• glimse@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Depends on if you live on a farm or not*

        It’s not like European outdoor cats don’t murder wildlife and get killed

        • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          I don’t get what this comment is about. Is suburban North America especially dangerous for cats?

          • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
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            10 months ago

            I don’t get what this comment is about. Is suburban North America especially dangerous for cats?

            I suspect that they are meaning that suburban Americans are known for being very opinionated, judgemental, and overly concerned with what others do with their lives.

            However, for your question, if on the peripheries, yes. There is danger to cats from cars but also coyotes, raccoons, and native big cats (bobcats, lynx, and cougars, as well as humans (was terrified for my cat when I lived in a place where serial cat mutilations started taking place). I grew up with outdoor cats but generally have preferred to keep them inside, unless it was not possible (people who think that it’s a case of ignoring a “whiny” cat have obviously never experienced the craftiness and terrorism employed by a feline that grew up semi-feral in the woods).

            My reasoning is very similar to you Finns. I distinctly remember, as a child, finding one of my semi-feral cat friends frozen to death next to a pond in the forest during a particularly cold winter. As a child, we also lost near a dozen cats over the years to wildlife and cat haters in cars intentionally hitting them. That’s just too much.

            I want my cats to live as long and happy a life as possible so, as an adult, when we adopted kittens, we kept them inside. They have windows, toys, and companionship that keeps them from feeling the need to be outdoors.

    • seathru@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Agreed. All the strays are heartbreaking, they deserve homes!

      • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
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        10 months ago

        Accordingly to my cat (and apparently Sarah Andersen’s), this is a reliable way to give a stray a new home:

        I’m not too eager to trust her biased sampling though.

        [Serious now, we should be more active on that. Also to discourage people from letting cats to “take a walk” unsupervised.]

        • seathru@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          Can confirm. Cats always choose you, but sometimes it’s more forcefully. This big boy busted through an open window, used the liter box, and proclaimed himself king.

    • sphfaar@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      It is not their habitat, from experience I have had many cats, and in my opinion it is better to be able to leave them free so that they can go in and out without going where it needs to be clean.