AIBU to think cats should not roam unsupervised like dogs?

[estrogone]

AIBU to think that if you dont leave your dog to roam streets unsupervised, then you shouldn't let other pets (cats), for the same reasons.

It blows my mind that people let their cats out because their sleep is disrupted and I wonder why they think its OK, when its highly unlikely they would put Fido outside if he kept the family up.

Possible. But cruel.

Was it Australia or New Zealand that the law was brought in to protect native fauna which had developed in isolation from predators and had no defences against cats, which were introduced by settlers?

Cats have done dreadful damage to the wildlife in the last few years where I live. I wish they'd just fucking die. I hate the cunts.

Dogs attack people. Cats generally don’t.

Dogs are fully domesticated . Cats are not. Its in their nature to wander. Its even crueler to not let them out.

Dogs are naturally free roaming pack animals, the domestic pets that are kept indoors and taken out on leads, supervised, and hopefully trained and under control and living a completely unnatural lifestyle. However, we view it as responsible dog ownership to keep dogs this way. 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.

Dogs are pack animals, they need to be walked but also need proximity with their “pack”. Cats need to roam as solitary predators at certain times of the day. You can’t really compare the two.

You cant walk a cat on a lead like a dog. When are they supposed to go outside and exercise??

The norm for us when he had cats was to let them out during the day then keep in at night. They need their freedom but didn't like them being out at night; hunting and killing, their safety above all.

Dogs are fully domesticated and cats aren't, so there is a different legal requirement in the UK for these animals.

While I know some people keep indoor cats, it's hard for me to imagine that they are fully able to engage in their natural behaviours.

I guess the anti-cat brigade could campaign for a change in the law to require cats to be kept in, but I struggle to imagine that being agreed.

I think you’re a bit of a cunt tbh 🤷‍♀️

My cats go out in the day and stay in at night. That's their choice . My cats need to go out as they enjoy sitting in my garden. One uses a corner of my garden as a loo and the rest use litter trays in the house. Cats aren't dogs . My cats hunt and kill mice and rats . I live near an area where there's trees and grass areas so there's rats and mice. There's lots of cats in the area I live. Some owned and some poor strays or abandoned. I feed them and try to get them in rescues so do my other neighbours. Speyed/ neutered and well fed cats don't usually cause a problem. It's not the stray cats fault they've ended up in bad circumstances it humans. There's also hedgehogs and foxes where I live that wander round. I feed them too.

Agree.

Cats are a natural method of keeping the amount of rats and mice down.

No, it’s to protect local wildlife, birds etc.

I think you need to grow up and find something better to do. I'm not even going to go into your bizarre 'reasoning' as to why cats are "let out to roam".
I think your village is missing one isn't it?!

We have a cat and tried to keep him as an indoors cat but he attempted to get out at every available opportunity. Once escaped out of a window being opened a sliver and fell off the balcony breaking his femur.
We eventually decided a potentially shorter but happier life for him was the best option.
That being said I would never live near a main road, when buying my current house it had to be suitable for him too.
Not all cats are happy living their lives looking out the window.

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.

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

They would if they could 😆

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

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

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

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.

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!