Should Cats be allowed to roam free
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40192)
Canada
January 19, 2007 10:06pm CST
Many of the people in my city are bird lovers and they'd rather have cats kept inside the house or at least, belled or leashed, but I believe that cats are better predators in keeping mice at bay, and besides with keeping cats housebound, one would have to use traps or rat poison and there's the danger of a child getting into it and perhaps dying. What is your opinion? Should cats be allowed outside or kept in the house?
3 people like this
6 responses
@sukumar794 (5040)
• Thiruvananthapuram, India
21 Jul 07
We do not have cats tied up in string or chained to a pot . We have dog houses..but no cat shelters. Cats are left free while the dogs are kept inside the premises of your home all the time.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
22 Jul 07
That's a good idea. Cats are supposed to be free to keep houses rid of mice and rats. I can never understand why people would leash their cats and then go to the store and buy rat poison of mice traps.
@kitty1234 (1476)
• United States
20 Jul 07
My cat goes in and out at will. She is great at catching mice and bringing them in for me, thank you Darth! I would never put a bell or leash on her (as if she she would allow it) it is too dangerous and she ma get caught up and choke. Of course none of this is important to her, she just wants to nap and eat, lol.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
21 Jul 07
I don't like the idea of a bell on a cat. It might warn the mice. As for a leash, cats are not dogs and if the mice was very smart, it would keep just out of the cat's way.
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
20 Jan 07
If the cat is a pet, then I think that it should be inside for most - if not all - of the day. Even though they are hunters there are so many dangers for outdoor cats. A lot of people just don't like cats and will harm them for no good reason.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
6 Jun 07
Those two wild cats in our neighborhood are too smart. Oh and what about mice? We have small children in our neighborhood too and I would hate to see little kids getting poisoned or having their fingers snapped off.
@TheCatzMeow1 (579)
• United States
20 Jul 07
I'm a cat lover and I think they should be kept inside. When they roam free they come home looking like they got beat up. They can get into some bad things outside too. Then there are the poor defenseless birds that are preyed upon. I don't think it's right that animal control here will jump on picking up a dog, but cats can roam unless they're a nuisance to the neighbors and complaints are filed. Not that I want any animal picked up unless they're dangerous. I just think it's unfair that one must pay over $100 in fines for dogs, but cats fall under a different category or something.
1 person likes this
@feralcat (426)
• Canada
20 Jan 07
Being a feral cat colony caregiver and rescuer I personally feel that domesticated cats should be kept indoors or at least in pens outdoors. Too many people look down on cats and not only because of sog birds but also gardens and so on.
Research has been done on the decline of songbirds by scientists and although some beleive cats are to blame for the decline there is also another research that claims that the decline is ot due to cats but much of it has to do with human beings destroying natural habitats.
I have over 40 cats here I care for and can guarantee you that there is no decline in bird population at all on my property. Songbirds are in abundance.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
6 Jun 07
The birds go after my strawberries and my raspberries, forget about the worms in my apples, they peck holes in my apples. We have a family of sparrows who always lives over our front door, in fact where I live, the songbirds use this as their spring and summer home, so what cats there are (and we have a couple in our neighborhood who go out and then go back to where they live) would have no effect on them. In fact, the birds in our neighborhood are so brazen that you almost have to step on them before they fly away. So cats are no problem. Oh and did I tell you I really hate mice and when I lived in BC, we had a good mouser and we never kept her indoors or in a cage, but we did not have any problems with mice.
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
20 Jul 07
Cats should be allowed to roam free. My explanation is that it is better to give them freedom to walk around to catch more rats not only at home but also from somewhere else. With more space to them, they feel happier. That is more important for the cats. The birds are always kept in cages. It should be safe for the birds if they are hung somewhere high in the house. I don't think that it is a good reason to keep the cats at home for this.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
20 Jul 07
We have loads of birds in our backyard (well not as many since the neighbor got their dog that barks and scares them away) and there lots of birds in the neighborhood, so there is no need to keep cats locked up. We have a couple of feral cats in our neighborhood who do a good job at reducing the mice population and I would rather have them loose then having some toddler get into some mice trap or rat poison left outside.
1 person likes this
