To think letting a cat go outside is NOT "Cruel" or "Abusive"?

[SneakyGremlins]

Had a heated debate polite discussion with an American last night about cats. Said American - and their friends - think cats should be permanently kept indoors, and it's cruel and animal abuse to let them go outside because, I quote, "There's bears, snakes, wolves and coyotes, people putting down poisoned food, cars and all sorts of dangers".

I snappily politely pointed out that America does not equal the world, and while I concluded that cars are indeed a danger for pets, Living IN ENGLAND I have yet to see any coyotes or bears or wolves. I've never come across poisoned food either - although again this does happen rarely, I admit.

I also pointed out that cats can get depressed/stressed being cooped up inside all day, which was met with "You just need to play with them all day, then they won't be bored! It's cruel and heartless to make a cat go outside into the dangerous wilderness!"

AIBU to think that it is not a bad thing to let a cat go outside?

Actually, I've read up on it in the past and when cats don't bury their poo it's a form of territorial marking, much like spraying. It's a form of stress. A cat's instinct is to bury their poo, unlike dogs.

I'd like to see someone try to catproof my garden or stop common or garden moggies escaping out of a window.
I'd also like to know how you can take a cat into a garden and it stays with you (short of putting it on a lead of course).

My neighbours think their cat only stays in their garden. They were surprised when I said he keeps trying to get into my house.

I thought various were more sort aviary type structures so enclosed on top as well. The one my friend has is at the side of the house and she opens the window for the cat to access it. It’s got a few bushes and a little tree in. She’s got about an acre of garden and only a bit of it is designated for cat. It wouldn’t work with a small garden unless you were happy for there to be no wildlife in there and it all enclosed.

A cat's instinct is to bury their poo, unlike dogs.

Mine is obviously a dog in disguise! He digs a hole, stands in it and goes on the edge of the hole. The garden is cat proofed so no intruders so he's obviously just odd!

We've got a very small garden Flopsy so when we cat proofed it it became like a large catio. There's no netting over the top but we don't get any wildlife in the garden now which doesn't really bother me, I'd rather my cat was safe.

Lmao at the person who said its only in Australia that you have to keep them inside because of scorpions
Never seen a scorpion personally. No its the same as the uk, its because of CARS that its kinder! Even in this thread how many people say they were devestated when their cats were flattened?

we have a small wild/cottage type old garden with a very high fence at one end and LOADS of very tall ivy/thick bushes all the way round with wire underneath that was put there MANY years ago by someone who must have wanted to keep their cat in . i don't want to tempt fate but ours is a useless climber/jumper, certainly not a hunter. sometimes she chases flies but that's roughly her ability when it comes to hunting. she likes to watch a regular visiting squirrel who deliberately bogs her out on a high tree branch that hangs over our garden. i love watching her in the summer enjoying the sun (if we're lucky...)/gentle breeze/chasing flies. it makes her happy but she is mostly an indoor cat through choice.

My cats point blank refuse to go outdoors.

We have 6 cats and currently 5 are sat in the same room as me, staring intently as though I'm going to transform into a large salmon if they stare hard enough for long enough.

The one that's outside is sat on the windowsill giving me the deathstare through the glass. They generally go out for 15-20 minutes each day and spend the rest of their time sleeping, washing, sneaking into forbidden places, behaving like dicks and trying to silently kill us. The birds round here sleep soundly.

I love the death stare . I dont believe any chance of a pick of the 5 staring at you?❤

Fizz I play with my cat A LOT and have windows open for fresh air even in the middle of winter
Is that more cruel than leaving her to the mercy of the local cat killer who beheads cats and cuts their tails off- local vet posted a photo of an x-ray taken of one poor little mite who'd suffered this

Can't you read!? I said it's cruel UNLESS you do those things. UNLESS.

I can read. Ta. I can read posts like yours that are determined to say keeping a cat indoors is cruel.