The etchics of keeping cats

[mgidm86]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the impact that outdoor cats have on other people. Then again, I'm not so surprised because so many people allow their cats to roam free in my neighborhood.

I live in an urban area and have found dead birds that have been literally torn apart in my yard, with feathers all over my veggie garden, even inside my greenhouse. Yum. The birds aren't usually eaten. I also don't like cat poop in my yard. I hate inadvertently picking up your cats poop when I'm gardening. It contains, among other things, Toxoplasmosis. Who knows what else cats pick up while roaming through garbage cans and killing and eating wildlife? I also can hear cats fighting in the middle of the night sometimes.

Your cat does not belong in my yard. Suppose dog owners acted in the same manner?

Someone provided a link earlier about the billions of birds and other animals killed every year in the US by cats. Here is a different article I found on a cat website, calling for cat owners to be more responsible because of this:

http://www.pawsforreaction.com/feralcatsharm.html#sthash.hwEF1BJK.dpbs

When you're talking about ethics, please think of people too. Programs like TNR (Trap Neuter and Return) do not consider the well being of people, or the cats themselves for that matter. Outdoor cats do not usually die of old age. More likely they will be poisoned, eaten, hit by automobiles, die of exposure, feline diseases, or general injuries.

Just offering a different perspective to this discussion.

 

[Mister Earl]

Usually it's my cats that do the etching. On the furniture.

Could be worse.

They could be etching your face.

 

[quadraginta]

<snip>

I live in an urban area and have found dead birds that have been literally torn apart in my yard, with feathers all over my veggie garden, even inside my greenhouse. Yum. The birds aren't usually eaten.

<snip>

I bet they ate most of the good parts.

When you eat a banana do you always eat the peel?

 

[Tsukasa Buddha]

When you're talking about ethics, please think of people too. Programs like TNR (Trap Neuter and Return) do not consider the well being of people, or the cats themselves for that matter. Outdoor cats do not usually die of old age. More likely they will be poisoned, eaten, hit by automobiles, die of exposure, feline diseases, or general injuries.

There is a difference in thinking that the balance of interests comes to a different conclusion and not considering other interests at all.

Linky.

 

[alfaniner]

Could be worse.

They could be etching your face.

It has happened. The day I put an armrest cover on my couch, 20-pound Moxie did his usual intermediate leap from the floor to the armrest (intending to land on the back of the couch.) The cover slipped, and trying to get purchase he grabbed my forehead because I happened to be napping on the couch at the time. Talk about rude awakenings.

I was not angry, actually laughed because it was so absurd, and an accident. I have a couple neatly spaced scars on my forehead to attest to it.

 

[TjW]

Those scars were no doubt etched in place. And finally we arrive at the topic of the thread: the etchics of keeping cats.

 

[Cainkane1]

First, a little history that has prompted me to post this thread.

My wife and I live on a busy road in the city, but with a bit of forest behind us. A stray cat had been hanging out in our back yard, most likely because we feed birds. Eventually, on a very cold day, it literally begged us to let it in the house. So we now had a pet cat. Naturally, this cat was an outdoor cat, choosing to spend much of his time roaming. And, as is the fate of outdoor cats, he was killed by a car after we had kept him for about 6 years.

With my wife in mourning, we decided to take in another cat from a shelter. This one, we originally kept inside, but she begged to go out every time we went near a door. Eventually, Mrs. IXP took her out on a leash, which did not work very well, then eventually let the cat out while she was working in the garden, and it stuck around. Then one day it disappeared. We found it the next day in our backyard shed, injured, presumably by being hit by a car. (We are saving the cat at great expense.)

So, I started thinking about the ethical dilemma about letting the cat out or keeping it inside. Both of our cats clearly preferred to go outside. So if we kept them inside, we were putting our desires (to keep the cat and birds alive) above those of the cat.

I am beginning to think it is unethical to keep cats, at least for someone who lives in a place where letting them outside is too dangerous.

Thoughts on the matter?

IXP

The other day I read where cats kill billions of birds and other small animals every year.

 

[commandlinegamer]

Another possible downside of outdoor cats: I read recently that the Scottish wildcat, a very rare breed, might soon become extinct, as it would be bred out by other varieties.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-22610869

 

[Polaris]

Another possible downside of outdoor cats: I read recently that the Scottish wildcat, a very rare breed, might soon become extinct, as it would be bred out by other varieties.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-22610869

To say nothing of the devastation felis domesticus has wrought on Australia's native fauna.

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Rescue cats are the bestest!

 

[JPK]

Good morning.
The place I used to work had a large and ever changing group of cats. Momma lived to at least 18. Her son Buster was 16 and still kicking. I adobted one, (Folly) after he went to the vet because he was faking an injury to his foot. Turns out he just liked to be carried around by everyone. When at the vet it was determined he had FIV. Considering he was very aggressive to other animal it would not have been in his best interest to let him out again. After several month of trying to get him adopted with no success, I brought him home. I do not and never have let any of my cats outside unless they were on
a leash. He made a purfect transition into a house cat. He was ~16 at the time. At 18 he developed diabetes and needed insulin shots twice a day. He lived to be just over 20. He loved to look out the back door window at squirrels and rabbits and his little teeth would chatter but other then the he was quite happy being indoors. I'm pretty sure he was never inside before because everything seemed like it was the first time he encountered it. After about a week of getting used to it he fell in love with TV.

 

[Brian-M]

The other day I read where cats kill billions of birds and other small animals every year.

Wow, those cats must be some kind of hyperactive over-achievers. I don't think I've ever known a cat capable of killing more than 200,000 birds and small animals per week.

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Wow, those cats must be some kind of hyperactive over-achievers. I don't think I've ever known a cat capable of killing more than 200,000 birds and small animals per week.

While still finding the time to bring some home and hide them around the house as "surprise presents" for the humans.

 

[nota]

you people ''think'' you own a cat

cats think they own you

some cats want to be inside
others can't stand to be in a house for very long
even in cold or rain they cry to be let out

herding cats is a lost cause
they go when and where they want

 

[Piggy]

Rescue cats are the bestest!

My cats won't tolerate newbies. I've tried, no dice. So I rescue, quarantine, and find new homes. Difficult, but rewarding.

 

[Vortigern99]

Quoting the below for truth and because it deserves to be repeated:

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the impact that outdoor cats have on other people. Then again, I'm not so surprised because so many people allow their cats to roam free in my neighborhood.

I live in an urban area and have found dead birds that have been literally torn apart in my yard, with feathers all over my veggie garden, even inside my greenhouse. Yum. The birds aren't usually eaten. I also don't like cat poop in my yard. I hate inadvertently picking up your cats poop when I'm gardening. It contains, among other things, Toxoplasmosis. Who knows what else cats pick up while roaming through garbage cans and killing and eating wildlife? I also can hear cats fighting in the middle of the night sometimes.

Your cat does not belong in my yard. Suppose dog owners acted in the same manner?

Someone provided a link earlier about the billions of birds and other animals killed every year in the US by cats. Here is a different article I found on a cat website, calling for cat owners to be more responsible because of this:

http://www.pawsforreaction.com/feralcatsharm.html#sthash.hwEF1BJK.dpbs

When you're talking about ethics, please think of people too. Programs like TNR (Trap Neuter and Return) do not consider the well being of people, or the cats themselves for that matter. Outdoor cats do not usually die of old age. More likely they will be poisoned, eaten, hit by automobiles, die of exposure, feline diseases, or general injuries.

Just offering a different perspective to this discussion.

 

[Silly Green Monkey]

I live in an urban area (kinda), and foxes and coyotes and raccoons and skunks still share the same space. Might not be always cats.

 

[Information Analyst]

This is the real ethical problem in my view.

Cats are an African predator protected by humans in an alien environment and allowed to cause utter destruction.

Meanwhile, the RSPB thinks otherwise.

 

[Information Analyst]

Outdoor cats live on average to about 2-3 years (will vary by region). Indoor cats will live on average 12-15 years, and living up to 20 years is common. And those years will be healthier and less dangerous (diseases, hunger, cars, dogs, coyotes, other cats, hawks, parasites, etc.). That is enough for me to say indoor is the way to go right there.

Wow! Is it really that dangerous in Neverland? The average life expectancy for cats in the UK is 14 years, and keeping them solely indoors here is very much the exception.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Wow! Is it really that dangerous in Neverland? The average life expectancy for cats in the UK is 14 years, and keeping them solely indoors here is very much the exception.

Lots of people seem to conflate figures for feral cats with outdoor but owned cats. Also the US has predators that we don't have in the UK.