AIBU to think cats should not roam unsupervised like dogs?

I think one danger we need to think about when it comes to cats which we’ve only recently had to consider is electric cars. I know multiple people who’s cats have been asleep under or near an electric car and then been run over as they haven’t woken up due to them making no noise :(

I bang on my car before I leave now.

I think it depends on the cat and the location. Most cats are fine to roam where I live (rural village), the only time I’ve had a problem with it was when these people had two very large and aggressive Bengals and they let them do what they want all day….they caused chaos!! They almost killed my next door neighbours elderly cat, they tried to scratch his eyes out and almost drowned him one day. I love cats but those two I really didn’t like. One ended up being hit by a car :(

Because they are an introduced predator species that can destroy indigenous species - like New Zealand with so many ground nesting birds that can't survive cats or rats.

That's completely different to ecosystems that have always had cats.

Cats and dogs have different behavioural and dietary needs. They aren't comparable.

I put my cat in a harness and lead to take her for a walk. She lay on the floor on her side and refused to move.

Perhaps people who don't have a suitable, secure outside space should be told not to get a cat, the way dog owners are advised not to.
I really don't want your cat in my garden, just because it's easier for you to let it wander all over.

What are you on about?

Every cat owner knows (and accepts) that having an outdoor cat comes with risks.

Responsible owners put a bell on the collar. They’re very different animals with different needs.
They also help keep rats and mice away.
I have never had a cat but I really enjoy my neighbours cat popping in for a visit, she’s smart enough to tease my springer spaniel by sitting up high, she jumps in if the dog is inside. Very cute.
My next pet will be a cat.

Still happens in my village. Lots of dogs taking themselves for walks.

Do they? What about house cats, also cats that are kept in the garden via a catio or similar? Why don’t they need to roam? Genuine question. Is this cruel?

They are domesticated pets, they don’t need to hunt to survive.

The amount of cats on our estate is a pita! NDN knows that we throw water towards her cat if it sets foot in our garden, she actually doesn’t mind it, we have bird feeders in the trees and I’ve witnessed her cat launch itself, with great agility’ towards a wood pigeon eating high up (it’s half bengal, the cat not the pigeon)! Unfortunately it’s predated many fledgling birds. Twat!

Don't know why folks bother engaging with such a repetitive, dense, obtuse argument from OP. It's not a real discussion.

Where I live cats cause zero issues. Dogs however, I’m sick of fucking listening to. 4am barking pisses me off.

My cat doesn’t go out. It was a condition of her adoption.

I used to have a cat that went outside. She was friends with the birds and it was lovely watching them jumping around her paws while she was laid watching them. Did make me worry they would get too close to other cats though. She caught mice and rats regularly so it wasn’t a case of having no killer instinct.

She was killed by a twat driving too fast on our cul de sac. He didn’t even stop. I’d quite happily lock that fucker up rather than cats.

Good luck with that.

I assume you have never met a cat because they are very different from dogs...

Because cats are not dogs? They have different needs as a species and are not domesticated in the same way. Keeping them locked up is cruel. If you can’t allow a cat to roam safely, don’t have a cat.

I’m not arguing that, you said that post was vile and all I’m saying is whilst the post wasn’t worded as nicely as it could have been, it was correct.

If an outdoor cat dies as as result of being outdoors the fault is only that of the owner and not of the car who hit it, the person who’s slug killer poisoned it or anything else (unless deliberately) as the owner is ultimately the one who made the decision to let them access the outdoors and it could have been avoided.

Of course if you have weighed up the risk to your cat and decided there is less of a risk of that than your cat having a medical episode then that is your right as a pet owner. I’m just saying that a lot of people like to blame everyone else but themselves. I would be devastated if I hit a cat with my car, genuinely heart broken, but unless I could have safely avoided it, it wouldn’t be my fault.

You’re odd and you clearly enjoy winding people up. If you really care about wildlife or animal welfare, go and do something useful to help.

Dogs are a terrible danger to humans. Cats are not. Plus you can't 'walk' a cat in the same way you can control a dog's exercise. It's very simple OP.

Perhaps if the post was actually a intelligent post that was worth critical thinking, we would have some?
Cats are not dogs.

You seem to think anyone with a different view is wrong and only your view is correct 🤣🤣🤣

Exactly. The OP doesn't understand that. My cats also go out during the day and are kept in at night.

Because for the hundredth time on here, they are not the same.

An unsupervised dog can kill someone. I think it's that simple really.

Somebody forgot to tell the government this in 2020, with the mania for keeping people alive at all costs. Dying is indeed a normal, natural part of life, yet there was a mania to keep people in extremely lonely and miserable existences, by forcibly isolating them from their own families, for months on end… but at least they were alive.

I haven’t once said otherwise.

But ultimately keeping him inside was more dangerous to his health than letting him out. The fact that he’s never once had a urinary blockage since he started being allowed to roam tells me I did the right thing.

Hello OP, have you ever met a cat? Do they strike you as being the same or different to dogs?