4 ms·

I notice that there's a real cultural or geographical difference on this issue. I've often heard people talk about how they'd never let their cats outdoors in t

I notice that there's a real cultural or geographical difference on this issue. I've often heard people talk about how they'd never let their cats outdoors in the US – but we took in two shelter cats last year from a large and well-known rescue centre in the UK, and part of doing so was signing an agreement to allow them cat-flap access to the outdoors. The shelter was pretty clear that they would be visiting to verify this – and taking the cats back if we didn't. I guess I understand why it might be an ecological issue in some areas. But we live in a dense area of relatively central London – our cats wear bells, stay in at night, haven't brought home anything they have caught (if they've even ever caught anything), and to be honest I haven't ever observed them travelling more than maybe 20 metres away from the house. I guess I'm just unsure if they're actually causing more damage than I can see, but its really interesting to see the wide variety of views.

blacksmith_tb 7y ago
That's a surprise, in US one thing that is commonly stressed to new cat owners is that outdoor cats have a significantly lower life expectancy than indoor cats (partly due to disease, partly to being hit by cars or injured by other animals)[1], so it isn't just a question of how many birds they kill. 1: https://www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/indoor-cats-vs-outdoor-cats/ https://www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/indoor-cats-vs-out...
kwhitefoot 7y ago
> our cats wear bells My experience is that bells don't work. Partly because cats, in my experience, wait or stalk patiently and then move very fast so any noise from the bell is too late to act as a warning. I once saw our last cat (Norwegian long haired tabby forest cat) catch a bat just by waiting for it to fly over him at which point he just put up a paw and snatched it out of the air. Also he could actually run without his bell making a noise, and that was a bell that I could hardly move an inch in my hand without it tinkling.

blacksmith_tb 7y ago

That's a surprise, in US one thing that is commonly stressed to new cat owners is that outdoor cats have a significantly lower life expectancy than indoor cats (partly due to disease, partly to being hit by cars or injured by other animals)[1], so it isn't just a question of how many birds they kill. 1: https://www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/indoor-cats-vs-outdoor-cats/ https://www.americanhumane.org/fact-sheet/indoor-cats-vs-out...

kwhitefoot 7y ago

> our cats wear bells My experience is that bells don't work. Partly because cats, in my experience, wait or stalk patiently and then move very fast so any noise from the bell is too late to act as a warning. I once saw our last cat (Norwegian long haired tabby forest cat) catch a bat just by waiting for it to fly over him at which point he just put up a paw and snatched it out of the air. Also he could actually run without his bell making a noise, and that was a bell that I could hardly move an inch in my hand without it tinkling.