this post was submitted on 24 May 2025
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"Outdoor cats" are just cats. They are not a domesticated species, hunting is their instinct, and should just not be introduced in places where they wreck havoc to the environment. Where they are endemic (Europe and continental Asia) they don't cause troubles to the ecosystem
Wrong. Outdoor cats pose a significant risk to birds in Europe as well, especially because Europe has massively reduced the habitat of wildlife in recent centuries.
Cats found 200-500 meters away from any property are shot by hunters in Germany. Between 2007 and 2022 over 160,000 cats were killed in just 5/16 German states (the remaining one's don't publish numbers).
Source? Never heard of that. German sources are fine as well.
That's where the 160,000 deaths number came from. The largest German nature conservation NGO is also quoted as saying cats are a danger to birds.
A single district in Northern Germany has had 660 cats shot within a year. In the dstrict's state 2580 cats were shot in total. Note that the "landesweit" doesn't refer to countrywide but rather to statewide (as German states are called "federal countries").
As long as you spend time providing your cat proper enrichment to express their hunting instincts, an indoor cat will be just as happy as an outdoor cat.
In my experience it highly depends on the cat. Some are perfectly content with proper scratchers and toys inside, some just visibly suffer staying inside, it might help we are far from the busy city with plenty of green and huntable animals, but most of our cats spend ~80% of time outdoor during summer and ~30% during winter.
put a camera on them if you think they're not killing birds. seriously.
edit: they won't, because they don't want to admit their precious baby is out there mauling the shit out of the bird population. what a coward - insists their carnivore isn't hurting anything, but won't verify it because afraid of truth.
I'm not saying they are not killing birds, or mice, or small preys in general. Cats are predators and amongst the best. What I'm saying is that they are invasive only in places they never were in before human brought them (like Australia or small islands). In continental Eurasia (except areas where they are explicitly been controlled), they have always been there, and the environment is adapted to their presence and will not significantly suffer, not more than any other predator.
ah ok cool
KEEP THEM INSIDE THE FUCKING HOUSE YO.
DO YOU WANT IT TO LIVE?
https://scitechdaily.com/bird-flu-is-now-killing-cats-at-a-90-fatality-rate-experts-warn-it-could-jump-to-humans/
300 dead cats in 20 years in 18 countries? I'm guessing that house fires kill more cats than that.
I don't knoe why people are obsesse with keeping cats inside. In a less urbanized area, they are perfectly safe staying outside.
pfft sure bud, perfectly safe.
https://scitechdaily.com/bird-flu-is-now-killing-cats-at-a-90-fatality-rate-experts-warn-it-could-jump-to-humans/
I understand the concerns in the USA, but where I live, burd flu seems to be pretty much a non-problem for now because of very strict controla and low volume of aviary farming.
you do you mate. but honestly chiming in as if the rest of the world shouldn't keep their cats inside is silly when the concerns - predation - and spreading bird flu around are actual genuine issues.
no one can make you care. doesn't mean I won't keep spreading the word so others benefit from the knowledge.
edit: lemmy, you're turning into reddit. someone says they want to help people protect their pets and stop spreading disease and you downvote because you're so fucking selfish you'd rather silence dissent than let people spread information that may save a loved pet or their family members.
you're fucked in the head.
Nah, that's bullshit. They are causing troubles, both to themselves and to the ecosystem. House cats originated in around Egypt area, and were brought by humans everywhere else. They are invasive, and they are destroying ecosystems, and they are in danger every time they're around.
Nobody minds them when they're catching rats.
Domestic cats arent the problem; ferals are...usually from owners who abandon them.
We dont have a bird shortage by any stretch...they come and eat the leftover cat food.
I definitely do mind, as much as when they kill birds or even insects.
A pet shouldn't be allowed to murder all day long.
Except they dont murder all day long. That's human's job.
bwahaha that went a tad deeper than your regular "cute!!" comments expected under a post in this and similar cat communities 🧨