Comment on How do I get the damn cat to understand I can feed myself?

ZERONOVABLOSSOM@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

• atro_city@fedia.io ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

  My friend insists on letting it out because animals aren't supposed to be kept in captivity. And it's not easy to play with cats if you're gone 10 hours a day

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  • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    Let your friend know that most experts agree:

    Outdoor cats are devastating to the local ecosystem, and have a significantly shorter lifespan than indoor cats.

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    • atro_city@fedia.io ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

      I have. They don't believe the science. "Cats only kill weak and sick animals". I've given up on it. Can't convince a mind that's made up. But the cadavers are annoying the whole household, so I was hoping for some possible solution that didn't involve getting the friend all wound up.

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      • Jessicat@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

        Unfortunately there are no magic solutions. Corpses will keep happening if the cat is allowed outside. Be glad you’re not my childhood friend, her cat would deposit corpses on their pillows 😱.

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      • sunsofold@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

        Take the cat. Be the Cat Protective Services the cat needs. Then find real friends who aren’t so delusional they probably shouldn’t be considered legally capable of giving consent.

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      • Godric@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

        Put a little bell on their collar; it’ll heavily cut down on the prey they can sneak up on.

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  • DomeGuy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    Cats are apex predators, and your friend is subsidizing their pet far past what the local bird population can support. (Plus indoor cats live longer.)

    Unless you’re on an actual working farm, household cats belong indoors.

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    • foodandart@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

      My cat was lousy catching birds… but man, did she ever open a can of whoop-ass on the mice, rabbits and squirrels.

      Since she’s been dead - the fucking squirrels managed to get into the rafters (which are finally getting closed up as I type this) and we’ve had three mouse infestation waves. The rabbits have completely wiped out the backyard garden now, 5 years running.

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      • Jimmycrackcrack@lemmy.ml ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

        Time for a new cat?

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  • ZERONOVABLOSSOM@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    Well, this is the consequence of letting it outside unfortunately- on top of risk of injury and death but I’m sure y’all know that already. There’s not really an effective way to train them against this behaviour the way you might a dog.

    So long as there’s critters outside the cat is going to hunt them. Maybe you could try to give the kitty a snag safe cat collar with a bell? It might alert the wildlife so they have time to avoid being caught.

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  • adespoton@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    Did the cat choose of it’s own free will to come live with your friend?

    If not, your friend is already responsible for a domestic animal they chose to acquire. That comes with responsibility. Domestic cats aren’t compatible with the outside environment and cause ecological damage.

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  • communism@lemmy.ml ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    If they don’t think animals should be kept in captivity, they shouldn’t keep a pet. Pets are, by definition, captive animals. If I befriended a pigeon by feeding it, it wouldn’t become my pet; it only would if I captured it.

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  • edible_funk@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    Your friend is a bad pet owner.

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  • pomegranatefern@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago

    My family used to have the view that keeping cats indoors was cruel until one of our indoor/outdoor cats came back after being attacked by some unknown animal in what seemed like a safe suburban area. He was fully vaccinated and recovered mostly without incident, but he had to have a surgery and spend extensive time in the Cone of Shame with limited movement so he could recover.

    And once we started keeping the cats indoors? It was unbelievable how much nature outside recovered. It was more than just songbirds everywhere (though we did have plenty of those). We saw hawks and owls. Woodchucks and deer would wander in (yards weren’t really fenced at this area… it was more on the rural side of suburban). Foxes and rabbits and wild turkeys. I once saw pawprints in the snow that I think were from a stoat. We could not believe how visible a difference just keeping the cats inside made.

    And honestly, the cats didn’t really miss being outside after a week or so adjustment period. Once, a year or so in, Mom accidentally left the door to the outside open, and one of our cats just got this resigned look like “oh, I guess I have to go patrol the area, huh.”

    Now, this was a two-story house with like five bedrooms and a basement, so it was more territory than, say, an apartment, which can make a difference. We also had two cats to keep each other company, so the house being empty during the work/school day wasn’t as big a deal. Space concerns are a bit tougher to address (though I will recommend catification, catios, and leash training for cats to do supervised outdoor walks), but if the concern is a cat getting lonely during the work day, then I’m just saying that two cats are not appreciably harder to take care of than one and after the introduction period they can do wonders for keeping each other entertained.

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