Keep your feline indoors!
By John Bennett, July 7th, 1999

Why?

Folsom Feline Rescue, and other rescue organizations, requires indoor adoptions for all the cats and kittens we place. Keeping the pet inside ensures that it will have the best, happiest, and longest life possible. Medical information provided by rec.pets.cats states that most cats will reach about 11 or 12 years of age. Some make it 18 and very few to 20 and beyond. Much of this will depend on whether or not a cat is indoors or allowed outdoors. Outdoor cats average about 8 years and indoor only cats quite often reach 15 or more years of age. However, some people are still not convinced so I have listed some of the strongest reasons to keep your felines in a protected environment.

Moving Vehicles

I was in a store about a year ago doing some shopping. This store was just off of one of the many main streets in our area and close to a residential neighborhood as well. I heard this horrible scream. It sounded almost human but I was sure it was from an animal, probably a cat. I went outside and walked to the street, expecting to see some kind of commotion. There was nothing. It was if nothing happened. Before I turned to go back inside the store, something caught my eye. It was a white cat, dead and still bleeding from the mouth. I don't know why it ran into the street, maybe it was spooked or chasing something. Unfortunately, as long as cats are free to roam outside, tragedies such as this are going to continue to happen.

As disturbing as it was that the cat was killed. The part that will always be in my mind was the sound of that cry, the scream that cat made just before it was hit. Every essence of that cat went into that scream, and I know one thing, that cat knew it was over. That cat used up its last life and it knew such fear before death I can not imagine.

This is not an experience I would want for any cat. Would you?

Predators

Do you allow your cat or kitten to remain outside all night? If so, consider the following:

• Do you have coyotes in the area? 
  The answer is YES if you live in Folsom / El Dorado!
• Do you have stray dogs in the area?
• Are there other cats in the area?
• Are there humans in the area?

These questions may seem silly but the fact is that coyotes, hawks, and mountain lions, to name a few, will eat cats. If your cat is lucky enough to survive the attack, he may carry rabies or some other disease from the encounter. Not all dogs like cats and while they may not eat them they can cause serious injury. Some cats, as well, do not like other cats. Cats are territorial and will fight to protect their turf. During these encounters your pet may become injured or infected. The neighborhood is full of unseen dangers, such as FELV, FIV, FIP, rabies, and many others.

Not everyone is a cat lover. Some people can be very hostile to animals. Is your cat digging in your neighbors flower bed or causing some other annoyance?  There are people who do not appreciate unattended animals invading their yards or interfering with their animals. Sometimes actions taken by these people against animal wanderers include poisoned bait, pellet guns, or other such devices which will wreck havoc on a dear pet, or even kill it. A new regulation in our county allows the property owner to humanly trap the offending animal and take it to the SPCA or County Animal Control. Your pet could be missing and you may never know what happened.

By keeping your cat inside it will not have to contend with various predators.  Your veterinary costs will be reduced and the chance of your pet contracting rabies or other diseases from fighting with other cats or wild animals is eliminated.

Environment

The National Audubon Society is very concerned about feral and free-roaming cats. Domesticated cats, even when fed regularly by their owners, retain their desire to hunt. 
Susan Roney Drennan, Vice President for Ornithology, National Audubon Society states that millions of native birds and other small animals are killed annually. Information from the San Francisco S.P.C.A suggests that domestic cats are not the cause for the decline of native birds.  The birds are of major concern, however, because they and other wild animals the cat enjoys hunting may be carriers of rabies or other diseases that are deadly to the cat.

While your cat can be a danger to the environment, the environment can be a danger to your cat in the form of parasites. Parasites such as fleas, ticks, mites, hookworms, roundworms, and tapeworms can be picked up from the soil, other animals, and contact with fecal matter. Some are contractible by humans too. Parasites, like ticks, can expose both humans and animals to Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

The outside world is a cruel and dangerous place. By allowing your pet outside it is exposed to a number of factors that will eventually shorten its life. So for your pet, your pocket book, and your environment keep your cat indoors!

For additional information and other articles on keeping your pets inside or outside, please follow the links in the references section below.
 

References

Notes On Accidentally Running Over Pets by Diana Guerrero
CATS: INSIDE OR OUT? by Diana Guerrero

General information articles

rec.pets.cats FAQ Homepage, The Outside World
rec.pets.cats FAQ Homepage, Medical Information

Cats Indoors! The Campaign for Safer Birds and Cats
CATS by Susan Roney Drennan, Vice President for Ornithology, National Audubon Society

Department of Animal Care & Regulation
City of Sacramento's Animal Care And Control Division

San Francisco S.P.C.A.

Folsom Felines : Education : Indoors

Home About Adoptions Education/Links Donate Kitty Scoop Programs News Events Online shopping Contacts Feline Friends Site Map

Copyright © 1999 John Bennett. All Rights Reserved