Keep Your Cat Indoors (The Birds Say Thanks)
Posted on 18. Nov, 2008 by Chris Baskind in The Daily Footstep
If humans were to disappear tomorrow, house cats would do just fine without us. That’s because kitty is a wildly effective predator. Each year, domestic cats kill over a billion birds — enough to significantly impact wildlife population. So keep your cat indoors, especially during nesting season. Indoor kitties also live longer, healthier lives than their outdoor counterparts. Keep your cat snug and warm, and enjoy the sound of songbirds year round.
7 Responses to “Keep Your Cat Indoors (The Birds Say Thanks)”
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But cats were meant to be outside! I think keeping a cat indoors is unnecessarily cruel. I know it can be sad to see your cat kill a bird or chipmunk, but it is really just the natural cycle of life, and probably healthier for them to nibble than the stuff we give them from a bag or can.
Obviously living in a large urban area might be an exception, but those living in the suburbs or the cities I believe should give their kitty outdoor time. They might live a little longer being a total indoors cat, but I believe their life is much happier when they are not always trapped inside.
Think about it this way. There are dangers when you and I go outside - ride in a car, bus or plane. Go biking, skiing, swimming. We might be safer indoors - but would our lives be fuller and richer no? We would probably be insane if we could never go outside.
This is a good tip.
My cat had been an indoor cat for 4 years until I moved house, and the first thing she did when she got out into the garden was bring in a bird and a mouse. Needless to say, she's never caught anything else, but I don't let her out the front door anymore, especially because that's where I've got my new bird feeder!
I also think cats should be given outdoor time, specially for people like me who lives in a small apartment. I can't imagine my poor kitty bored all time without nothing to do. Besides this, if you feed them enought, they don't hunt that much :D
Bungers -
It is not part of the natural cycle of life because the domestic cat is not an indigenous species.
Cats can get a completely nutritious diet without supplementing it with what it finds outside. Plus, it's easier to protect an indoor cat from toxins, such as antifreeze or poisonous plants.
Cats living in the suburbs that are allowed to run free cannot be kept off of neighbors' property. Having a cat use the flower beds belonging to someone else as a litter box is unacceptable and the act of a bad neighbor.
Indoor cats don't live just a little longer than outdoor cats, their life span is more than double that of outdoor cats.
Road dangers are the worst. I've hit two cats in my 20 years of driving and each time my heart was broken. There is no cat that is smart enough to avoid cars, despite how smart their owner thinks it is.
There have been a few times that my dog has gotten out of his fenced yard and gone wandering the neighborhood and was found happy and excited upon his return. He loves wandering when he's giving the chance and I'm sure if I allowed this behavior, his life would be much richer. Should I allow him to roam free, too?
I take my cat out for approx a half our a day only under my strict supervision. Sure, she loves it but I love her too much to risk her safety and respect my neighbors' property too much to allow her to roam at will.
Typo - I meant “hour”, not “our” in the last graph. So much for the proof reading.
Thanks: you've added a lot to the discussion. Cat populations are many times what they would be if felines were exposed to normal rates of predation and disease. That's thanks to their human mentors. We've already interfered, so there's really no point appealing to the “natural order of things.” Humans have a responsibility to mitigate their pets' impact on wild animal populations.
Here in Florida, studies show that feral cats have significantly threatened a number of indigenous species, including beach and cotton mice, the Lower Keys marsh rabbit, the Florida Scrub-Jay, the Black Skimmer, Least Terns, and the endangered Piping Plover:
http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats...
Domestic cats are also spreading new diseases into the struggling Florida Panther population.
By the way, I know several people involved in the movement to vaccinate and neuter feral cats, rather than subjecting them to kill shelters. Their numbers are insignificant compared to marauding house cats, and this is a separate discussion altogether.
Fortunately my kitty is terrible at actually catching anything (like a bird). We both hated life when he was forced to live inside, and it's the fresh air, wind, and sometimes rain that seems to matter most to him. We're both happier this way. If his life is shorter at least I'll know we were both happier.
Putting a bell on a cat collar keeps them from being able to get anywhere near birds.