Don't let your cat outside unless they are in a enclosed area
this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2025
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Besides them being predators, they also die easier outside. It cost us a lot to learn this lesson.
Why?
Because cats are a godawful menace to local small vertebrate populations.
You mean like mice and rats? We got lots of them to spare.
Also songbirds, reptiles, basically anything small enough for them to kill.
Outdoor domestic cats have directly contributed to the mass extinction of at least 33 species of wildlife worldwide: https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/keep-cats-indoors.pdf
Plus the obvious answer, they live longer when they can't be mauled or run over.
OK, thanks.
So I guess the situation is this: it depends. For example our cats do kill a bird a year maybe (species that are around in large numbers) but they mostly hunt mice which are abundant in most places and it's actually a benefit to cull their numbers.
While we also had one cat get poisoned by assholes we don't have any issues with cats getting run over ever and that's in a (EU) city.
it really doesn’t depend. you think your cats kill a bird a year “maybe.”
that’s just what you see. stop letting your cats roam freely outside, in america, europe, or literally anywhere. you see farmers here in the US using all the same coping arguments that you are here to justify why their cats are actually fine to roam free… and then it all adds up and accumulates to the detrimental environmental impacts that we see referenced in the linked sources. you are being a part of the problem.
your cats don’t “just” hunt mice. your cat could give less of a shit if it’s a mouse or an endangered species, it doesn’t know or care. multiply that many times over the millions of cat owners who think just like you, who think “oh well my cats are fine though…”
are they? i don’t think so.
i love cats and im sorry about yours getting poisoned, but, also you have to consider that had you not let your cats free roam there would’ve been a near zero percent chance of a stranger poisoning or otherwise hurting them.
it is doing a disservice to the environment and your pet to let a cat free roam, anywhere. even in agriculture. doesn’t matter.
I am not arguing about this. Thanks for your statement.
No. It doesn’t depend
If you say so.
It’s more like if the consensus among ecologists and veterinarians says so, but yes also because I say so I guess
It really does. Situated in Europe, there is no more wildlife to destroy. What wildlife could be destroyed by cats was decimated 10.000 years ago by people. At this point cats are important to cull rat and mice populations. Europe doesn't have nature anymore, and it hasn't in a very long time.
No. This is straight up wrong.
House cats are not effective mousers, they’re indiscriminate killers who will also kill rodents but will happily kill birds or whatever else they can.
Historically dogs are better mousers than cats, because you can train a dog to kill just what you want.
Cats are ambush predators, they’re not super into chasing prey very far.
Dogs on the other hand will.
It’s why the dachshund or rat terrier exists as a breed.
Your pet cat isn’t a beneficial member of the ecological niche. Sorry.
Feel free to look what I’m saying up and prove me wrong at any point.
This is as far from the truth as it can possibly be
Humans contribute to way more.
that’s fucking stupid whataboutism, dude.
Humans bringing perfect predators around is one way how humans contribute to it.
They murder so, so many birds.
Ha! Cats, never change. I was on my roof fixing my satellite dish which is on a mast, and got the surprise of my life to suddenly feel my cat butting my ankles. I did not know he could climb a ladder.
Right? But they can do that absolutely flawless and surprisingly well! Though most don't do it.
One of ours loved lying in my daughters bed when she had one with a ladder leading to it and it was amazing how he went up. Sadly I never got to take a photo or video of him doing it.
Just buy a $300 outdoor cat bed and stick it up there. He'll never go on the roof again.
That look: "You only cared for my wellbeing when I was up here and not down there. Curious double-standard, is it not?"
But seriously, if kitty got up there kitty can get down ( most of the time ).
Awesome. We really are a reddit replacement. We have reposters!
Maybe they hadn't seen it before, and I'm sure not even you will search through the entirety of Lemmy to make sure you're not posting something (horror of horrors) for the second time.
...general, i salute you...
“You paid me little attention when I’m in house. You pay me big attention when I’m on house.”
The cats expression is like:
“Check mate”
They obviously had fun.
friend rescued a roof dog. common to put chihuahuas on the roof for security in Mexico.
Huh. Why is that? Like, do they bark when an unknown person approaches the house?
Ceiling cat is watching you masturbate.
Something about the camera angle makes the cat look massive
As long as e can clearly get down on his own, just leave him up there.
He knows where the food is.
"You mad? What you gonna do about it?"
I’ll fuckin do it again
No ragrets
...frank, you saucy bastard...