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Okay, I've been thinking about this for a while, but now I'm not sure where I stand in this debate.
My cats are sort of a half-in-half-out sorta deal, so they can come and go as they please but stay inside at night (bc I live in a kind of rural area and don't want them getting eaten by coyotes ;_;) but I know others that refuse to let their cats outside. What is the ethicality of keeping cats inside all day vs letting them outside and risking potential dangers?
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cherry(autoplay 🎶)
when cats are let outside they risk getting hurt or killed by other outdoor cats, predators such as coyotes, cars, etc. they also pose risks to wildlife populations that they kill for fun. and theyre more likely to contract or transmit diseases when theyre around strange animals. letting cats outside under supervision and/or a screened in patio can be okay, but they shouldn’t ever be left outside unsupervised. there’s no benefits to outdoor cats and they can receive all the play and enrichment they need under good ownership
catboy
Disclaimer that it does depend on the situation for example barncats that prevent mouse infestations are different from cats let loose in the suburbs but, for the average person engaging in this conversation...
I'd say indoor-only is the only ethical and logical conclusion for the majority of people. Outdoor cats kill local wildlife and decimate animal populations and then get killed themselves. It may not seem like much, but combined together outdoor cats kill at least ~1.3 billion birds per year. That is straight up apocalyptic.
My family used to let our cats outside. Only one would go out, and he literally did kill a ton of animals. My parents didn't stop letting him out until be vanished for a full month. God knows what happened to him out there, but that made everyone realize that he needs to stay in.
If your cat wants to go outside, just work with it and make something up. Harness train it to take it on walks, or if you have a secure fence then only allow it within the fence. You could even build a "catio" if you'd want. Lotta options.
If the cat is notably understimulated inside, try to make its life more interesting indoors. More toys and playtime are easiest, but y'know if you've got time and money then cat trees or installing those cat shelves for them to climb on will also help.
So like, yeah. I'm firmly indoor only. The only reason to let them out is for them to have fun, and they can have fun and be outdoors Without anything literally dying in the process