Cats Indoors!

Keeping Cats Indoors is for the Cats…

Each year, millions of cats are run over by cars, mauled by
dogs, poisoned and lost. Hundreds of millions of birds and small
mammals are killed annually by free-roaming cats. The suffering
of both cats and birds is all the more tragic because it is so
unnecessary.

Today’s cat owners face an important decision: “Should I keep my
cat indoors?” For your cat’s sake, and that of the birds and
other wildlife in your neighborhood, the answer to that question
must be “yes!”

The average life expectancy of an outdoor cat is just two to
five years, while an indoor cat may survive for 17 or more
years. Cats who roam are constantly in danger…

Cars – Millions of cats are run over by cars each year. Seeking
warmth, outdoor cats crawl into car engines and are killed or
maimed when the car is restarted. Motorists risk accidents in
attempting to avoid hitting free-roaming cats.

Human Cruelty – Each year, animal shelters and veterinarians
treat cats who have been shot, stabbed, or set on fire.
Unsupervised cats may also be captured and sold to research
laboratories or used as “bait” to train fighting dogs.

Animal Attacks – Torn ears, scratched eyes, abscesses, internal
injuries, diseases, and sometimes death result from encounters
with dogs, other cats, and wild animals like raccoons, coyotes
and foxes. Overpopulation – Unaltered free-roaming cats are the
single most important cause of cat overpopulation. As a result,
millions of cats for whom there are no homes must be euthanized
each year.

Disease – Cats allowed outdoors risk exposure to fatal diseases,
including rabies, feline leukemia, distemper, and feline
immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Vaccines are not 100 percent
effective.

Parasites – Cats allowed outdoors are more likely to contract
debilitating parasites such as worms, ticks, mites, and fleas.

Poisons and Traps – Exposure to pesticides, rodenticides and
antifreeze poisons and kills thousands of outdoor cats each
year. Cats are maimed and killed in traps set for furbearing
animals.

…And for the Birds

Today, birds and other wildlife face more obstacles to their
survival than ever before. Wildlife habitats are destroyed and
degraded every day, and many species are declining as a result.
Even the impacts of natural predators on their prey is changing
based on how humans are altering natural environments. And the
presence of an unnatural predator — the domestic cat — is
having an impact as well. Scientists estimate that cats kill
hundreds of millions of birds each year and three times as many
small mammals. Most birds killed by cats are members of
relatively common species, like the Northern Cardinal, Song
Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco; others are rare and endangered –
the California Least Tern, Piping Plover, Western Snowy Plover
and California Gnatcatcher.

Regardless of the status of the species, each wild animal
suffers when captured by a cat. By letting our cats outside, we
– perhaps without intent — place a higher value on the freedom
of our pet than on the life of that cardinal, that chickadee or
that chipmunk she kills.

“Is it Nature’s Way for Cats to Kill Birds?”

A descendant of the wild cat of Africa and southwestern Asia,
the domestic cat instinctively hunts and captures prey. However,
wildlife in the Western Hemisphere did not evolve in the
presence of a small, abundant predator like the domestic cat,
and thus did not develop defenses against them. Cats were
introduced in North America by European immigrants only a few
hundred years ago.

While cats may instinctively hunt wildlife, it is clear that
they are not adapted to life in the wild as are our native wild
cats like the bobcat and mountain lion.

Outdoor domestic cat populations are most commonly found in and
around human settlements; most do not survive without direct or
indirect support by humans. They are in this way very different
from native predators.

Truths about Cats and Birds

We all know that cats don’t have nine lives, but there are three
other myths about cat predation we’d like to dispel.

1. “Belled” cats do kill wildlife. Cats with bells on their
collars can learn to stalk their prey silently. Even if they
don’t, wild animals do not necessarily associate the ringing of
a bell with danger.

2. Even well-fed cats kill wildlife. The urge to hunt and the
urge to eat are controlled by different portions of the cat’s
brain. 3. Once caught by a cat, few birds survive, even if they
appear to have escaped. Infection from the cat’s teeth or claws
or the stress of capture usually results in death.

Tips for Happy Indoor Cats

Kittens who are kept indoors usually show no desire to venture
outside as cats. With knowledge, patience, and time, we can
change most cats who roam outdoors into happy indoor pets. These
tips will help.

Provide a safe, outside enclosure, such as a screened porch.

Provide window shelves to permit cats to monitor the outdoors
from the safety of the indoors.

Play with your cat each day. Paper bags and cardboard boxes are
sources of unending delight when you are away.

Plant kitty grass (available from pet supply stores) in indoor
pots so your cat can graze.

Clean litter boxes regularly.

Because indoor cats may slip out an open door, it’s important to
keep in mind the other essentials of responsible pet ownership:

Spay or neuter your kitten as early as possible;

Put an identification tag on your cat’s collar- it’s her ticket
home if she slips out; and

Where such programs exist, license your cat.

For the Sake of All Cats… Support local cat control and
protection plans; Support legislation requiring cat owners to
register their cats and prevent them from roaming;

Do not feed unowned or free-ranging cats without making a
commitment to giving or finding them a permanent indoor home;
and Take cats for whom you cannot care to your local animal
shelter to give them the best possible chance of adoption into
loving, lifelong homes.

More for the Birds

Support efforts in your community to protect wildlife and their
habitats. All wild animals have three basic needs: food, water
and plants that provide escape cover and nesting sites. If you
feed birds in your yard, locate feeders away from windows and
brushy vegetation that permits neighborhood cats to hide. Keep
your feeders clean and well stocked. Where possible, establish a
brush pile for wildlife away from feeders. Avoid using
pesticides.

Cats cannot be blamed for killing wildlife. It is the
responsibility of cat owners to ensure that their cats are
safely indoors. The Humane Society of the United States,
American Humane Association, and other groups are working with
American Bird Conservancy on “Cats Indoors! The Campaign for
Safer Birds and Cats.” Through this campaign, we will educate
and encourage cat owners to protect cats, birds and other
wildlife by keeping cats indoors.

The above is general veterinary information. Do not begin
any course of treatment without consulting your regular
veterinarian. All animals should be examined at least once every
12 months.