3 ms·

Indoor cats may live longer lives, but I'm not convinced they are happier about it. I wonder what the effect on average human lifespan might be if people were

Indoor cats may live longer lives, but I'm not convinced they are happier about it. I wonder what the effect on average human lifespan might be if people were routinely confined to assisted-living facilities for the duration of their adult lives. How many additional years might one gain if you faced no physical risks and experienced regular medical monitoring and treatment? Somehow I doubt many people would opt for that lifestyle, regardless.

SoftTalker 3y ago
I've seen assisted living facilities, I think I'd rather be dead than have to live in one. Longer life is not automatically worth any tradeoff.
- kccqzy 3y ago
  In this case, the tradeoff is not made by the cat, but by the human. Just like a lot of the time the decision to move someone to an assisted living facility is made by the family not the person.
- dangus 3y ago
  A loving home isn't a good analogy to a sad badly-managed assisted living facility for a cat. If you play with your cat, provide self-play toys and areas to climb and scratch, feed your cat good quality food, and give them cozy places to enjoy in your home they're visibly happy and content.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
Snow_Falls 3y ago
Cats don't have hopes and dreams to be crushed, we can hardly compare cats to people.
- dangus 3y ago
  Yeah, I mean, for the record, I'd absolutely love being a house cat. No job, all my meals provided, never any bad weather or threats to deal with, and I have a huge playground of a house all to myself. Would you rather be an Emperor Penguin freezing your ass off in the artic making an 100 mile nesting migration?
  - marssaxman 3y ago
    People vary wildly in our fears and our desires, don't we? The life you describe sounds like my nightmare. I don't value comfort so much, but purpose and autonomy are essential. Perhaps this is why I like cats, though I've never wanted to own one (they keep showing up in my life anyway, via housemates and partners): they seem like independent beings, tolerant of humans for the services they provide, but pursuing their own interests; wild creatures, only pretending to be domesticated. I've yet to meet the cat who loves indoor life so much they won't bolt for the door if it's left open.
dangus 3y ago
You're making a bad analogy. The life expectancy of an indoor cat is around 15-17 years, while the life expectancy for outdoor cats is only 2-5 years. https://www.petmd.com/cat/care/can-indoor-cat-be-part-time-outdoor-cat https://www.petmd.com/cat/care/can-indoor-cat-be-part-time-o... which cites University research. So, a better analogy would be if you would be willing to die at age 25 instead of 75 just so you can base jump and free climb every day. Most people wouldn't like that trade-off even if it is more fun in the moment. Not to mention the happiness of the 2 billion birds killed by domestic cats each year. Remember that even though domestic cats can and do survive as wild animals, their population is greatly inflated by human activity. We're responsible for that imbalance in the food chain and should keep our pets away from the rest of the wildlife. We feed our cats and then if they go outside they basically kill birds for fun. I'd much rather my cat play with toys. It's very easy to keep a house cat happy without putting them and prey animals. They already spend the majority of the day sleeping. Play with your cats for a couple of times a day, provide some solid toys that they can play on their own with, and give them loving attention and they'll be quite happy.

SoftTalker 3y ago

I've seen assisted living facilities, I think I'd rather be dead than have to live in one. Longer life is not automatically worth any tradeoff.

kccqzy 3y ago
In this case, the tradeoff is not made by the cat, but by the human. Just like a lot of the time the decision to move someone to an assisted living facility is made by the family not the person.
dangus 3y ago
A loving home isn't a good analogy to a sad badly-managed assisted living facility for a cat. If you play with your cat, provide self-play toys and areas to climb and scratch, feed your cat good quality food, and give them cozy places to enjoy in your home they're visibly happy and content.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

Snow_Falls 3y ago

Cats don't have hopes and dreams to be crushed, we can hardly compare cats to people.

dangus 3y ago
Yeah, I mean, for the record, I'd absolutely love being a house cat. No job, all my meals provided, never any bad weather or threats to deal with, and I have a huge playground of a house all to myself. Would you rather be an Emperor Penguin freezing your ass off in the artic making an 100 mile nesting migration?
- marssaxman 3y ago
  People vary wildly in our fears and our desires, don't we? The life you describe sounds like my nightmare. I don't value comfort so much, but purpose and autonomy are essential. Perhaps this is why I like cats, though I've never wanted to own one (they keep showing up in my life anyway, via housemates and partners): they seem like independent beings, tolerant of humans for the services they provide, but pursuing their own interests; wild creatures, only pretending to be domesticated. I've yet to meet the cat who loves indoor life so much they won't bolt for the door if it's left open.

dangus 3y ago

You're making a bad analogy. The life expectancy of an indoor cat is around 15-17 years, while the life expectancy for outdoor cats is only 2-5 years. https://www.petmd.com/cat/care/can-indoor-cat-be-part-time-outdoor-cat https://www.petmd.com/cat/care/can-indoor-cat-be-part-time-o... which cites University research. So, a better analogy would be if you would be willing to die at age 25 instead of 75 just so you can base jump and free climb every day. Most people wouldn't like that trade-off even if it is more fun in the moment. Not to mention the happiness of the 2 billion birds killed by domestic cats each year. Remember that even though domestic cats can and do survive as wild animals, their population is greatly inflated by human activity. We're responsible for that imbalance in the food chain and should keep our pets away from the rest of the wildlife. We feed our cats and then if they go outside they basically kill birds for fun. I'd much rather my cat play with toys. It's very easy to keep a house cat happy without putting them and prey animals. They already spend the majority of the day sleeping. Play with your cats for a couple of times a day, provide some solid toys that they can play on their own with, and give them loving attention and they'll be quite happy.