the chicken are raised in a streamlined process sothat the land area usage is used to produce the maximum amount of birds
meanwhile wild birts are wildly inefficient with their food so eating 1 wild bird consumes waaay more land area than eating 1 industrially farmed bird.
Not sure the killed bird cares about your land area usage statistics
To be fair, housecats don’t always kill for food. Sometimes it’s just… because they can, and have insticts to hunt.
Humans have plenty of food sins too, of course.
Like extreme food waste
Like not just on a personal level either, but like industrial scale food wastage
Humans are aware and awful
Cats really shouldn’t be in a position to get birds in the first place. Statistically, cats that are allowed to go outside live a shorter amount of time than indoor cats. Not to mention how devastating it is to the local bird population.
crazy take that cats shouldn’t go outside because that’s bad for them when that’s literally what they’re made for
Statistically, humans that are allowed to go outside probably live a shorter amount of time than indoor humans too, if they are otherwise taken care of just as well.
What statistics? Incarceration shortens life expectancy.
I mean, there were those simulated Mars missions and biodomes they did. Now I’m super curious what counts as a “indoor human“, and exactly how long one could live inside one of those biodomes.
That’s Antarctica for half the year.
Idk, people who don’t go outside usually are less active and healthy, get less vitamin D and dont socialize as much (generally).
I am now realizing i missed “if they are otherwise taken care of just as well”, which invalidates my whole argument lol
This is a good read: https://www.kinship.com/uk/cat-lifestyle/outdoor-cats-uk
As a result of this intrinsic desire and innate survival ability, 70% of domestic cats in the UK live an indoor/outdoor hybrid lifestyle, with charities such as Cats Protection and Battersea actively recommending that cats have access to the great outdoors for their well-being (much like us needing our little daily walks for our mental health). Zoe explains that because cats are solitary survivors, they learn using both observational learning and trial and error, and when they have the opportunity to try something new and gain a positive outcome (like jumping over a garden fence), they remember that experience and adapt accordingly. “So with this in mind, allowing a cat to free roam could lead to a favourable outcome for their emotional and physical wellbeing,” she says.
In contrast, in the US, 70% of cats are kept indoors, or if they are let outside, it’s within the confines of a secure garden or catio (this is also for their well-being, but for different reasons, which we’ll get into later). Or take the town of Walldorf in Germany as an example, which previously had a fine in place of up to €500 for cat parents letting their cat outside, due to the risk of death to the endangered ground-nesting crested lark – and those cat parents could even risk being fined up to €50,000 if their cat injured or killed one of the birds.
sigh Americans, man… always the contrarians. First 1776, now this.
This article seems questionable at best. Not only is it specific to the UK but it stops citing sources and having links as it gets down into the you should decide for yourself whether your cat kills too many birds part. As far as I can tell it also makes no mention of the problems of cat fights or the diseases that cats can get from catching wild birds. Not to mention FIV or rabies, both of which had spread in my old neighborhood and some of the neighborhood cats had to be put down for it.
Cite me your high-quality research then.
You know I think they might have a point… Having an “indoor cat” seems cruel, unless you live in a biodome.
Normally I’d tell you to go fuck yourself. But cats deserve better than your ignorance. So here you go.
Fuck you, asshole. I’m blocking you.
Bye Felicia!
Yeah, it’s totally just an American issue. I’m sure all the flightless birds in New Zealand that evolved without such predators are happy to have cats wandering outdoors. /s
Are you from New Zealand or are you also American?
EDIT: Here, this is New Zealand - https://www.companionanimals.nz/articles/new-research-sheds-light-on-kiwi-attitudes-to-outdoor-access-for-cats
Are you one of the few cat owners in New Zealand who don’t want their cats outdoors? Is that who I’m talking to? Else I’m not gonna bother.
What do people’s attitudes have to do with facts? Your own link says:
In NZ, free-roaming cats primarily prey on small mammals and birds, creating ecological concerns, although cats may also control introduced pest species. The impact of cats on the environment, along with community nuisance and potential zoonotic risks, have prompted calls for national cat management policies. Public support exists for such policies, though translating this into behavioural change remains challenging.
Cats themselves are an introduced species in many parts of the world. Many island animals in particular haven’t evolved for a hunter like them. People’s attitudes toward what to do with cats doesn’t change the fact that they threaten wildlife, which even your own links acknowledge.
Not sure what my country of origin or status of cat ownership has to do with any of that. I don’t need to be anywhere special or have a cat to understand the ecological damage they can cause.
The BBC link is broken.
The others are both US based. What did I just say above?
They’re not our prisoners. Let them live their instincts a little!
Me: you’d better eat it, I don’t want it.
I never blame the cat. I always blame the owner. Keep your beautiful damned cats indoors!
I used to be afraid if my indoor would not be able to survive if something happened to me and I would not be able to take care of her nor would she be able to fend for herself.
She got out one day and came back the day after with a dead bird so whatever I guess.
As long as you don’t declaw your cat I see no reason why they couldn’t hunt and survive. I only see their ignorance of more deadly animals as a problem. Cats are only semi-domesticated, unlike dogs. Look no further than how they play and how they treat mice that wander in their domain.
That’s pet cruelty
No it isn’t
It’s pet cruelty to let your cat get run over or eaten by a predator.
It’s animal cruelty to let your pet destroy local wildlife populations.
Just as pointlessly cruel
Not really, that cat is convinced he is going to feed his family with that bird. The human will unlikely share a bit of that chicken with the cat.
I mean, you probably should though. As long as it doesn’t have onions or garlic on it. Cats, and dogs, need more than just kibble to live on.
Cats need more than kibble because they intake water better through food than drinking water, and a diet of nothing but dried kibble can cause kidney problems.
Dogs really only need variety for the enrichment.
You aren’t wrong but you’re missing the bigger picture. No capitalist producer of kibble is doing more than the bare minimum. Dogs and cats need more than what is in kibble because kibble is shit. Do you remember seeing white dog turds everywhere? If you’re old enough you may remember when kibble contained so much bonemeal the dog turds wouldn’t dissolve and would turn bright white in the sun. Imagine for a moment that you only ate dry breakfast cereal for the rest of your life…
That’s why I make my own dog food. The dry kibble is just for emergencies when I am super broke and can’t. They eat kibble, I eat ramen. Or maybe sometimes also the kibble.
Now that you mention it… I do remember seeing white dog turds everywhere, and I can’t place my finger on when they stopped being around…
TIL
The human has a choice between eating meatless or meatfull diets. A cat is a carnivore which means they don’t really have a choice.
I’m pretty convinced that every animal can eat almost any food as long as they can have access to it. Like, dogs can eat bread and potatoes, just that they never manage to dig that up in nature.
Mmmm bird is tasty!
“I’m gonna level with you, cat, that bird was shit compared to mine.”
