(Melanie Stetson Freeman / The Christian Science Monitor)
EarthTalk: Should house cats roam free outside?
It’s better for the health of the cat – and far better for the many small animals that cats hunt – to keep them indoors, some say.
By THE EDITORS OF E MAGAZINE | May 23, 2008 edition
Q: Please help settle the debate about whether or not my cats should stay in or go out. My neighborhood is relatively safe for cats, vis-à-vis car traffic, and I think it is more natural for them to be outside and not always inside. They do kill wildlife, including birds, but aren’t they just taking the place of natural predators that once did the same?
– Bill Thomson, Bangor, Maine
A: Most environmental advocates say that keeping cats indoors is better for both the health of the felines themselves and for their prey. Scientists estimate that the typical free-roaming house cat kills some 100 small animals each year. This means that the 90 million domestic house cats living in the United States alone are killing hundreds of millions if not billions of birds, small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians every year. And while house cats on the prowl may serve to replace the natural predators long ago extirpated by humans, their popularity as pets puts their population density far ahead of those that came before them.
“Cat predation is an added stress to wildlife populations already struggling to survive habitat loss, pollution, pesticides, and other human impacts,” says the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), which in 1997 launched its controversial Cats Indoors! campaign to educate animal lovers about the benefits of keeping Tabby inside. ABC also points out that free-roaming cats are exposed to injury, disease, parasites, and collisions with cars. They can get lost, stolen, or poisoned. To help drive its point home, ABC produces a wide range of educational materials (including a brochure, “Keeping Cats Indoors Isn’t Just for the Birds”) and public service announcements in service to their ongoing campaign.
Nonetheless, many cat lovers believe that it is inhumane to confine felines indoors, since they have evolved as hunters and thrive on the natural stimulation only available outside. To help soften the blow and wean your cat off of the outdoors slowly, ABC suggests gradually curtailing your cat’s out-of-doors time over the course of a few months until it is eventually not let out at all. In doing so, you will need to provide your cat with a lot of attention and play indoors. New scratching posts and toys are a good bet, as they may entertain cats that ordinarily occupy themselves chasing birds and rodents. ABC suggests hiding various toys around the house so cats can sniff them and not miss so much the thrill of the hunt outdoors.
One last bit of important advice: Many fear that confining their cats indoors will lead to more shredded upholstery. But declawing your cat should never be an option, says veterinarian Christianne Schelling. Cats’ claws are a vital part of their anatomy, she says. Declawing is not simply fingernail trimming but the removal of the last joint of a cat’s “toes.” It is a painful procedure and can lead to serious physical, emotional, and behavioral complications.
Alternatives to declawing include providing scratching posts in various locations around the home, and trimming your cats’ nails occasionally. This involves trimming only the clear tip of the nail (never the pink or dark fleshy parts, which are skin) and should be done only upon first consulting with a veterinarian. Another option is a product called Soft Paws, lightweight vinyl caps that you apply over your cat’s claws. They have rounded edges, so your cat’s scratching doesn’t damage your home and furnishings.
Got an environmental question? Write: EarthTalk, c/o E – The Environmental Magazine, Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881. Or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com
Comments
2. Carol Spickler | 05.24.08
House cats do not need to be outdoors to live full and happy lives. But being outdoors puts them at risk of:
predatory animals (hawks, fishercats, coyotes, foxes, feral dogs/cats, etc)
traffic
fights with other cats
“bundlers” who take strays or “free to good home” cats and dogs to sell to labs
All of which can result in severe injuries and horrible deaths, not to mention toe vet bills to patch them up if they survive such encounters.
Plus, millions of unwanted kittens and cats are euthanized every year due to female not being spayed and males not being neutered.
Our local SPCA estimates that at their facility, during kitten season, they will euthanize 3 dozen kittens a day! Six litters a day killed. At one suburban facility. Every day.
My 3 cats have never been outdoors since I adopted them, though they were all street strays when they were rescued. They have scratching posts, windows to sit in, toys, each other and us.
Grieving over a “lost” cat and pretending that it must have gotten adopted by someone else doesn’t mute the fact that the cat most likely met a terrible end and you allowed it to happen.
3. GinIndiana | 05.24.08
Most stray or outside pet cats in our area of rural Indiana rarely live more than a couple of years. Maybe 4 if they are fed by someone who owns them. They are hit by cars, killed by predators, beaten up by other cats only to die a slow death or caught or taken in to the humane society to be put to sleep. Rarely are stray cats adopted.
My cats are inside mostly but also have a small fenced outside area to play in. I just took a chain link dog enclosure, put a roof on it and added branches and hide away places for them to hang out in. They have a cat door they can go in and out of and have the best of both worlds. It is also a nice place to sit with them and read a book, cat in lap, when the weather is nice.
4. Richard Smith | 05.24.08
Domestic cats are killing our songbirds at an extreme rate. In some parts of the country singing birds are no longer heard. The best solution is to declare open season on any cat seen running loose. That’s harsh but there is no other solution that will work.
5. dale | 05.24.08
Growing up our cats had the best of both worlds. Free roaming house cats. They lived long, had good health and we had no problems with mice or other varments. Once the cats died the mice came.
Yes cats are prey for other animals. That is just life. So are you. Unless God protects you, you are in the food chain like everything else.
6. Barbara | 05.25.08
I watched in horror one day as one of my neighbors free roaming cats darted from her hiding place in my herb bed and snatched a song bird with one paw and ran off with it.
I have owned and loved cats too but have never let them outdoors. Now, since my energy is spent landscaping my property to attract as many varieties of birds as I can, I am particularly enraged when any one of the neighborhood cats wanders onto my property.
I wish communities had leash laws for cats as they do for dogs!
7. Janet | 05.25.08
At the very least cats allowed to roam outdoors should be spayed or neutered to reduce the numbers of litters being dumped at shelters as well as the very vocal crying by females in heat. Not the way to keep good neighbors.
8. alex saliby | 05.26.08
Sorry all, I demur the idea that living indoors is better for the cat…what you are saying is its better for the humans who don’t like the idea of or can’t abide the thought that cats are animals and predators, not closet dolls.
It is the human who feels and thinks indoor life prisons are ‘better’ for the cat. No cat can tell you that, and, if you give cats the choice, stay in and play with the toys I bought for you or go out and hunt, I believe the cat’s instincts will take it out to hunt, oh, and yes, to kill. And the kill is often just for practice to keep skills honed and muscles toned.
My cat is currently asleep on the sofa in the living room where she will spend the next 4 to 5 hours (9:00a.m. till about 1 or 2p.m.); she’ll then meow to be let out. She kills and eats bugs,birds,gophers,moles,voles,
snakes and lizards. She’s healthy, the vet says, and in great shape because she gets plenty of exercise.
And yes, she is somewhat at risk in the yard, an 8 acre parcel on the edge of a National forest. We have seen coyotes in the garden, bears in the back yard, a mountain lion or two, and once, a Lynx. M.C. (my cat,nee N.M.C.) however knows her way around the yard and the forest. She has a safety perch on the limb of a Douglas Fir tree about 15 feet off the ground. She’ll often sit up there till dusk, then reverse her climb and come back into the house for the evening when I call her. By the way, she’s trained to come at the clap of my hands, not my voice. I clap my hands together as loud and hard as I can and she comes running home where she spends the nights.
9. Kat | 05.27.08
You talk as though the reason the cats should live indoors is because of the predatory actions of the cats. Leave mother nature alone…there is nothing wrong with that…the decline of birds is more due to human population not cats.
The problem I see is that people and dogs will hurt or kill the cats. That is the reason I keep my cats inside. Even in the country coyotes will kill the cats.
10. Susan | 05.27.08
Yes, there are places where cats shouldn’t be let outside because of dangerous traffic or dogs or coyotes or other predators. Still, cats really love the feel of the sun and wind in their fur, rolling in the grass, checking out their territories diligently and napping under a bush and climbing a tree and the occasional hunt for a mouse or vole or ground-feeding bird. I’ve had cats all my life until now (I’m 67) and they were always altered or spayed and they always went outside. All lived out their natural life spans (14-19 years). They were healthier and more muscular as well as better behaved when they were indoors because of the exercise they got than the fat, flaccid, ill-behaved, indoor cats I see.
My last pair of cats went into a decline after we brought them to our apartment in Paris. We have a balcony, but no grass except in pots or trees or bushes to explore and they definitely could not go out. I played with them as much as they wanted, but frankly they were bored and I can’t help thinking their kidney failure might have been postponed a while if they had been able to get the exercise they used to get. I miss them but I’m not going to get any more until I live somewhere else, where there is a good safe place to let them out. In a pinch, designing one of the fenced enclosures a writer above described might do it, but it would be a poor second best.
11. Harriet | 05.27.08
Please see website, http://www.catsinternational.org for simple, practical information on the following:
(1) trimming cats’ claws with an inexpensive trimmer from a pet supply store, noting especially that one need NOT necessarily consult a vet or a groomer in order to perform this simple procedure.
(2) training a cat to use an inexpensive corrugated cardboard scratcher from the pet supply store. Trader Joe’s has one for $6.99 that my cats like to use.
It is important to remind ourselves that the front paws of the cat are almost prehensile and unique in their ability to grasp, grab, cuff, and hold. Paws are delicate sensory organs, organs of locomotion, and precious tools that allow the animal to walk, balance, knead, groom, rake and negotiate litter material (hence the high frequency of litter box problems noted in relinquished shelter cats).
Consider: If a so-called “scientist/clinician” such as a veterinarian would amputate healthy limbs, what other cruelty or unethical acts is he/she likely to inflict on animals–or perhaps even other humans?
12. Kellie | 06.02.08
I found my cats when they were kittens crying in a field. Ever since they’ve been spoiled rotton with toys all over the house and the CatGenie, special treats, special wet food that they like, cat food, and our furniture. They lay all over our beds, etc. For awhile I had to keep them outside. But there were always hawks floating around when they were out of their kennel that they slept in. Also, we were making tons of appointments at the vet and buying Revolution because the cats were constantly getting worms. They never strayed from the house so we never had problems with them being run over but it was always a fear of ours. Anyway, I read an article about indoor cats and if they need worm treatment also. It said that they are less likely to get worms and also can live about 8 years instead of an outdoor cat’s lifespan which would be about 2 - 3 years. They’re more comfortable and clean. The only rough part about having an indoor cat is that they tend to get obese. Especially if you have spayed and neutered them. My cats have been spayed and neutered and now one of them is plump and the other is an obese mess. Its because they have nothing else to do and result to eating. They might not get as fat if you can manage to do a feeding schedule. When a cat is outdoors then the cat gets fresh air and gets to exercise. If you can figure out a way to keep your cat fit without being outdoors then i’d suggest keeping them indoors. Also, being outdoors might cause your cats to get the feline leukemia virus. I’m not sure if its caught or passed on to the kittens when born but its awful. They cat lives for awhile and then it begins to die a slow death. The cat vomits and cries and its heart breaking and you can’t help them either because its incurable. INDOOR IS BEST.
13. Kellie | 06.02.08
Also, many people are angry about how stray cats are eating birds, mice, etc. It’s part of nature. If that seems so harsh then you should see the animals running around Africa who are killing one another. I was watching Discovery and a lion found a dead lion cub and began eating it anyway. Also, we eat animals for survival too. Companies hang a cow upside down and cut its neck and drain it of blood so we can eat it. We kill too. Plus, we are overpopulated with mice especially.
14. Emily Donaldson | 06.03.08
I have owned cats since the age of 4 and aside from the occasional escape, my family’s cats were never allowed outdoors. Now that I have my own 2 cats, I take them out to the park on leash and harness. It is a great compromise allowing them the natural stimulation of the outdoors without the dangers a city cat might face and protecting all the wildlife. My cats still enjoy chasing the occasional insect around the house but that’s the largest wildlife they might kill. My calico in particular enjoys being walked outdoors and the children love petting her.
15. Elizabeth | 08.02.08
Cats killing wildlife would be part of nature if domesticated cats were a natural part of the ecosystem, but they aren’t. Wildlife did not evolve with domesticated cats so they have not developed the appropriate defenses to survive. That’s why cats can take a serious toll on the populations of wildlife and why there should be a leash law for cats.
1. Gary Michael Smith | 05.23.08
Moreover, I understand that a cat’s longivity is increased from 6-7 years to 13+ years once kept inside.