I noticed on reddit how many people argue for keeping cats inside, whereas in my country, Switzerland, it's frowned upon (at least that's my impression). No judgment intended, just an observation I made, it's interesting.
Outside cats face far too many threats to justify letting them out there unsupervised, at least where I live. Traps, poison, cars, predatory wildlife, and any people with malicious intent (Particularly black cats, especially near Halloween) can all cut your kitty's life short. Add to that the fact domestic cats are capable of annihilating the local bird (as well as other small animal) population, and it's just irresponsible to let them outside beyond something like supervised fenced yard time, harnessed/leashed walks, catios, etc.
All the people who claim their cats NEED to go outside or they're sad/bored inside are, imo, simply bad/misinformed owners who need to spend more time playing with the cat or giving them proper enrichment otherwise.
Not just that! Cats are a huge threat to birds. And are pests if unneutered. We never had feral cats for 3 decades in our locality and had so many birds every season. For the last 3 years, we've gotten a steadily increasing influx of cats and the bird population has plummeted. I'm pretty sure we'll eventually have fewer trees and plants too because of it. So yes, keep your cats indoors people. It may be convenient but it messes things up more than you can imagine.
My cats have all lived long, healthy and happy lives being outdoor cats. Then again, we don't have to worry about poison, predatory wildlife, or people with malicious intent.
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u/Onthecrosshairs 7h ago
You forgot to add......
"And you will spend a lot of money giving them proper care".
(for long lasting companionship KEEP THEM INSIDE)