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.

It really comes down to the risk. We have coyotes where we live, and they definitely eat cats. They get super aggressive in the summer, especially when they have pups. They actually hunt in pairs—one coyote will chase a cat right toward another one hiding in the bushes, waiting to ambush it. I know you have foxes in England, but from what I hear, they usually leave cats alone. Plus, our neighborhood has grown a ton since we moved here, so the traffic is really heavy now. We live right by a river, so if the cats stick to that side, they're safe from cars. But male cats, even neutered ones, love to wander way more than females. So yeah, it's just a lot more risky for our cats which is why we have a catio.

Long term cat owner here.

I never had an opinion one way or another until we had DC. DH built a sandpit for them to play in and of course it became the cat litter box of the road.

Toxoplasmosis is a major worry apart from the just yuk factor.

Second moment of concern was my current cats being severely attacked on our property earlier this year. Both ended up at the vets, one more serious than the other. Stitches, AB's and pain relief.

I received the vet bill which was only reduced because I have them enrolled in a programme at the vets which I pay a small monthly fee for reduced/free visits.

The owner of the cat did not offer to reimburse me my costs and it was still wandering thereafter.

For the record my two were humanely trapped on rural property as kittens. they are now 2 years old and at 4.45 - 5.00 know its time for bed so they (generally) wander to the garage where it is warm and toys, bedding and food is provided. They get let out again around 7.00 in the morning for breakfast in the house.

Cats adapt if they are provided for nicely.

Wildlife kills wildlife. Cat's are just part of the ecosystem.

Are you suggesting that people walk their cats?

‘Roaming’ is not the same as being ‘taken for a walk’.

It used to happen in the '60s and very early '70s where I lived - a town in Fife.

In Canada as well. Started changing probably in the mid 1970's.

He he, no they don't, they're not stupid are they?😆😆 My cat was in the back garden the other evening minding her own business, when this hedgehog waddled past, it was inches from her and she was watching it like a hawk but knew not to go near it.

In '72, we moved to a new housing estate. A group of dogs formed a pack - possibly some had been abandoned as their owners moved house.

Eventually, they were trapped and put down. They were dangerous - the leader had started to target small children.

I recall as an older teenager in '76 chasing it away from a little girl. I realise that this might sound ridiculous, but it was attempting to mount her - it had done the same to a little boy who lived near us. In that case, his mother threw a bucket of water over the dog. I'm assuming that she called the police. The other dogs were standing around watching. It's one of the most bizarre, unsettling and sinister things that I've ever seen. Even now, I hesitate to write it down.

That was the end of them running about loose in Fife. I don't recall seeing anything about it in the local press - they simply disappeared without trace, presumably rounded up during school hours.

The next and last time that I saw a pack of dogs running around loose was in Krasnodar, Russia, 1980. One of them bit a British student and she had to have a series of rabies shots.

🤣🤣🤣

You realise that cats and dogs are entirely different species, right? Should we keep our dogs in hutches because we keep the rabbit in one?

It blows my mind that people can be this ignorant.

As you should.

OP, I may have missed it, but has a particular cat bothered you in some way?

I took my kitten out in a harness on a lead and she was attacked by a dog.

Good luck telling a cat what to do 😂

It really annoys me when people like you think we can put cats on leads! You've no appreciation for cats that are ex-ferals or ex strays!.it doesn't work! Why do you think you don't see cats on leads! Why do you think you don't see people pretending their cats are dogs. And by the way theres plenty of countries out there where dogs roam too!

But they shouldn’t be part of the ecosystem, that’s part of the point. If they kill 55 million birds a year, maybe they shouldn’t be allowed to be kept as pets given they are apparently so uncontrollable.

Why lock your cats in a garage at night? I couldn't do that knowing that garages are hot in summer and freezing in winter. My cats have a cat flap do they can come in and out the house at leisure.

if cats can’t be controlled or stay within their own garden borders, they clearly don’t make suitable pets. They kill 55 million birds a year.

It annoys me that cat owners think it’s fine for their cats to roam into other people’s gardens, shit everywhere and kill 55 million garden birds a year. Cat owners are selfish. Cats clearly don’t make suitable pets.

Really? Gosh I would prefer a dog in a café over picking cat poo out of my plants, or garhering up the lawn mower lead to find it all over my hands, or weeding only to be met by a foul smell....

We are all different i guess.

Fully insulated and very comfortable in all weather. They go to bed in there, I know exactly where they are and will be alive the next morning….

And they are quite happy to stick with the routine as it involves dinner ! Lol.

Get some knowledge, I don't think you know what an eco system is because you don't understand how delicate the balance is and how can't just alter it by removing a species from it without consequences! If we got rid of all the cats are you happy to over ran by rats and mice?

It's not about cats not being controllable, it's about accepting the kind of species a cat is! You obviously dislike and don't know anything about them!
Get yourself to a cat rescue abs adopt dole ex ferals or strata and you tell me how you bullying them onto being into indoors only cats pans out for you!

My cats were ferals in their early life, my female lives in the garden this time of year because that's how strong her instincts are, I won't destroy her mental health for keyboard warriors that say silly things!

My male caught a few things when he was young but he hasn't done it for years that I've seen and he's only 7 now, my female cat i have never seen her catch anything.

I do remember dogs roaming in the 80s I’m sure I was scared of the odd random dog…

I’m well aware of what an eco system is.

i presume you’re okay with cats killing 55 million birds a year int he UK then?

Hmm, the actual estimate is 27-55 million, not a flat 55 million. And the RSPB themselves say that predation isn't the main cause of wild bird population declines, it's habitat loss and climate change.

Over the last few centuries the number of wild predators in the UK has declined vastly. Birds of prey are only now beginning to recover from the decimation caused by shooting, 1000 years ago Lynx, wildcats and wolves still roamed much of Britain - in fact, wolves only died out around 300 years ago. This is all down to mankind. So cats are filling just a small part of what was the natural order of things not that long ago.