Don’t let your cats roam, it’s a dick move in so so many ways. Be responsible and keep and eye on your pet on your property, if you don’t think cats are indoor animals, don’t get one
this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2025
827 points (98.6% liked)
cats
25535 readers
566 users here now
Typical internet cats. Videos, pics, memes, and discussion welcome!
Rule 1) Be kind
Rule 2) Follow the lemmy.world rules
other cat communities
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
There are cats that definitely come with pre-conditions. For example our last cat was abandoned and he chose us next. But first he spent about 4 months learning to like being outside. So until we moved* he wouldn't let us keep him inside. He'd literally climb out the window, up the wood framing, to the roof, get into the pine trees and work his way down from there. Eventually we'd just get a meow at the front door when we thought he was still chilling in the living room.
If you're adopting a shelter cat or bringing up a kitten you should absolutely keep them inside. But some cats will let you know they have terms and conditions to your relationship.
Note - Once we moved he no longer wanted to roam so much and was content with being a balcony cat. Which strongly suggests it was tied to some idea of territory or familiarity with that area.
load more comments
(4 replies)
Woah, is lemmy pro letting cats outside? It's so terrible for the cats and local wildlife why would you be in favor of it?
How is it terrible for the cat? Their natural habitat is outside!
Cats do not have cars in their natural habitat.
How do you know?
cat, in line at the drive thru to grab a whopper
load more comments
(3 replies)
Mostly cars, but it's also how they end up getting lost or grabbed by people thinking they are lost, and also wildlife like coyotes or owls and raccoons often can kill them because they don't have a natural sense of fear for predators anymore. As well as transfer of disease from mingling with other outdoors cats. Or getting pregnant by meeting up with other outdoor cats while not being fixed themselves.
"fixing" is such a weird way to describe breaking something
No it isn't. Cats are domesticated. They have no natural habitat because they aren't wild animals.
Their natural habitat is outside!
A cat's natural habitat is not North America. They are very destructive to our local ecology.
Yup. The hard truth is that we shouldn't have pet cats at all over here.
load more comments
(2 replies)
After they domesticated themselves I am pretty sure their natural habitat is whatever we decide it should be. We already are deciding if they can breed at all so....
All the cats in my neighborhood that were outdoor cats have been killed within a week. Coyote has had some good eats this week.
Their natural habitat is outside in the near-east and egypt, not anywhere else. That's not to mention, most people live in urbanized areas with a lot of hazards that aren't natural.
load more comments
(3 replies)
No, it isn't. Domestic cats do not belong outside. The exposure to numerous hazards literally cuts their average life expectancy by half.
Lots of animals live longer in captivity. That doesn't mean it's right to restrict their freedom.
If you think it’s wrong to keep a cat inside then you shouldn’t have a cat. They’re an invasive species in most of the world and it’s unethical to put them outside regardless of what justifications you come up with
I agree. I don't you should have a pet cat in places where they aren't native.
load more comments
(1 replies)
As moral agents that understand the impacts of letting species go extinct due to human activity ruining native habitats and transplanting invasive species, we need to weigh the odds of reducing their freedom for the sake of conserving the population. Think how the California Condor was revived after being declared extinct in the wild in the late 1980s.
What ends up happening with zoos however is that capitalism sinks it's claws in and influences these zoos to prefer profit over the well being of the animals, even going so far as to ignore scientist/veterinarian advice in favor of their trainers.
So long as it remains profitable to restrict the freedoms of animals (and humans), it will happen. At least until we do something about capitalism
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(9 replies)
This a thousand times. Allowing a cat outdoors is the single worst thing for the environment the average person is capable of doing.
Not particularly great for the cat, either.
Instead of a catio I installed fences around my property so my cats could enjoy the outside without roaming outside. It wouldn't work for everyone because my property is half walled to (not the regular american layout) but it works like a charm.
I’m always amazed cat owners let them roam. You’re putting a LOT of trust in both the animal as well as your greater environment. Just the other week I read a message from our local animal shelter. They had found a cat which had gotten poisoned. Either intentionally or unintentionally, that couldn’t be determined.
They had to put it down before the owner was found, it was that sick. I’d feel pretty guilty if that was my cat.
Cats can get run over, abducted, get hurt, etc. Even ignoring the fact that it’s a living creature, it’s also an expensive piece of property and vet bills aren’t cheap either.
Sharing is caring
load more comments
(14 replies)
Adorable little asshole!
Don't feed any cats that are not yours. not even once.
yeah, feeding the wrong food wil give them liver disease in the long run, and they cant handle suddenly switching food sources. They'll also get way to fat which gives them depression and also kills them. being 'nice' to a cat that has an owner by feeding it shortens their life by ~3 years.
If your animal will die from eating a small piece of cooked chicken after eating several raw freshly hunted birds in my garden by it's own volition, then don't let it out of the house.
If your cat is in my house (yes, somebody's cat just waltzed into my house once and sat on our sofa) then he is my guest. If I want to offer my distinguished guests a healthy snack and they don't refuse, there's nothing wrong with that.
load more comments
(4 replies)
view more: next ›