys, raw food.
You can have a cat that can “cat” all it wants without putting it in danger, or destroying an already suffering environment. If you can’t do that, you don’t deserve to have a cat. Also you don’t have one…so like, why argue about it? You’re saying it’s okay for cats to literally make thousands of species go extinct and for what? I’M arguing because I care a lot about the environment, honestly Rex isn’t at risk of getting lost and eaten or injured by a cat since she has a very solid recall and I make sure I get sturdy enough harnesses for her powerful high-flying breed’s wings.
Just trying something, anything to get people to listen. To understand how important this is, it’s not about your culture or your cat’s happiness. It’s about the existence of our wildlife. It’s not about morals. It’s about an imbalance in nature that is destroying ecosystems. It’s not about animal welfare. It’s about the welfare of our planet as a whole.
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