"Outdoor Cat vs Indoor Cat" by Sarah Andersen

Outdoor cat: "today I killed 300 birds and permanently altered the local ecosystem"

Indoor cat: "hehe I shit in a box"

The 1 to 4 billion animals killed by outdoor cats every year: X_X

Realistically, outdoor cats don't travel much. They just hang out in their neighborhood, chill in their favorite spots, etc.

Cats have their territory and that's where they spend their time, doing cat things. It's just that an outdoor cat's territory isn't limited by walls.

Working in the office vs working from home.

Cat owners who let their cats roam are irresponsible and entitled

I love that the outdoor cat is missing an eye. A for accuracy.

I cannot imagine having an indoor/outdoor cat. I'd worry so much about them while they were away. And if they just disappeared and didn't return...I don't know how I could stand it.

We have 3 indoor-only cats. Obviously I'm pretty attached to them.

A stranger outdoor cat just walked with me for a few blocks on my way home from a dinner party. It was fun to have a five minute feline friend. It's sad to know they will very likely die long before my indoor cat of a similar age.

I dunno, sometimes my indoor cats step into the liminal dimension just to make me panic

Forgot to mention the little animals the outdoor cat kill along the way.

Indoor cats still move a lot around the house, destroying stuff.

We have 3 indoor/outdoor cats because we've just always had indoor/outdoor cats and I never really thought about it.

Being on more cat-related Reddit and Lemmy communities, I've seen more and more of the arguments for keeping cats as indoor-only, and it's been making me think more about how to care for cats we adopt.

From what I've seen of the discussions, a lot of them seem to center around urban areas and towns, where there's a high population density. Some arguments also seem to be based off the assumption that the pets aren't spayed or neutered.

We live in the middle of nowhere and all our cats are fixed as soon as possible (we've had kittens sometimes and they stay inside until then).

Is there different logic for this situation, or is it the same advice to always keep them indoors?

I'm genuinely asking.

This is, I think, the most passionate controversy I've seen on Lemmy.

If you want to give your kitty companion the best shot at a long comfortable life, keep them indoors, it's as simple as that.
Leads exist, and so do catios and window boxes if you're lucky enough to have the space, they can still enjoy the sunshine and fresh air without risk of them getting run over, attacked by another animal/person, getting injured otherwise. I know I just couldn't bear it if my baby was outside all on her own and got hurt..

All cats should be indoor cats

Live in Sweden and have 3 cats. Two are outdoor cats and one wanted to be an outdoor cat but he kinda realised he is fat and lazy and wants to stay home. So this felt very accurate for the cats who live with me!

Oh and in Sweden all cats are tagged and registered in case any should go missing. I could not imagine a world where I would deny my cats the right to go outside. Then again I did move to the countryside just so my cats could have a better life far away from traffic.

There are indoor cats?

Wow, today I learned people think it's better for the cats to keep they locked in... I pity birds who have that kind of life, now I pity those cats too

Shame on everyone in this thread that wants to have an argument about indoor v outdoor cats. 99 problems this isn’t one we need to pull out the torches for.

My cat's quality of life was dogshit indoors. She had bad allergic reactions all the time, would stop eating, Vet bills piled up with no explanations. I let her roam the neighborhood now, shes happy as a pig in shit. Her weight is stable, shes not breaking out in rashes all the time, and she entertains the neighbors. Cry me a river about all the mice and bunnies she kills.