I thought I was a cat person and have kept a few. Never outside because that is irresponsible. I get that we created them for rodent maintenance but I keep everything in plastic and glass and I have snap traps for the rest. I do not live in a grain silo, so it's not really an issue. Even cat people have some mice.

Also, using cats to kill mice outside the home is like using a grenade to kill house spiders. They don't just kill mice, they kill EVERYTHING they can get their paws on and they are very, very good at it. Those prey evolved with specific predators and do not need the extra predation. If I caught a cat killing a microbat or a tree frog, I would 'quickly move to protect those animals' because they provide something I value.

I also feel like the smell cats draws coyotes to the city for free food and I just want everyone to google 'coyote drags child' to see why that's bad.

I got a lap dog to entertain the cat while at work and then covid took the job. I had to make a decision to rehome one or the other and chose the cat. That's how I found out I have mild cat allergies and also that I am a lap dog person.

I have since become quite militant about people forcing their cats on people who don't want them and the odor they provide. I have 3 spots in my yard that cat shit piles up and I have cages on all the gardens to keep the cats out. Cats piss on everything and that kills plants and stinks like fuck. Anyone who tells you it's fertilizer is not a gardener.

It's nuts how it's been normalized to force your pets on people and then smile in their face as if you aren't damaging them. If those people don't care enough about their pets to not expose them to wild cars (like nobodies ever seen dead cats in the road), then nobody is gonna believe their crocodile tears when those animals die of liver failure from nibbling any of several toxic plants in my yard.