On Cats.

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Not really politics, but bound to cause controversy.

Why are "outdoor cats" a thing? They are serial murderers that spread rabies and toxoplasmosis. They are an invasive species that has caused the extinction of literally thousands of different native mammals. They are a public health and environmental hazard. "Keeping" "outdoor cats" is about as responsible as keeping an "outdoor cobra" that you think should have the run of the neighborhood.

Keep your cats indoors or don't have them.

I love my outdoor cat. She is awesome.

SallyNasty wrote:

I love my outdoor cat. She is awesome.

I lost my outdoor python someplace in Florida. I hope he's okay.

Outdoor, indoor? Who cares!? Get a dog over 30lbs. Cats are evil never turn your back on one.

TheGameguru wrote:

Outdoor, indoor? Who cares!? Get a dog over 30lbs. Cats are evil never turn your back on one.

True. And outdoor ones make you crazy.

TheGameguru wrote:

Outdoor, indoor? Who cares!? Get a dog over 30lbs. Cats are evil never turn your back on one.

Dogs are too needy, I can't respect an animal whose life revolves around desperately seeking my approval. As long as I keep her fed and am up for an occasional cuddle my cat doesn't give a sh*t what I think.

ruhk wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

Outdoor, indoor? Who cares!? Get a dog over 30lbs. Cats are evil never turn your back on one.

Dogs are too needy, I can't respect an animal whose life revolves around desperately seeking my approval. As long as I keep her fed and am up for an occasional cuddle my cat doesn't give a sh*t what I think.

You need a Basset Hound...the only approval they seek are their tummies.. other than that its a couch potato.

ruhk wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

Outdoor, indoor? Who cares!? Get a dog over 30lbs. Cats are evil never turn your back on one.

Dogs are too needy, I can't respect an animal whose life revolves around desperately seeking my approval. As long as I keep her fed and am up for an occasional cuddle my cat doesn't give a sh*t what I think.

I think I would rather have needy than the animal equivalent of this guy living in my house.

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Awww, guys. Sociopaths have feelings too.

IMAGE(http://www.cutepictures.co/pictures/Sad_Cat852.jpg)

IMAGE(http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/catsfotos-com/i/c7/d7/e9/03/68/quizzes-quizzes-for-teens-girls-teennick-com_original.jpg)
#icantbetamed

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Cats and dogs are both awesome. Hell, I love everything cute and fuzzy; we have guinea pigs too.

That said, I mostly agree with Paleo's opener; if you live in a rural area and have outdoor cats, that seems reasonable (farm cats are a thing here in Iowa). However, in city limits, outdoor cats -- as cute and friendly as they may be -- are mostly a nuisance and a pest.

I'd agree with Paleo and Farscry, but from a different standpoint - I know my little fluffballs are sociopaths, but they're also idiots. I don't want them to have the lifespan of outdoor cats, I want them to live a good long time.

Paleocon wrote:

Not really politics, but bound to cause controversy.

Why are "outdoor cats" a thing? They are serial murderers that spread rabies and toxoplasmosis. They are an invasive species that has caused the extinction of literally thousands of different native mammals. They are a public health and environmental hazard. "Keeping" "outdoor cats" is about as responsible as keeping an "outdoor cobra" that you think should have the run of the neighborhood.

Keep your cats indoors or don't have them.

It's starting to become a problem that will fix itself. Here in Portland, outdoor cats have a habit of becoming coyote snacks, no matter how deep in the city you might live. Domesticated housecats do not know how to avoid predation, which makes them easy targets for a lot of things: coyotes, hawks, wild dogs, raccoons. But the coyotes seem especially hard on them.

Farscry wrote:

Cats and dogs are both awesome. Hell, I love everything cute and fuzzy; we have guinea pigs too.

That said, I mostly agree with Paleo's opener; if you live in a rural area and have outdoor cats, that seems reasonable (farm cats are a thing here in Iowa). However, in city limits, outdoor cats -- as cute and friendly as they may be -- are mostly a nuisance and a pest.

I totally agree and also agree with the opener. None of you mention the biggest reason for keeping a cat indoors: They live significantly longer indoors. It's not just socially irresponsible, it's also personally irresponsible as a pet owner. It's like telling your pet, "I want you to die soon". It shows zero love for the animal and is generally horrible (IMO).

RooksGambit wrote:
Farscry wrote:

Cats and dogs are both awesome. Hell, I love everything cute and fuzzy; we have guinea pigs too.

That said, I mostly agree with Paleo's opener; if you live in a rural area and have outdoor cats, that seems reasonable (farm cats are a thing here in Iowa). However, in city limits, outdoor cats -- as cute and friendly as they may be -- are mostly a nuisance and a pest.

I totally agree and also agree with the opener. None of you mention the biggest reason for keeping a cat indoors: They live significantly longer indoors. It's not just socially irresponsible, it's also personally irresponsible as a pet owner. It's like telling your pet, "I want you to die soon". It shows zero love for the animal and is generally horrible (IMO).

That and they spread the hell out of toxoplasmosis. If you let them out, they are almost guaranteed to get it and spread it to you.

Well, when the choice of pet is between risking a behavior-altering brain parasite and constantly having to put up with a dog, the preferable option is pretty clear. (only half joking)

My parents have a farm in Australia just on the suburban fringe in Sydney. Vermin like rats hares and pigeons galore. Right until somebody or three dropped a few formerly domesticated cats in the nearby vicinity, which promptly went wild, eradicating the vermin and breeding out of control. My parents ended up taking pity on them, taming them and desexing the animals which turned out to be an expensive undertaking. They aren't allowed into the farmhouse as they're still a little wild.

I don't like how people can just abandon a pet somewhere along the road, and the situation could have been much worse if there wasn't such an abundance of vermin to take the heat off native species in the area.

ruhk wrote:

Well, when the choice of pet is between risking a behavior-altering brain parasite and constantly having to put up with a dog, the preferable option is pretty clear. (only half joking)

The good news is that indoor cats rarely get toxoplasmosis since the vector is limited to animals that have been affected. As long as your cats aren't outdoor murder machines, you are probably safe.

Keep an "outdoor cat" though and your chances of contracting brain worms is just about 100%.

I love the fact that several of my neighbors keep outdoor cats.
Keeps the rodent population in check for me.

I have heard that opinion before. I prefer indoor cats but I had a wonderful indoor/outdoor cat in a suburb and it never contracted toxoplasmosis. One of the scariest moments I had was when a coyote tried to eat it. It scared the coyote off but the amount of blood made me think it was a goner. Luckily, it turned out to just be surface scratches and a slight skull fracture from the coyote trying to crush its head. Eventually, he did pass away at the age of 18.

There may be a cultural difference between us here (northern Europe).

I feel that keeping cats indoors is animal cruelty and not in accordance with the needs of the animal itself.

I would rather not own a cat, than be forced to have it live out its days in captivity.

FWIW both the outdoor cats and dogs are annoying in my neighborhood. The cats crap all over our flowerbed and there's a particularly nasty mutt that wanders around growling and threatening anyone passing by. We've called animal control several times but nothing ever happens.

Other pet peeve (pun intended) - people walking their dogs without leashes. Neighbor dude ran out into the road a few months back and waved down my car. Thought there was a serious problem at first but then he told me that his wife was trying to chase down their dog. He wanted to make sure that I didn't run over it because "I was going too f'ing fast." (You know, driving speed limit for backstreets instead of doing 3 mph). I was already pissed off by dude yelling at me, but almost lost it entirely when it became evident that the dog was really young and had no leash to begin with.

It might be a different story in rural areas, but I've seen one too many cats run over in the street to support the idea of "outdoor cats" in suburbia or cities.

If I don't let my cat out, she can't earn the $$

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Spoiler:

Though seriously, this is why we need a higher minimum wage. She worked eight hours and that's all she took home after taxes.

jbavon wrote:

There may be a cultural difference between us here (northern Europe).

I feel that keeping cats indoors is animal cruelty and not in accordance with the needs of the animal itself.

I would rather not own a cat, than be forced to have it live out its days in captivity.

Yeah, this.

Particularly if you're getting them de-clawed. That's just a viciously sh*tty thing to do to an animal.

If you can't handle the idea of a cat being indoors only, you really shouldn't have one to begin with.

Why won't you let me be happy?

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/xGQo3yz.jpg)

because you're a mass murderer.

Paleocon wrote:

because you're a mass murderer.

Speaking of The Oatmeal and cats...

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