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Anonymous
Hi /an/.

Why do outdoor cats generally live shorter? What exactly is meant by an outdoor cat anyway? Is it a stray, a cat that chills outside then sleeps indoors at night? I let me cat out for 30 mins a couple of times a week. Is whatever that's shortening an "outdoor" cat's life affecting mine too?

My cat has regular vet visits for vaccines and whatnot.

Thanks /an/.
>> Anonymous
>>176000
Loli loev grizzly pedo?
>> Anonymous
First of all, cars. Self explainatory.
Second of all, diseases. Cats can get a lot of these by being outside, and pollution and stuff. Also, contact with strays might ship over some nasty diseases.
Third of all, catkiller maniacs.
>> Anonymous
>>176002

You're not very funny, please go fail back in /b/.
>> Anonymous
Shortening life span is a probability, not a equation to determine exactly how long your cat will live.
>> Anonymous
Vaccination takes care of the diseases.

Cars kill off the stupid cats really quickly, screwing up the statistics some. I honestly think the rest tend to live for as long as indoor cats. I've always had outdoor cats, and they've all been long-lived.
>> Anonymous
>>176028
You're right. My own cat is an outdoor cat, and we keep her updated on her shots. She's learned to not get too close any moving vehicles, and as far as temperament goes, she's just like your average cat. She's 17 years old and the vet says she's in great health for a cat her age.
>> Anonymous
I have an outdoor cat. He lives in the backyard and front yard.
We live in a quiet area, so cars aren't a problem, but it IS important to keep him vaccinated.
The last few problems we had was when he got into a fight with the neighbor's cat.We used to have two outdoor cats, but some bastard in the neighborhood lets his dog run around at night without a leash and it killed her. Luckily I haven't seen the dog since.

But some cats just aren't used to living outside, so if you plan on having your cat become an outdoor cat, do it gradually. and watch out for cars, disease, dogs, and other animals.
>> Anonymous
Quite honestly, keeping cats outdoors is just risky and irresponsible. In fact, most laws state that you cannot have outdoor cats. You can get nailed for negligence or criminal endangerment.
>> Anonymous
>>176038

Bullshit.

Everything, including keeping cats indoors, is risky. The question is what is the degree of risk, and how does the owner deal with it.

Which would you rather have? A person keeping outdoor cats that are well fed, get lots of love and attention, and who spares no expense at the vet if his services are needed

-or-

Someone who keeps cats indoors and rarely bothers to give them any attention, is a cheapass when it comes to proper care, rarely cleans the littlerbox, and couldn't care less about proper feeding?

Yes, there are certain unique risks associated with outdoor cats (cars, for example). But, that is just one factor out of many.
>> Liska !!LIVFOETqL8j
>>176038

this is true only if you declaw your cats, leaving them defenseless. Otherwise, it's fine
>> Anonymous
>>176044

-or-

Keep them inside, take great care of them, spare no expense. Your comparision is idiotic. Of course a owner that takes care of animals is better than one that doesn't. But a owner that takes better care of animals is better than one that takes good care of animals.
>> Anonymous
>>176051

I wasn't making a comparison at all. I was pointing out that indoor vs. outdoor is just one of many variables, and it a less important factor than the overall responsibility (financial and otherwise) of the owner.

Stop worrying about indoor vs. outdoor, and instead worry about responsible owner vs. irresponsible owner. That factor is far more important.
>> Anonymous
As far as I'm concerned, indoor vs. outdoor is a large part of whether an owner is responsible or not. I keep my cat indoors only, and I feel it would be somewhat irresponsible not to, even though i'm the only cat owner on the street who does. Why?

I live next to a relatively busy arterial road with lots of curves and twists. Idiots love to use this road as their own personal racetrack, so even if my cat was well-versed in the way of fearing cars, it's a good possibility some douchebag would run her over anyway. (at least 1 cat on my street has died this way).

Secondly, I live in Australia and next to a national park. Filled with lots of (delicious) endangered species for my cat to go hunt, filled with lots of poisonous beasts for my cat to go hunt and be killed by, and laden with traps for rabbits and feral cats with the intention of killing them. (1 cat on the street has been lost to a beartrap-style trap, 1 more has eaten poisoned meat intentionally left out, and more than a handful of animal-owners i know have lost their animals to snakes etc.) Yes, I deny my cat her desire to be the mighty hunter, but having weighed it up, I think it's a pretty fair call. She'll just have to be content with chasing ankles, the vast array of toys she has, my fingers and the occasional flying insect which manages to get in the house.

Apart from that, the worst thing my cat has ever suffered from is a case or two of fleas, which is my family's fault for petting the outdoor cats in our neighbourhood and bringing them in. We lavish my cat with love (more than she probably wants, actually), play with her on a daily basis (moreso if she's in a particularly frisky mood) and feed her better than we probably feed ourselves. I can't think of much wrong with this situation.
>> WiiMaster
>>176081
how refreshing. sensible and smart owner.
>> Anonymous
>>176081I can't think of much wrong with this situation.

You're a crazy cat bitch. There's nothing good about that.
>> WiiMaster
>>176086
>>176087

opposite of hivemind.
>> Anonymous
>>176087

crazy cat bitch I might be, but regardless of whether the animal is a cat/dog/mongoose/arachnid/whatever I strongly believe if that you're going to keep an animal, keep it properly. Anything less than doing your best to assure its happiness and healthiness is just not good enough.
>> Anonymous
>>176089

You come across as an over bearing, over protective, perfectionist retard. I doubt "proper" is something you could understand and apply to reality.
>> tigerfeather !CrwtTbFNxQ
>>176081
I wholeheartedly agree. If you're going to be making yourself responsible for taking care of another life, then you should do it to the fullest extent possible. It irritates me when people will "adopt" an animal and then not have enough money to take it to the vet, buy it quality food, etc etc. It's the same thing as having a backyard dog....why would you do it?
>> Anonymous
>>176176

Holy fuck. How does "I don't want my cat to be run over, killed by commonly set traps, or be bitten by any one of five billion fucking venomous Aussie snakes" translate into "overprotective?" Shit, I'm not sure I would want to go outside in Australia, let alone let a cat outside there. Sounds to me like you are just another egotistical, irresponsible asshole trying to justify your own lack of ethics in pet ownership. That, or you are a faggot troll.
>> Anonymous
>>176176

if your standard of perfectionism is protecting your pet and the environment, then fuck me dead, i'm changing my name to Perfectionist P. McPerfectionist the third. (the P is for "proper")
>> Anonymous
>>176176

>I doubt "proper" is something you could understand and apply to reality.

You must really be digging for something to say to back up your whiny load of bullshit, because this statement is fucking retarded. What a load of FAIL.
>> Anonymous
I keep mine indoors at all times. Most because of COYOTES. They've been killing all the cats and small dogs in the area. :\
>> Anonymous
They would get in fights with other cats if they are not neutered, could get hit by a car, tortured by neighbors, etc.
>> Anonymous
>>176184
>>(the P is for "pooper")
>> Anonymous
I'm really sick of this question in /an/. No, outdoor cats do not live a shorter life due to some harmful voodoo that saps away the cat's life span while it's outdoors, accidents sometimes happen ending the cats life early. Cats can just as easily die indoors from things like poisonous houseplants, chocolate, cleaners, etc. The chances of one's cat deciding to eat stuff like that increases if it's an indoor-only cat because they have lots of time to explore the house, and seek stimulation (because lets face it, it's a lot more boring for them being cooped up indoors all the time.)

If you live in an area that is relatively safe to let your cat out, then you might want to. If you can't, then don't, but make sure your cat gets a lot of stimulation and exercise.

Australia, why do you even have cats anyways? Shouldn't you try phase them out as a pet, and get something not so terrible for the wildlife? I love cats, but if you really care about preserving your country's wildlife, you would stop breeding more cats in Australia and not import any more. And, ideally, attempt to neuter/spay as many feral ones as possible.

I had an outdoor cat that lived to be 25, and I have one that is currently 21. Allowing them to go outside, be cats, and live a fulfilling life is not irresponsible.
...end of rant.
>> Anonymous
>>176081
Not everyone lives in Australia, next to a busy road, with poisonous endangered species around, you moron. If you live next to a god damn freeway or busy street then keep your cat inside, especially if your cat likes to wonder. Otherwise if you live in the middle of a suburb then you don't have to worry too much. My cats were always indoor/outdoor at their own whim and they never got hit by any cars. Only two of them ever even bothered to cross the street, the rest stayed in the front and back yard.
>> Anonymous
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How do I know indoor-only cats are not happy nor healthy? the majority of indoor cats are overweight. They are so bored they turn to food for entertainment. It's the highlight of their life, and that's sad. Also, lack of exercise is a factor which also is poor for their health.
>> Puddin
>>176319

Way to generalize, asshat. I wouldn't say it's because they're so dejected about not being able to roam outside, rather their activity level. My one tabby simply does not like to play, even with all the toys I'd bought it wasn't in her personality to do so.

Both my cats - the skinny one and the tabby, are both happy and content and also healthy. I refuse to let my cats outdoors simply because every outdoor cat I've seen HASN'T been healthty. Between fleas, ticks, internal parasites and the possibility of them getting run over I wouldn't want to take that risk. Indoor cats do live longer on average, it's not a rule set in stone.. Simply because outdoor cats are more accident prone.
>> Anonymous
ITT lots of people attempt to rationalize anthropomorphizing their cats.
>> Anonymous
Pure indoor cats get fat. Simple as that. I have never seen anyone prove me wrong. They always get fat eventually. Cats need to be outdoors, it's natural for them, same with dogs, same with any creature other than rodents personally, and even then, caged rats get fat and unhealthy too. I say to the contrary, indoor cats have a shorter NATURAL lifespan. And the fact that you only let your cats out for 30 minutes twice a week is just confusing to me. They should be outside a couple hours each day.
>> Anonymous
I have two outdoor cats- one's 16 and one's 18 yrs old. They're both healthy, and they only want to come inside if it's cold out.
>> cant touch this !AB5fTSvpY6
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>>176850
well its about time someone proved you wrong.i have 6 exclusively indoor cats and they run around and have lots of toys climbing frames ect.3 are moggies and 3 are pedigree,so a mix of breeds also.having 2 manx there is a possibility that they can get fat even if they are outdoors,but they are still in good condition!
>> Anonymous
>>176319
>>176850

i've taken care of over 10 cats, all indoor, and only one of them was over weight and that was because his previous owner let him outside and 5 different people fed him.
>> Anonymous
It all depends on where you live. My area doesn't have any active roads nearby, nor do we have any dangerous wildlife. Cats enjoy being outdoors, so if it's possible I try to let them.
>> Anonymous
>>176884

I'm guessing they are all fairly young. They'll put on weight in a few years.
>> Puddin
>>176884

Pure bullshit. We have an 18 year old indoor cat who eats as much as she wants but still remains an ideal weight. My five year old mixed breed sitting right beside me is also far from being overweight.

Saying that ALL indoor cats are obese and die young is such a moronic statement. As I said before, way to generalize, asshat.
>> Anonymous
As long as your outdoor cat is smart enough to stay out of my yard, it should be safe from my huskie's jaws.

I don't see what the sense is in people letting their animals roam freely about the neighborhood. Could you imagine people doing that with their dogs?

>>176048

The second your cat scratches me or my kid it's getting punted so far you'll have to get on a boat to go get it back.

Please keep your cat indoors for its own sake. Not everyone in your neighborhood is as willing to put up with its bullshit as you are.
>> Anonymous
>>177245

Yes, people in my neighborhood let their dogs roam free all the damn time. It doesn't cause any problems.

If you wanna be safe from ever meeting an animal, I suggest never leaving your house.
>> Anonymous
>>177415

I just pack around a shotgun. It only took one cat and one dog to convince my neighbors to keep their fucking animals out of my yard.
>> Anonymous
>>177245
Cats don't usually attack people the way dogs are prone to do.