4 ms·
A lot of people here are talking about how cats that go outside don’t live as long. That may be true for the median but growing up my grandmother had a cat on
by whiddershins 8y ago
A lot of people here are talking about how cats that go outside don’t live as long.
That may be true for the median but growing up my grandmother had a cat on her farm that went outside whenever it pleased.
It lived to be 21 years old.
It used to be normal to let both cats and dogs run free around the neighborhood. I understand why people don’t want to do that anymore, but it’s fascinating how quickly our culture has forgotten what used to be completely normal.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- tejohnso 8y agoUsed to be normal to let children explore and play freely around the neighbourhood as well. The good'ol days, I guess.
- michaelmrose 8y agoa significant fraction of children don't end up under car tires because its possible to verbally communicate the danger.
- brandonmenc 8y ago> it’s fascinating how quickly our culture has forgotten what used to be completely normal. It also used to be completely normal to destroy aggressive dogs, especially ones with a history of biting people. Now we "rescue" and "rehabilitate" those dogs. In light of that, it's good that we've forgotten how to let dogs roam the neighborhood unleashed.
- michaelmrose 8y agoAnecdotes aren't as useful as data for making real decisions. Average lifespan of an indoor cat is 15 years average lifespan of an outdoor cat is 5. This is like you dying in your 20s.
- codedokode 8y agoIsn't 5 years for a homeless cat? I doubt that a cat that has a home and food would live so little.
- michaelmrose 8y agoHave you owned outdoor roaming cats? It's not pretty. Some areas are worse than others. I had one that accidentally got out one night and got killed by a coyote.
- codedokode 8y agoOk, I got it. We just don't have such animals here, and volwes, who could catch a cat, are rare.
- sdflhasjd 8y agoI suspect your outdoor average also covers feral cats
- booleandilemma 8y agoToo many weird people in my neighborhood, too many cars speeding in the streets, and too many assholes plowing down the sidewalks on their bikes. It’s not safe out there for something that weighs less than 20lbs.
- codedokode 8y agoIn the countryside in Russia dogs are usually on the chain and don't run outside the yard, but cats have always been free and nobody would even think of locking them in the house. How is it going to catch mice and birds that destroy crops?
- seer 8y agoMan what is it woth russians and cats honestly? The love that dares not say its name. I lived so myself - in the russian “glubinka” with a family of cats as a child and loved them dearly, but still I think russians love cats disproportionately more on average than anywhere else in the world, dogs too but I do think the cat is a national animal of sorts. They did good work chasing out the vermin though - no need for rat poison or pesticides- just have some cats :)
- spiralx 8y agoI think Istanbul may have you beat there, and even if you don't agree the documentary Kedi about their street cats is absolutely worth watching :) https://www.economist.com/prospero/2017/02/09/istanbuls-love-of-street-cats https://www.economist.com/prospero/2017/02/09/istanbuls-love...