AIBU to think cats should not roam unsupervised like dogs?

Our cat only goes out during the day, we get her in night time and she’s compliant 95% of the time. I’m not sure how much of the wildlife is saved though tbh, she hunts quite successfully during the day.

I don’t think the paper shows that at all - but I agree that young cats are more likely to die on the roads as they are less “street-wise”. I think as owners we need to risk assess and act accordingly. We live on a one-way street which is very quiet, and our back garden backs onto other back gardens. If we lived next to a dual carriageway then the risk level would be very different and I don’t think I would have cats as I wouldn’t want to let them out in those circumstances.

Our last cat was pts because of intestinal lymphoma (aggressive stomach cancer) aged ten which was awful - she didn’t roam, but she loved lying in the garden in the sunshine. We now have a little boy cat who had been found as a stray kitten, and I was nervous letting him out in case he was more of a wanderer. In fact he’s exactly the same and always either in our garden or next door when he’s out. He’s kept in at night, as was our girl.

When our girl was diagnosed with intestinal lymphoma our vet said the top three causes of cat death are kidneys, roads, and lymphoma. I wish with my whole heart we could have stopped her getting lymphoma - but I am so glad she had ten lovely years of lying snoozing under the lilac tree and sitting on the shed roof watching the birds.

There are countries where dogs are free to roam. I bet you are not going there on holiday!

I don’t agree with keeping big cats in zoos.
I don’t own a cat; I am allergic to them so hair in my house would be a problem. I like them though, and enjoy meeting them in my garden or the street.

I am also an urban driver and have never hit a cat in 35 years of driving. Maybe only had one run out in front of me 3 or 4 times.

Hahahahah!

Cats aged up to 2 years had an annual probability of dying in the range of 2.8–3.1%,

Um, that is not a life expectancy of 2.

Wildlife in the UK is under huge pressure, it’s one of the most wildlife depleted countries in Europe. This is particularly true of birdlife where many once common birds (such as house sparrows) are now considered endangered. Swifts and swallows are under huge pressure. Allowing them to be killed indiscriminately by a non-native predator adds substantially to the pressure especially at a local level.

Cats don’t maul people

Cats "needing to roam" to a myth, what makes them "needing to roam" more than other pets?. I'm sick of people whining about their cats getting hurt or killed but it's their fault for not being responsible. I have three house cats who go out on a harness, they're happy and very healthy.

Our cat doesn't roam. She goes out in the back garden only, occasionally a little further when she was younger but not any more. We have always made sure she was in if we were going out and she is in overnight.

We manage with big cats in zoos. You can mange with your moggy, if you wanted to. You just don’t mind the thought of it dying a horrible death. I think that’s negligent, you don’t.

You are very ignorant of animal behaviour and instinct ! And don’t understand cats or dogs at all
hth

Cats usually have cat flaps and come and go as they please. Ours are sleeping on our beds all day and out all night. They can scale fences, walls, buildings, trees to escape danger which dogs cannot do. As a rule they tend to avoid humans rather than seek them out again unlike dogs. As a pp said they can’t seriously injure a human either.

we have cats and dogs. They are as different as it’s possible to be, in terms of instinct and behaviour, and so it’s appropriate to treat them very differently.

Rabbits and guinea pigs live in cages and runs.
I've never had a dog.
I'd by upset if I lost a cat yes, but not enough to be precious about depriving them of their liberty and freedom to roam.

I’d change vets to one who passed their stats papers.

And I repeat what the paper says about cats kept indoors:

“an indoor-only lifestyle may challenge reliably meeting all of a cat’s behavioural needs (eg, engagement in play, exploring, hunting, climbing and scratching), potentially inducing stress.13,14 While indoor-only living could effectively increase longevity, ensuring access to adequate environmental resources is essential to support normal feline behaviours.13,15”

We can’t leave our back door or kitchen window open as next door cat wanders in and makes himself at home. I don’t want a shedding cat in my home. I also don’t want to “check cat is out” when I leave. I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t dislike the cat, it’s just a strange situation.

I’m posting incase there is a cat owner who hasn’t thought about the risk of roaming. If you have a pet you should give it a good life, if you vaccinated your cat and feed it properly and think it’s ok for your cat to spend the night dying in pain under a bush then, fair enough. I wouldn’t do that, but you do you, boo.

Hardly left to their own devices, our cat can be indoors anytime he wants, we shut him in at night. He is well fed has lots of treats and is very happy. Cats have servants not owners. If you are talking about feral cats and strays they do have a very difficult time.

Dogs are not independent. They have to be taken for a walk. When people go away dogs can't be left alone. Cats are independent. Cats can just have someone to come and feed them. They come and go as they like through a cat flap. They know the area well and don't get lost.
Who's sleep is disrupted

Many cat adoption agencies will not let a cat be adopted if it cannot roam. This features often on the Litter Tray when people post about the difficulty of adopting cats and hence cats end up being bought rather than adopted.
Cats Protection says this:
"The Common Law Duty of Care
It is often thought that cats have a right to roam wherever they wish. This idea is based on the fact that dog and livestock owners are obliged by law to keep their animals under control, but these duties do not apply to cat owners. The law recognises that cats are less likely to cause injury to people or damage property than some other animals.

However, cat owners do have a duty at law to take reasonable care to ensure that their cats do not injure people or damage property. Cases involving damage to property or injury to people by cats are rare."

Hahahahano.

Approx 10 million cats in the UK living around 12 years and approx 70 million people living around 80 years. It’s about the same deaths per year. Certainly not an exponential difference.

I presume you're a strict vegan OP otherwise the idea of a cat killing wildlife wouldn't horrify you so much. We don't need to eat meat, we don't need to wear animal products as clothes. But I do, so my cat can roam and if she does kill wildlife, a mouse or similar that has lived wild and free has had an infinitely better life than the poor cow that went into the burger I had yesterday.