The dog and cat population have always been a hot button issue because of all the stray animals breeding in crazy numbers. A lot of people have taken to adopting pets from shelters in an effort to house these animals in a safe and cared for environment. But there's one thing I can't seem to understand and I may get a lot of hate from this. Before you decide your saving a cat by adopting it first think, what are you going to be doing with said cat. Are you going to let it outside all day and possibly night to wander around the neighbourhood and be other peoples problems? Leave it open to getting fleas, hit by a car, or attacked by other stray animals? And yes I did say other strays. If your cat spends more time outside than inside its not your cat. It belongs to the countless people and animals it interacts with in the neighbourhood. Like the neighbor who has to chase it away from their garbage can (whitch they've likely just knocked over or ripped open), or the neighbor who scoops its poop up from their backyard even though they don't own said animal. Ooh or even the one who has to wash down the outside of their house from your cat's smell and sprinkle cayenne pepper in hopes of keeping away unwanted visitors. I know cat people always say its the nature of the cat, the cat chooses to be outside simply because they like it better. Well maybe then your home isn't fit for said animal maybe there's a reason their trying to escape you. And I certainly hope that you bother to spay your cats because if one cat being watched by the neighbourhood isn't a good idea, multiple cats is even worse. Their babies are just going to end up in shelters like the one you possibly procured them from. If your cat loves the outdoors great let it outside in YOUR backyard that is properly sealed off from the streets. And a lot of people are against declawing cats I have no problem with this, unless they interact with an unsuspecting person or child in the streets and manage to cause them physical harm. Do these situations seem far fetched to you? These issues that outdoor cats are faced with are directly from www.keepanimalssafe.ca
- Although coyote attacks on cats tend to draw the most media attention, there are a number of wild species in Ontario that eat, or will fight with, small mammals such as cats. Birds of prey, for example, have been known to eat cats in residential yards even in highly urban areas.
Vehicles
- Cats are frequently hit by cars, making this one of the most common type of injury veterinarians see in outdoor cats. However even veterinary records do not tell the full story, since many outdoor cats that are hit by cars do not survive long enough to get to a clinic for treatment.
Human cruelty
- Staff and volunteers in animal rescue shelters can attest to the cruel and bewildering acts outdoor cats suffer at the hands of people.
Exposure to hazardous chemicals
- Cats regularly encounter toxic substances outdoors, including pesticides and other poisons. Even regular “household” chemicals as in antifreeze – a chemical whose sweet taste is enticing to many animals – can seriously harm cats.
Exposure to debilitating diseases
There is also the issue of the other animals cats are causing damage to every day when there is no one around to look after them. Here's what Keep Animals Safe has to say about the unsuspecting wildlife these cats are encountering on their travels:
- Outdoor cats are exposed to devastating contagious diseases such as feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus, feline distemper and rabies.
Parasites
- Outdoor cats easily pick up internal parasites (e.g., worms) and external parasites (e.g., fleas, ticks), leading to discomfort for the affected cat. Some of these parasites can be transmitted to other pets and people.
Displacement
- Outdoor cats often get lost or get picked up by other people (and in many cases dropped at overflowing animal shelters, where their prospects for adoption may be grim).
There is also the issue of the other animals cats are causing damage to every day when there is no one around to look after them. Here's what Keep Animals Safe has to say about the unsuspecting wildlife these cats are encountering on their travels:
Outdoor cats have a devastating effect on wildlife populations. U.S. research estimates that outdoor cats annually kill more than a billion birds and small mammals of both common and rare species. Outdoor cats, including those that are well fed, kill many animals that their owners are never aware of -- multiple studies have found feathers and bones in the feces of cats whose owners report their cat has not brought home any animals.
Animals who escape from cat attacks are not as lucky as they may seem. A wound that’s too minor to be visibly detected can still transfer bacteria, resulting in serious infection that will kill an animal even after it has “gotten away.” Even with expert care from qualified wildlife rehabilitators, animals attacked by cats have a very poor survival rate.
While it may be instinctual for cats to hunt, they are a domestic, non-native predator. This means that wild species have not developed defenses against cat predation, and there is no “natural” role for domestic cats in the wild. When cats prey on wild birds and small mammals, it takes food away from wild predators that depend on those animals as a food source. Some wild bird populations have been completely wiped out because of predation from free-roaming cats, and the survival of many other species is currently threatened.
Even if every outdoor cat killed only a few animals a year (though research has shown many cats kill a lot more than a few), the impact is still devastating because of the sheer number of cats. With estimates of over 100 million outdoor cats in North America, the threat to wildlife is simply immense.
| I am in no way trying to insult outdoor cat owners but rather trying to make them reconsider sliding open the back door and letting a beloved pet roam wild. If they mean so much to you I urge you to protect them by finding ways to make them happy inside where the rates for disease and even death are much lower. You can check out 10 tips to keep your cats happy indoors from the humane society here: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/cat_happy_indoors.html |
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