I guess as I don't have a cat and never have, I don't really have any business replying to this thread. Oh well.
I'm sorry, not to offend anyone, but I cannot even *imagine* having a beloved pet wandering the streets. I guess I'm very overprotective but I would *never* allow any of my pets to be running freely outside without supervision. I feel comforted knowing where my pets are, and what is happening to them.
Almost everyone around me has outside cats. As much as I love cats, I don't appreciate cats pooping in my yard. My dog tries to eat it, lol, and that's not very enjoyable to dig out of his mouth (nor to step in). Real fun when planting your garden too.
I've watched the neighbors outside cats slowly die off. And I don't live on a busy street either, it's basically a dead end. Just the neighbors across my street for example...they've had an orange tabby, 2 black kittens, and a brown tabby. They still have one black cat..the rest lived less then a year before being killed.
My friend has an outside cat that's at least 9 years old. I'm amazed he's lived that long. He's always covered in scratches from fights. He'll disappear for days at a time. When he was in the house (before they moved) he was a very sweet cat...now he's turned a bit wild.
Sorry, I should stop now. I'm not at all saying that any of you that have outside cats don't love them, and it definitely depends on where you live. But from my personal experience, if I ever did get a cat, it would be inside only.
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