AIBU to think cats should not roam unsupervised like dogs?

Yeah that’s why I’m saying they don’t NEED to roam, they can choose to roam or not to roam, but it isn’t a need like oxygen and food, like some on here seem to believe.

There's a huge difference between being allowed to roam and not wanting to, and never being given the choice.

One of my cats has zero interest in going beyond next doors garden, the other will disappear all over.

Agree. They kill millions of birds and they shit everywhere, it’s disgusting.

They weren’t raised in a cage, they’ve always been able to go out and I’ve never stopped them, they just don’t want to.

I’ve had them since kittens and they’ve always had the option of going out.

You would be the same if you were raised in a cage. Cage is safety.

I have two indoor cats. One will absolutely not set foot outside, she will not even stay in the room when the door to outside is open. The other will not go out of the front door (cars) and will only go into the back garden for a mooch around, maybe 10-15m and he will come back in. The furthest he has been is to jump up onto my 6ft wall to look into the garden next door.

They don’t need to roam.

If i stopped my beloved cat from.going outside I'd feel like I am taking his soul 😒

So curel. Every living creature loves and needs to spend time in the nature. Thats just birth right of everything living. Its us humans that just like to inflict cruelty in the name of entertainment/order/convenience/money.

Oops forgot to add - at least half the time, poo in gardens identified as cat poo is actually fox poo. One of my neighbours tried to blame my cats for the poo on their lawn, trouble was not only were there definitely foxes in the area which most of us had seen around at night (and the NOISE in the mating season!), but my cats are indoor only.

I'm going to break one of my own rules and post here without reading every single post in the thread as I don't have the time for that tonight.

Just a few things to consider:

Dogs were domesticated approximately twice as long ago as cats were, and are naturally pack animals which most cats aren't, so comparisons on how they are treated can't really be made.

Studies have shown that the main reasons for the decline in song birds in the UK is nothing to do with cats, it's down to loss of habitat and the effects of intensive farming e.g. pesticides vastly reducing the supply of insects for them to feed on, modern large scale methods reducing nesting places in hedges.

There is a major difference in life expectancy of feral cats, stray cats and "owned" cats who are able to roam. The statistic quoted a few times above for a life expectancy of 2 years is that for feral cats, i.e. those born and living their lives in the wild with no human interaction. Stray cats (i.e. those who used to have a home) tend to live about the same amount of time after becoming stray, so if they become stray at 5 then their life expectancy is 7 as a very rough guide.
Average life expectancy of "owned" cats both indoor and outdoor is the same, around 11-12 years though many last until late teens or even 20..

Indoor only cats and "owned" cats who go out have approximately the same life expectancy, though tend to have different causes of death e.g. cats who go out have physical hazards like cars, dogs etc, whereas indoor only cats are more likely to get illnesses caused by being over weight or not having enough exercise, or ones exacerbated by stress.

They need to roam because that is the nature of the species. There is no point in comparing cats and dogs - they are different species, with different diets, with different needs.

It is not cat owners' choice to 'let their cats roam' - it is the cats' choice, and it would be very cruel to deny them a life as close to their nature as can be.

But hes so affectionate! And loving, do you think this is all a front? To keep the food coming!

My theory is that cats tolerate us because we feed them 😂

I did read somewhere though that cats genuinely are the perfect hunters in terms of their size, weight, and ability to move - they're just tiny which is why they can't hurt us!

My cat DOES love me!

My dog absolutely could kill me if she wanted to. I am very grateful that she loves me instead!

😂 aww so my cat doesn't love me like I love him?!😫

It seems that most of the cat owners on here either don’t care about that, or seem to believe that “my cat would never do that”.

I have now lived in my new house for just over 3 years. I have gone through 500+ poo bags that I had to buy especially to clear up cat mess from my front garden, I don’t have any pets!! Cat owners should be made to clear up their animals mess and not put others at risk. I have tried numerous deterrents, nothing works. I’m fed up with it!! It’s disgusting!

I agree OP but it isn't popular to say it.
Antifreeze/other poisons
Cars
Dogs
Horrible people (just to list a few of the dangers to a roaming cat).

Not to forget the dangers to wildlife.

I would like cats free roaming to be banned. Perhaps with the exception of farm cats.
Keep them in your own dwelling, secure garden, 'catio' etc.
ETA--they're a nightmare for pooing in folk's gardens too. I had a cat scarer (it lets off a high-pitched noise) in my old garden after stepping in the disgusting stuff one-too-many times.

Completely agree, they decimate the bird population and defecate on other people's gardens. Should be banned ... and I like cats.

Oh, definitely. Cats are basically the perfect hunters in a teeny tiny body.

Do you think so?? Cats would kill their owners if they had the means??!

They would if they could 😆

If only cat owners in those cities with an expanding rat problem let their pets roam at night..

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2113691/uk-rats-on-the-rise-in-cities

There is absolutely nothing about cats that means they can’t be kept like dogs, and just because we traditionally don’t expect cat owners to be responsible doesn’t mean it’s ok.
Train kittens to walk on a harness, provide them with supervised outdoor time and enrichment indoors.

Actually, there is: about 30 000 years of domestication, to be precise. Dogs have been living alongside humans for up to 40 000 years, being selectively bred by humans for much of that time, so they have been living an "unnatural" lifestyle that suits humans for a very long time and are well-adapted to this. Cats have only been domesticated for a few thousand years so have had much less time to adapt to our vagaries.