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Unpopular opinion: letting your cat outside is cruel versus just giving them freedom
I was at a park in Portland last week when this older guy told me his cat has been indoor-outdoor for 12 years and lives a full life, while my neighbor keeps hers locked inside because of traffic and predators. Where do you draw the line between safety and letting a cat be a cat?
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elliot_allen655mo ago
You've got my sympathy on this one, it's a tough spot. I had a similar thing happen with my neighbor back in Chicago, her cat was strictly indoor and lived to 18 years old without ever going out, while my cousin's outdoor cat got hit by a car at age 3. It's hard to say what's right, but I lean toward keeping them inside after seeing too many cats get hurt or lost around busy streets.
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ninaw885mo ago
I mean, "let a cat be a cat"? That's a little dramatic, isn't it? My cat spent the first three years of her life strictly indoors and she was still plenty cat-like - she hunted dust bunnies and napped in sunbeams like a champ. I get that people feel strongly about it, but acting like it's this huge moral question feels overblown to me. Most cats I've known are fine either way as long as they've got food and a warm spot. Maybe it's just me but I think people spend way too much time worrying about what's "cruel" for an animal that's been domesticated for thousands of years.
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leo6035mo ago
Right there with you. Some of the language people use about it is pretty over the top. My aunt had a barn cat that never came inside unless it was snowing and that thing lived to be 16, then my best friend's indoor cat got out one time and was gone for a week. There's just no one right answer. People act like you're torturing your cat if you don't let it roam, but I've seen plenty of happy healthy indoor cats that seemed perfectly content. At the end of the day cats have survived this long because they're adaptable, not because we're micro-managing their lifestyle.
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