The Problem: Indoor Cats Outdoors

There are more than 90 million pet cats in the U.S. and most of these spend at least part of their time roaming around outside. When you add to this number the millions of feral and stray cats that roam our cities, suburbs and rural areas, you start to see the damage they can do. Scientists estimate that free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians each year. Check out this Cats Indoors page titled “Domestic Cat Predation On Birds And Other Wildlife” to see how serious this problem is.

Your Cat Doesn’t Want To Be Outside Either

Since as far back as I can remember, people have let their cats roam free claiming that the cat enjoys their freedom. The fact is that not only have cats been domesticated for thousands of years and prefer to be indoors but free-roaming cats have a shorter life expectancy than indoor cats. Besides that, indoor cats have a much higher quality of life than their outdoor counterparts. So, the only question I have is if you love your cat why would you want to add that kind of stress to their lives? Read the post titled “The Great Outdoors Is No Place For Cats” and see why your feline companion does so much worse when left to roam outdoors.

The Solution: The Cats Indoors! Education Campaign

In 1997, the American Bird Conservancy launched the Cats Indoors! Campaign For Safer Birds And Cats to help educate cat owners, policy makers and the general public that cats, people and wildlife all benefit from cats being kept indoors. Their site features free downloadable fact sheets, reports, printable brochures and posters, teachers aids and a list of links to safe alternatives to letting your cat outdoors. All are high quality learning and teaching aids.

What You Can Do

Join thousands of supporters by conducting a Cats Indoors! campaign in your community using the materials that ABC has provided. There’s a short Power Point presentation “Conducting A Cats Indoors! Campaign In Your Community” made available by the Animal Liberation Front that has tips and suggestions to help you get the ball rolling in your neck of the woods.

Make sure to read the Humane Society article “Home sweet home: how to bring an outside cat indoors” to help you make the transition that ultimately benefits everyone.

Finally, I urge all cat owners to learn more about this issue so they can teach their cat-owning friends the benefits of keeping their beloved cats indoors where they’ll be happier and healthier. 

Check out the Bird Friendly Life page for even more tips.