• archroy@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    Like most things in life it’s not so black and white. Some domestic cats don’t hunt when let outside. Also most cats like going outside and by your argument you may as well keep them in a cage as that is plenty of shelter and food.

    • Iceluigi@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I don’t see how the comment you replied to, in any way, advocates for keeping cats locked up in a cage. They simply argue against letting your cats go outdoors. There is a middle ground between having outdoor cats and keeping them always locked up in a cage. Life’s not all black and white you know?

      • archroy@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        I said according to their logic, not that they were advocating for that exactly, which said that cats should never be let outside because they are provided food and shelter inside and there was no other reason to let them out. The middle ground in my mind is being a responsible pet owner and if your cats are killing birds then don’t let them out. This is not always the case.

    • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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      1 year ago

      According to your logic people don’t need more than one room and they’ll be fine. It’s some shitty logic though.

      It turns out a reasonable amount of space is good. Access to prey is not really healthy for cats, nor for their prey. It doesn’t do any good to let them roam freely. They may enjoy it, but if they aren’t stimulated at home then that’s on you. We don’t let children make decisions for themselves, and we also shouldn’t let our pets.

      • archroy@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        Yeah I know the downsides to letting cats outside but I my point is that there is a benefit to an animals quality of life with some space to roam in nature. Same as humans and all animals. We’ve had cats that were hunters and would kill birds every chance they got so we stopped letting them outside. Also had cats that sat next to birds in the yard and paid them no mind.

        It’s frustrating when people frame issues like these as dichotomies ie no cats should ever be let outside or all cats should be able to roam freely at will.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          No cats should ever be let outside unless you’re watching them the entire time. You can’t know what they’re killing away from you. They’re literally genetically predisposed killers. If you don’t want to keep your cat inside, or outside on a leash or in view at least, then you shouldn’t have a cat. If you think their quality of life will be ruined staying indoors then just don’t own one. It’s easy.

          • archroy@lemmy.one
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            1 year ago

            As I said before I’ve had a cat that literally lay next to a bird without doing anything. Now that’s obviously not normal cat behavior but I would know if my cats were killing animals outside after living with them for years. Some cats are hunters and some not so much. I’ve had both and we kept the hunter inside.

            You can also get a cat bell for their collar which helps if they do hunt.