What counts as an outdoor cat? Ours spends her days in the backyard on a leash.
Comment on Adopting a stray cat
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 2 months agoThey’re not good for the birds, but perhaps even more importantly, the outdoors isn’t good for them. The life expectancy of an indoor cat versus an outdoor cat can be 10+ years longer.
datelmd5sum@lemmy.world 2 months ago
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Backyard on a leash and monitored is very responsible! When people say outdoor cat, they are typically referring to cats that are allowed outdoors with no leash and no supervision.
Worstdriver@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Growing up, (I’m in my 50s) we had an orange tabby that went indoors and outdoors as much as he wanted. The cat supplemented his kibble by killing and eating (confirmed by observation) birds and rodents in the area. He lived to be 23. Most cats like him that I’ve known all had lifespans into the high teens.
I think you mean feral, as opposed to outdoor. In which case I would agree with your statement.
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
No, I don’t mean feral. I said what I meant.
Worstdriver@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Then can you quote your source for your statement? My experiential information is counter to your claim, so I would like to see your data so I can improve my understanding.
iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
It should seem somewhat obvious after thinking about it for a moment. Outdoor access means more exposure to diseases and parasites, exposure to predators, and exposure to traffic.
Here’s just one study. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/…/rsbl.2018.0840
I encourage you to ask any vet or your local humane society.
cheers_queers@lemm.ee 2 months ago
i could throw in my own anecdotal experience of being raised owning dozens of cats over my life, that the outdoors is very dangerous to tame cats. my dad counted it as a win if a couple kittens from each litter of our tamed barn cats would make it a year. even out in the country we had “traffic” kill a decent amount, and the wild animals did the rest. not to mention eating partially rotted dead animals and getting sick, etc.
but I prefer data, which shouldn’t be that hard to find. :)