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.

Another interesting thing that study concludes is that cats living rurally, near stretches of fast road, are much more at risk from RTAs than urban cats.

I enjoy seeing cats out and about as I go about my daily business. DS loves when we get a visitor in our garden.

And they are handy to deal with the other garden visitors who prompted my username!

It was normal behaviour in the UK in the past, as a child I lived in the North and the South and in both places, letting the dog out in the daytime was normal. Though you did need a dog licence in those days.

The vet said to me about young cats dying on roads and their life expectancy being 2. This isn’t a conference, so I’m comfortable with my data analysis thanks. The paper shows that cats die on roads

This is exactly why I have cats but would never have a caged pet (and also don’t visit zoos). I believe it’s cruel to keep animals incarcerated

So do people, should we keep them locked up in the house.

Bloody hate cats. And their selfish owners who inflict them on the rest of us, letting them shit everywhere. At least have the decency to keep the horrible creatures confined to your own home as house cats.

Yes completely agree. I cant understand why the poor cats are the only ones left to their own devices.

My cat is shut in at night and roams during the day. He pretty much sleeps all night.

What a daft comparison. I wonder what would happen if you let a guinea pig or rabbit roam around the neighbourhood. You’d never see them again. Cats come home.

The vet said to me about young cats dying on roads and their life expectancy being 2. This isn’t a conference, so I’m comfortable with my data analysis thanks. The paper shows that cats die on roads and can have happy safe indoor lives.

you just don’t want to create it. Everyone know that cats go missing and that many of those cats have died in agony from injuries.

its negligence to let your cats roam - they can’t be trained and letting them take their chances is horrible.

Cats and dogs are not comparable.. a dog could kill someone!! They’re two entirely different species of animal.

I thinks it's fair to say many more (exponentially more) cats die than humans each year.

Only on Mumsnet do people talk of banning cats roaming (as well as banning just about everything under the sun).

Perhaps the OP would support the government killing wandering cats in case they carried the virus, like they said they “might have to” in 2020, in case anyone has forgotten that, as part of the madness of King Boris. (They would have had to kill ME first!)

Death is a normal, natural part of life. Attempting to prevent animals dying is such a weird modern - utterly futile - obsession. Poor dead pigeon! Won’t someone think of the rat babies!

The reason cats are so common in this country is precisely because they were used to kill wildlife and keep the population of vermin down. Cat roaming and killing is a feature not a bug.

This is stupid

Thread summary:

Cat owners indignant at the thought they might have to take some responsibility for their cat.

Non cat owners who think every cat is responsible for wide scale bird genocide.

Dog owners who are relieved the attention isn't on their inability to pick up poo / stop dogs jumping on people / sheep worrying etc.

Bonus points if anyone who owns a cat, dog, and a bird and chips in.

Of course my cats go out at night. They're cats.
They'd hate being locked in.
Never had an indoor cat.

But cats kill small animals and are at great risk of car accident, fights, getting lost, so your point is ignoring the wider risk, mostly to the animal.

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.

Would you let your dog, rabbit, Guinea pig roam at night? If not, what is the difference?

Dont you care about the risk to your cat?

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.

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."

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

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.

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.