Do you let your cats run at large?

[Alysser]

Just to add my opinion on why letting dogs run around would be an entirely different matter to letting cats out. Probably will get flamed for this, but oh well.

A cat is an independent animal. It is not in its nature to want to be around humans and other animals all the time. A dog is a pack animal. It likes being around people and its own kind. It would be unusual for a dog to want to be alone in the same way a cat does.

Plus, if dogs ran around free, they would form packs, and that would be really, really dangerous. Cats do not form packs. They are of no danger to anybody unless you try to antagonise them in some way, in which case, you deserve to get scratched.

A cat is agile. They are very streetwise and the majority learn quickly about how to stay away from passing cars. Outside cats are more likely to sunbathe next to a bush away from humans or go hunting, again away from humans. A dog, meanwhile, is not streetwise, it would come up to people all the time, and that could be dangerous.

So letting a dog roam free IS different from letting a cat roam free.

I empathise with the fact cat poop and pee and yowling is unwelcome. As I said earlier, it is irresponsible to let a cat out if it hasn't been fixed or vaccinated. A neutered cat doesn't really yowl. As for cat mess in the garden, that is trickier to control, I'll admit. We never had a problem on that front as our cats would stay away from the neighbours' gardens and use the park instead. Our male cat, Brando, did go ever so slightly senile in his old age and on a few occasions tore neighbours' bin bags when they were out for the rubbish man to collect. We discouraged this behaviour by spraying the area around where we placed our own bin bags with room air freshener. It more or less worked. Plus, there are methods of keeping cats off your property, such as repellents and devices that emit sounds only audible to cats when they pass it. Some of our neighbours, who are very proud of their garden, have used one of these for years. It always worked with our cats and does the same with all of the other cats in the neighbourhood. It's worth the investment.

And I agree with everything Randi said.

ETA: I think the age cats live to has little, if nothing, to do with whether they are indoors or outdoors. I realise perhaps, purely on a broad, statistical basis, an outdoor cat has a shorter lifespan than that of an indoor cat because, inevitably, some are unlucky enough to be killed by a danger in the outside world. But I think a cat's lifespan depends on many other circumstances; breeding, diet and general health, for example. I've known outdoor cats to live beyond 25, and indoor cats to only reach 9, and vice versa. I suppose it's the luck of the draw. There are dangers for us when we step outside our front doors, too.

Actually, Zara, you made a very valid point. Although I really don't agree with it, letting cats roam around neighborhoods is not the same as letting dogs do this. I just don't like having to think that if I let my dog in my neighbors yard there would be huge problems but their cat has free roam of the entire neighborhood, though. It's a bit hypocritical. I see your point though. Cats and dogs are totally different animals. Although, I mostly agree with the not letting your cats run free thing, I don't think her post was very nice at all.