Most cats love being able to leave the house whenever they choose and they also enjoy being able to visit other people's garden, burgle houses to steal other cat's food, slaughter wildlife, and generally wander around at will.
The downside is the dangers of being run over, of catching diseases from other cats (not high if we are vaccinated) or coming home with fleas - not just fleas from other cats but also rabbit fleas or ticks. Ticks are generally disgusting, as I discovered when being combed by my human who combed out a tick that burst and spread blood everywhere.
Ask a cat, and most of us will choose freedom. Ask the neighbour and mostly they will say get that cat out of my seed beds. Ask a naturalist and they will say keep those serial killers indoors (forgetting that an invasion of mice is bothering the Australians.)
If you want to read up on this, there's a human review "Uncontrolled Outdoor Access for Cats: An Assessment of Risks and Benefits" on Google Scholar.
But I say, just ask your cat.
Our Mom think it depends on where you live, and training (both people and cats). When living in the city, we were inside cats with a catio. Here, in the middle of nowhere (we live in a tiny village 2 hour drive from the nearest city), we are allowed outside at will during the day, but after supper we MUST stay inside. We are yard trained (on a long leash) when we are young and we do not often leave our yard, although we consider Mr D's garden part of our yard. The occasional cat poop he uncovers is not a problem as we keep the Mole, Voles, Mice and Quail out of his garden. We are furrends with the neighbor cats and Mom can't remember the last time she heard a cat fight (though we heard them frequently in the city). Cats CAN be trained to be good citizens and the people who own them can do it if they take the time.
ReplyDeleteI think cats are very good citizens
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