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.

That you can’t grasp the very basic differences between cats and dogs suggest that you @estrogone either

a) have bigger problems
b) hate cats and are on a wind up
c) a combination of both

I hate cats. They kill for fun. Something like 50 million garden birds a year in the UK are lost to cats. They come and sit under the bird feeder in our garden. And they shit all over the lawn - I don’t understand why cat owners think it’s okay for their cats to roam around and do this. If a dog owner doesn’t pick up a dog poo, the local Facebook group is outraged!

As I have said repeatedly - catio at night.pet proof garden in the day - same standard as dogs, rabbits and other small animals.

Do you have children? Do you allow them to cross the road? You know you will have to let them cross the road on their own one day - will you allow that? How, if there is always a risk of injury?

see how crazy that sounds?

A simple google shows why cats should not be allowed to freely roam. That
is of course unless you believe that your cat's right to roam is more important than the UK song bird population- because that is what it ultimately comes down to:

UK pet cats catch an estimated 27 to 55 million (or up to 100 million) wild birds and animals annually.
Studies show cats only bring home about a quarter of their prey, meaning actual kills are higher.
Frequent targets include garden birds like house sparrows, blue tits, blackbirds, and starlings.
Groups like SongBird Survival argue that ground-feeding species already in decline (such as greenfinches and dunnocks) face added pressure from cats.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/14/cats-kill-birds-wildlife-keep-indoors

We had free range rabbits too. One got killed by a fox when he was quite old but my goodness they had a fabulous life outside a horrible hutch.

Again just completely patronising, completely ignoring a really logical question.

Why are cats the only animals we routinely put at risk?

Letting cats roam is not neglect. Oh I have a dog, I don't have a cat and I'm telling you this for the third time now.

I have a cat and a dog. I will say the cat is the more intelligent species. I didn’t have to do much toilet training with the cat, have to worry about my cat with the high temperatures we have had over the summer (just made sure the cat had access to water) and the cat comes and lets us know when he is hungry or leaves when they please. Cats have always been independent creatures whereas dogs are pack animals. The dog is much harder work! We tried a harness with the cat when they were younger and we were waiting to have it neutered, they don’t like being on a leash. Yes, you can train them but they’re natural explorers.

I don’t see multiple stories about children killed on the roads in my area every month. It is the case for cats. I’ve also had to take a dead cat to the vet for identification which was a deeply upsetting experience.

I kept my cat inside/in a garden for years. He got so unwell he needed multiple vet trips and daily medication. He regularly peed on the floor and would injure himself trying to get out.

How is that a better, happier life than being allowed out to roam with the slight risk that he might get hurt one day?

Oh, and since he's been out, he's never peed on the floor, never been injured and has been medication-free.

I hate to break it to you, alot of wildlife kills other wildlife....

Also look at the front of your car after a long drive. You will have massacred thousands of bugs.

1. I already said I don’t have a cat
2. By telling you to stop attributing human feelings to cats I was already telling you that I do not care about animals’ feelings as much as those of humans.

Its a hypothetical question.

Hypotheses are often used to examine behaviour in the absence of lived experience. Imagine you did have a dog.....would you leave it in an unfenced garden? If not, why is that ok with a cat.

It’s clear you’ve never had a cat OP 😂😂

Agree with you. Also having male cats neutered keeps them from being aggressive and wandering too far from home but they need to be outside for their own health and wellbeing.

This is ridiculous. Everything has some degree of risk. There is a risk benefit calculation in everything. Crossing a road is a risk so is driving a car. Do you never do any of those things. By your logic I should never allow my children to leave the house because they are safer in it? A friends dog sadly died after being hit by a car, should we ban dogs from leaving the house too?

I know ! Cats are excellent climbers and extremely persistent, they’ll find a way out eventually. Plus there’s bound to be a weak spot, a gate or something.

Yup clearly. OK Felix - you just pop off and I will hope you dont get into a fix. I dont care if you do because you are just a moggy.

Cat proof garden is a pretty tall ask. Firstly I’m sure most people’s average gardens are not going to be overly stimulating for cats who like to be outside. Secondly, I can’t imagine the level of investment and ugly changes that would need to be made to make a garden cat proof would be desirable.

Cats are not dogs. Different needs so to compare them is silly.

Cats do attack wildlife, some of them. Not all cats are hunters. But I find humans complaining about cats and wildlife are utter tossers considering how much wildlife has been and continues to be destroyed by humans. Far greater damage than cats. Perhaps once we control human destruction we can then revisit the cat issue.

Cat poop in your garden is a fair complaint, it's horrible, it's yuck. Not all cats will use a litter tray and unfortunately they have to go somewhere... At least most of them bury it.

Your thread title and OP make the voting very difficult to understand.

I am sick of people’s cats ‘roaming ‘ aka shitting in my garden. Really sick of it. ‘Cats need to roam’ - so maybe not an ideal pet if you live in a densely populated area with small gardens? Not my job to provide ‘roaming’ opportunities for your pet.

I have to spend money and time constructing cat proof beds to grow my beans and tomatoes, otherwise it is all dig up by shitting cats. I have stopped foxes coming in, cats are harder.

If they get run over, that’s an occupational hazard of roaming.

I do not want your bloody cat killing birds or frogs in my garden.

I’d say it was a rural thing more than a city thing. Places where the neighbours would recognise the dog and know it was owned. The only issue I can remember was concern about sheep worrying especially in lambing season.

There were fewer cars in this period and children played outside with pets in tow. At some point the dog would do its own thing, usually involved sleeping or playing with another dog.

Dogs won’t roam in the same way as cats because they will want to stay close to their owners and property. They are also pack animals who see their family as the pack. Without that they form packs which is why strays are heavily controlled.

As to cats, the UK has had outdoor cats for a few thousand years, making them part of ecosystem. They aren’t invasive and they don’t have wild predators.

Cats are classed as wild animals. They dont have rules and they cant be trained.
They also dont tend to attack humans unless provoked and I have never heard of a domestic cat killing people

Just google it. There are fences, runs, lots of options.