this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2025
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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
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.
All excuses as far as I’m concerned.
I found a cat leg the other day, victim to a coyote. But I guess the owners can be comforted that their kitty got fresh air.
But as a neighbour who deals with this issue and property damage from neighbours cats , if your pet becomes my pest i will deal with it as such, and you’ll never know about it
I mean yeah that sucks that can happen with coyotes, but dude if cats are damaging your stuff it's because you're a dick to them. They are smart enough to know and to take it out on you. Also that's a great way to turn a minor dispute into a violent confrontation. Don't escalate shit just because you want to feel superior. It's not a rational response to kill your neighbor's cat.
I've worked professionally with cats for over 7 years. I can confirm that cats will fuck with your shit no matter how you treat them lmao
See I've had the opposite experience. As long as there's a cat box in neutral territory, food, and water, and you let the cat lead on socializing with you, it's fine. People run into problems when they treat cats like accessories instead of animals that have their own thoughts, agency, and borders.
Of course there will always be exceptions but if a cat is fucking with you and only you then you made it angry at you.
Be a little piece of shit, and one day you'll find out that you aren't the only one who can kill, as you learn your brakes aren't functional on the highway.
Sincerely, Your neighbors <3
Do you react the same way to people using pesticides or mole traps? A pest is a pest is a pest. If you want the moles to stay safe, don't let them into your neighbor's yards. Same goes for cats. That's why I keep mine inside.
Yeah, sure, I'm not like "crash through their backyard wall and encourage the behavior" but also fuck people who act entitled as fuck and macho, just out to harm other living beings because they entered an imaginary zone next to their assumed home.
You mean like the cat that kills all manner of wildlife for no reason?
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?
America-centrist I see
The hell does America-centrism have to do with this?
Because cats do not disturb ecosystems in most parts of the world, most notably not in the Americas
Australia - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/nov/12/from-beloved-pet-to-biodiversity-villain-what-now-for-australias-cats France - https://www.lemonde.fr/en/our-times/article/2023/02/18/the-common-cat-has-become-an-environmental-scourge_6016379_39.html A paper that lists other locations besides United States, like United Kingdom - https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10073
Bruh I've lived in Japan, Germany, and Qatar, and all those places had birds.
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.
If you care about your pet or neighbours keep it inside. Don’t make your pet other peoples pests. Can you imagine if dog owners just opened their doors at night to let them roam? Why do cast people think they’re special?
P.s. i found a cat leg in my yard the other day, since we have coyotes and birds of prey in my area. So there’s some consequences for you
Not to mention how much damage cats do to wildlife populations.
I've had closer to 9 cats (all either strays or fostered/adopted), and the two that stayed inside their entire life managed to outlive the others by like 6 years and counting. The smart reply is absolutely to keep your pets inside.
Y'all really can't wait to see your own cats flattened on the road, huh? "But my cat is smart enough to avoid cars!" No, your cat is lucky enough to have avoided cars so far.
Nah
Outdoor cats have a far shorter life expectancy and damage the local ecosystem. Why don't you care?
Not every place in the world is America, there are many places where cats are native, and dont get driven over as much because all is full of cars, i got mine to specifically damage the sorounding mice ecosystem because having the pest control there every six months is expensive.
"Many Places" umm no, not domesticated house cats.
And if you live in a place with native and wild small felines it's even more important to keep domesticated cats inside since they will compete for food or mix genetics by trying to interbreed and put the native wild population of cats in danger of diseases.
Cats originated in Egypt and spread across the world basically by humans. So unless you're in Egypt, cats aren't native to your ecosystem.
Your right humans spread them as semi wild pets to protect they food stock from rodents but for Europe that where the romans over 2000 year ago, so i would not say that they are a new emerging existencial thread for the eco system here, if that was the case it would have long colapsed lol.
This is completely faulty logic not backed by reality or even a single source.
Here is some further reading:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cats-kill-a-staggering-number-of-species-across-the-world/
There's plenty parts of America that are like that as well. A lot of areas, having an outdoor cat is almost necessary you want an outdoor garden, since otherwise the local rodents will just eat it all.
I found a chewed up cat leg the other day, a coyotes dinner, hope it was yours
Lmao
Your cat has more control over you? Who is whose owner there? People who let their cats roam are entitled and irresponsible.
I had a beagle who always wanted out and roam. But my pet doesn’t make the rules so I kept him inside
Cats do whatever they want. Get one and you'll know.
They do what you allow
Yeah, no. Cats are black hats. They'll keep looking for exploits.
First, I have two.
Second, why should anyone listen to you when you admit that any cat can outsmart you? Lol
I used to work at an animal shelter. I must have met thousands of cats in my time there. I never met a single cat that didn't get used to being inside 24/7. They could be sitting just feet away from a door leading straight outside, and they would not try to escape.
If your home is so hostile to cats that they're desperate to escape no matter what you do, you should probably not have a cat.
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.
Can you imagine if dog people let their dogs fuck off at night? They’d rightly be charged and have their pets taken away, what makes you special.
If your pet becomes my pest, I will deal with it as such. Not to mention all the dangers you’re risking your cat die to.
Really it’s a big case of entitlement, you think you’re entitled to use everyone’s property to entertain your cat, cause you’re too irresponsible of an owner to entertain and enrich your cat’s life at home
Newsflash: birds aren't cats either
If you're going to be an ass about it, at least have SOME logical consistency.
Cats have caused dozens of extinctions in the new world alone. I'm not as familiar with old world regions, but I understand they're not exactly friendly to local wildlife there either. They're not "just cats," they're an apex predator that no ecosystem outside of Northern Africa evolved to deal with. You don't let zebra mussels into your local lake. You don't plant kudzu in your yard. Don't let your cats outside unsupervised.
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.