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Cat people: do you keep your cats indoors?

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Contributor: spiced spiced
According to this guy in New Zealand, housecats are a menace to birds, and have actually caused some bird species there to go extinct.

So, cat people...do you keep your cats indoors to protect birds?

(I deliberately don't say cat owners because, as all good cat people know, dogs have owners; cats have staff).
Answers (private voting - your screen name will NOT appear in the results):
Yes, I care about birds and keep my cats indoors
4  (5%)
I keep my cats indoors, but not to protect birds
54  (70%)
No, I let my cats outdoors
10  (13%)
I don't have cats
9  (12%)
Total votes: 77
Poll is closed
01/25/2013
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Contributor: KinkyNicki92 KinkyNicki92
kitty stays inside with her mama
01/25/2013
Contributor: Gone (LD29) Gone (LD29)
Our cat stays indoors, but it has nothing to do with birds.
01/25/2013
Contributor: indiglo indiglo
I keep all cats inside for a variety of reasons. They do kill an astounding amount of wildlife - and not just birds. They do this even if they're well fed, because it's their instinct. The lifespan of outdoor cats is also dramatically lower - there are so many risks, traffic accidents, threats from dogs and larger wildlife (including humans), contracting illnesses from cat fights, getting into poisons... the list goes on and on.

For those reasons and more, my kitty is an inside boy. As long as they have a stimulating and rich environment, they can be very happy inside!
01/25/2013
Contributor: charmedtomeetyou charmedtomeetyou
(Review Program Mentor)
I have to say, I don't have a cat, but it annoys me when I see cats outdoors. They roam my yard, chase the birds at my feeders and camp out near our trash cans. I think to myself, "why have a pet if you're going to let it roam the neighborhood?".....it bugs me.
01/25/2013
Contributor: Bethy Cassatt Bethy Cassatt
I keep my cat inside because I have woods with things that could potentially eat me. Why would I let my cat out in that??
01/25/2013
Contributor: joiedejouets joiedejouets
My cat stays in, I used to have a vagabond cat that would sneak out and not come back for months and then just randomly appear though.
01/25/2013
Contributor: deltalima deltalima
Quote:
Originally posted by spiced
According to this guy in New Zealand, housecats are a menace to birds, and have actually caused some bird species there to go extinct.

So, cat people...do you keep your cats indoors to protect birds?

(I deliberately don't say cat ... more
I lived in New Zealand and Australia and the cats there seem to be more active in the sense that they'll go and hunt birds even if they're way up high in the tree so I can see his point.
01/25/2013
Contributor: Beautiful-Disaster Beautiful-Disaster
i dont have a cat.. but if i did.. id keep it indoors.. to me its cruelty leaving your cat outside..
01/25/2013
Contributor: kkybf kkybf
i don't have cats
01/25/2013
Contributor: HarlequinBunnie HarlequinBunnie
Quote:
Originally posted by spiced
According to this guy in New Zealand, housecats are a menace to birds, and have actually caused some bird species there to go extinct.

So, cat people...do you keep your cats indoors to protect birds?

(I deliberately don't say cat ... more
My baby Sammie is a beautiful long haired black cat and I would never dream of allowing her to go outside without being on a leash. The few times she has gotten out (twice) without being on one just about ripped my heart out. The first time she got out was due to my oldest daughter shutting her out by accident. We had the door open last spring and Sammie had decided to get some fresh air in the breeze way. Sammie tried to get back in by meowing but my daughter ignored her thinking she was in her room. My husband and I were out grocery shopping and were unaware. My daughter didn't realize her absence until right before bed when she went to give HER kitty the medication she needed and couldn't find her. Thank goodness Sammie tried to come home the next night by going up to our friend who lived downstairs from us. She meowed and the woman understood Sammie was giving her permission to pick her up and bring her home.

The second time she got out was due to her trying to make a break for it so she could play with the strays who live in our gated community. My husband and I looked for her but she is hard to see at 11:00 at night. However she found her way home a few hours later.

Sammie has no real interest in catching birds. She is happy with me pampering her with fresh tuna, salmon, and rare roast beef with a side of fresh warm half and half, and only live catnip as an after dinner mint for her majesty. She doesn't like foul of any kind.
01/25/2013
Contributor: HarlequinBunnie HarlequinBunnie
Quote:
Originally posted by Beautiful-Disaster
i dont have a cat.. but if i did.. id keep it indoors.. to me its cruelty leaving your cat outside..
I think you are right. Our strays that run around in our community are well fed by the residents but that is it. Kitties can get all kinds of illnesses and it breaks my heart to know that the only thing I can do is to feed them and keep planting catnip. If I could catch them I would take them to the free pet clinic to get them fixed and try to get them adopted to good homes. They are all wild and it drives my baby crazy when she sees them roaming around outside. Our local shelter charges $50.00 per trap and they aren't a no kill shelter. It's sad but there really isn't anymore I can do to help.
01/25/2013
Contributor: Inkkythesquid Inkkythesquid
Outside, but not because of birds
01/25/2013
Contributor: purpledesert purpledesert
I let them out- birds in the us are doing quite fine.
01/25/2013
Contributor: Bleu Bleu
I keep my cat indoors. Birds have nothing to do with it.
01/25/2013
Contributor: GirlOnGirl GirlOnGirl
My cats are indoor only but honestly, my motivation is to protect them and I haven't given much thought to how that would protect birds.
01/25/2013
Contributor: The Vixen The Vixen
It's a dangerous world out there and the life expectancy for an outdoor cat is much lower than an indoor cat. I've known many people who have had their cat disappears or get hit by a car, not to mention there are parasites and other stuff to worry about. I love my babies too much so they are strictly indoor cats.
01/25/2013
Contributor: inkky inkky
I Don't Have Cats, But I'm Getting One
01/25/2013
Contributor: souviet souviet
Quote:
Originally posted by spiced
According to this guy in New Zealand, housecats are a menace to birds, and have actually caused some bird species there to go extinct.

So, cat people...do you keep your cats indoors to protect birds?

(I deliberately don't say cat ... more
don't have any cats.
01/25/2013
Contributor: MsDrProfKitty MsDrProfKitty
I keep my kitty inside mainly to keep him safe from all the people that live around me. I live in a busy college town.
01/25/2013
Contributor: minstrel69 minstrel69
I'd never let our cats run loose. Personally I think it is irresponsible to let any pet run loose outside, dogs, cats, whatever. They are not wild animals and it is our job as owners to protect them.
01/25/2013
Contributor: Isis29 Isis29
Quote:
Originally posted by spiced
According to this guy in New Zealand, housecats are a menace to birds, and have actually caused some bird species there to go extinct.

So, cat people...do you keep your cats indoors to protect birds?

(I deliberately don't say cat ... more
I'm an over protective cat mom, so yeah my babies stay inside.
01/25/2013
Contributor: Trysexual Trysexual
Quote:
Originally posted by Gone (LD29)
Our cat stays indoors, but it has nothing to do with birds.
Same here, but I am not a cat person...she is..lol
01/25/2013
Contributor: KissTheSkyBaby KissTheSkyBaby
I keep mine inside but then they were born inside. When cats are born wild keeping them inside isn't as simple. I had a cat in the past who couldn't stay inside all day. We took her in when she was only a year old ( she had been living feral before this)but she never got used to living indoors. Shed pull her hair and go off her food if we didn't let her out for some fresh air from time to time.
01/25/2013
Contributor: Kitka Kitka
Quote:
Originally posted by Gone (LD29)
Our cat stays indoors, but it has nothing to do with birds.
Same here, it's more to keep my cats safe and living longer.
01/25/2013
Contributor: SepZet SepZet
Most of my cats are too lazy to hunt. The cats I DO have outdoors hunt gophers, not birds.
01/25/2013
Contributor: froggygal91 froggygal91
My cat is to lazy to catch a bird, however all my pets are indoor. I treat them just like humans. I don't have the heart to put them out.
01/25/2013
Contributor: JennSenn JennSenn
We keep our cat indoors because it's safer for her. She's less likely to catch a disease or get eaten by a coyote or something.
01/25/2013
Contributor: Marie Hanna Marie Hanna
I keep my cat indoors, but its more of to protect her.
01/25/2013
Contributor: WhoopieDoo WhoopieDoo
I have two cats that are strictly indoor cats, and one that goes in and out. If he's cooped up too long he starts pooping on the floor T_T
01/25/2013