I grew up with indoor/outdoor cats. As an adult, I’ve only had indoor cats. At first that was due to the shorter average lifespan of our cats that had been able go outside. Later on, I read the studies that show how much species diversity is reduced by cats in areas where they are allowed to roam. I loved my cats and wanted them to live long, safe lives, and even so, I didn’t want to favor my little buddies over the dozens of other species that lived around my home.
Some friends of mine let their cat out all she wanted, in a suburban neighborhood. My friends knew my point of view, but denied that their cat killed more than the occasional lizard. When I brought my young dog over to visit, we sat in the back yard and let her run around. My pup found something on the ground and was going to eat it, but I’d taught her to Trade, to bring me the thing she had in exchange for a treat. I called her over to trade and it was a delicate little ball of bird bones and feathers, remnants of a bird that had obviously been consumed by a cat. My pup kept finding them and trading until I was out of a big handful of treats. More than 20 in their little yard.
They were a bit shocked, having never spotted these tiny remains before. They had no idea. I didn’t say anything about it, but within a couple months their cat became an indoor cat, and they built an enclosure that the cat could access through a window.
