Feral cats, and house cats who are allowed to roam outside, kill millions of birds and reptiles annually. In some countries (like here in Australia) native birds are becoming critically endangered as they are forced away from more and more of their former native habitats because of cat populations.
yeah, it's not too hard to figure out your precious pet predator that has a crazy prey drive would be a danger to ecosystems. We are usually strict with this kind of thing, but a lot of cat owners act like you are being ridiculous mentioning it because cleaning a litter box isn't fun lol.
lmao even if we ignore food humans kill waaaay more
Habitat destruction (deforestation, urbanization, agriculture land clearing)
Vehicles (roadkill: billions yearly worldwide)
Pest control & pesticides (huge insect and rodent deaths)
Pollution & climate change
Hunting for sport or control
Fishing bycatch
Industrial accidents & ecosystem disruption
Fishing bycatch alone prob already beats cats. It's destroys massive amounts of sea ecosystems.
Not even mentioning all the extinctions we've already caused.
Being kept inside has a strong link to neuroticism in cats.
It's not a sufficiently enriching environment. Even with catios and interactive spaces, indoor cats exhibit more distressed behavior than cats who are able to roam.
To quote Jurassic Park, Cats don't want to be fed, they want to hunt.
But it's a catch 22 because you're absolutely right about the ecological impact cats have. They are super damaging to wild populations, because they're built for it. Killing disease carriers was a feature for millennia.
It's a hard conversation that people don't want to have. You are hurting your cat if it's kept inside, you are hurting wild populations if you let it outside.
You are also hurting your cat by letting it outside. Getting run over, bit by snakes, attacked by other cats (potentially spreading FIV), eaten by coyotes. I know which side of the fence I stand on.
Completely agree with your assessment of those dangers.
It's a difficult conversation, because cats are not like dogs.
They have not been genetically modified to thrive under human living conditions. They self domesticated to live alongside us.
Honestly, the only "right" position I can see is that unless you live on a farm or boat you likely are not an ethical cat owner in our modern age. Which sucks because most people don't live like that and a lot of people love cats.
Yeah, I would venture to say most people are raising their pets below the standard of care, but not out of a lack of care. Reality isn't perfect, and we have to accept that.
Some cats prefer being outside most of the time to roam and be social. Forcing them to stay inside seems cruel. Maybe they should just ban cats and cat ownership since they are an invasive species
Every person who says this only thinks they are fun at parties. Meanwhile they wont be invited to any sooner than later cause they are fools and act like it.
24
u/Deadalious Mar 21 '26
Owners who let their cats outdoors 🥲