this post was submitted on 24 May 2025
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[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Cats are so different. Our current ones bring in so many little critters and let them go in the house, still alive, we had to close the cat door so we can check them before they come in. A past cat used to bring us paper and paper-like items, from food wrappers to people's junk mail, and one time the next door kid's report card. My wife's theory was that that cat thought paper things would please us because she saw us doing a lot of things with paper - we used to do a lot of printing. But I think the cat just didn't really get the whole hunting concept.

[–] [email protected] 190 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (49 children)

"Outdoor cats" are an invasive species that kill billions of animals every year, are a significant contributor to dozens of species' extinction, and live shorter lives than cats properly cared for (i.e. kept indoors) including nearly 3x the risk for infections.

It's a plague. We can't keep normalizing this.

[–] brbposting 29 points 1 week ago

Thanks tech, did not appreciate the original post b/c of how lightly it treats the killing of wonderful beautiful birbs

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (7 children)

"Outdoor cats" are just cats. They are not a domesticated species, hunting is their instinct, and should just not be introduced in places where they wreck havoc to the environment. Where they are endemic (Europe and continental Asia) they don't cause troubles to the ecosystem

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago

Nah, that's bullshit. They are causing troubles, both to themselves and to the ecosystem. House cats originated in around Egypt area, and were brought by humans everywhere else. They are invasive, and they are destroying ecosystems, and they are in danger every time they're around.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wrong. Outdoor cats pose a significant risk to birds in Europe as well, especially because Europe has massively reduced the habitat of wildlife in recent centuries.

Cats found 200-500 meters away from any property are shot by hunters in Germany. Between 2007 and 2022 over 160,000 cats were killed in just 5/16 German states (the remaining one's don't publish numbers).

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Source? Never heard of that. German sources are fine as well.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago
  1. https://www.schwaebische.de/regional/baden-wuerttemberg/tausende-katzen-werden-erschossen-und-das-ist-sogar-erlaubt-news-3137524

That's where the 160,000 deaths number came from. The largest German nature conservation NGO is also quoted as saying cats are a danger to birds.

  1. https://www.nordkurier.de/panorama/schrecklicher-anblick-jaeger-erschiessen-tausende-katzen-3102963

A single district in Northern Germany has had 660 cats shot within a year. In the dstrict's state 2580 cats were shot in total. Note that the "landesweit" doesn't refer to countrywide but rather to statewide (as German states are called "federal countries").

[–] priapus 14 points 1 week ago (8 children)

As long as you spend time providing your cat proper enrichment to express their hunting instincts, an indoor cat will be just as happy as an outdoor cat.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Going into your own backyard is a lot different than running through the neighborhood uninhibited.

[–] [email protected] 104 points 1 week ago (10 children)
  • I don't think most people's backyard is some kind of wildlife exclusion zone, and the problem isn't specifically that cats are killing animals in other backyards that the neighbors called "dibs" on first.
  • The cat obviously isn't being attended to while it's outside.
  • The owners clearly imply that their other two cats have done the same thing and brought them dead animals before.
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago
  • Cats don't give a fuck about 'property lines'. Period.

  • Cats will kill even when they don't need to feed. Lock them up.

  • I love our cat, and I don't want to see it squished in half by a car. I keep it inside. It's a rescue, I know it was an outdoor cat before. It's fine now.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 week ago (3 children)

you'd need a very special backyard to fence a cat in

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[–] [email protected] 49 points 1 week ago

A vegetarian!

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 week ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 week ago
[–] ThrowawayPermanente 19 points 1 week ago

Maybe he's a vegan

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 week ago

So cute. I miss my cats so much. ❤️

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 week ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Fuck me that is adorable! Well done, Larry, you are indeed a mighty hunter!

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