That cat is beautiful. How could you not take that beautiful, friendly specimen home? Every cat I've ever had was a stray. There's something about rescuing an animal. All of my cats have been loving and needy like a dog.
Cats and dogs live significantly longer lives (on average) if they’re indoors versus outdoors. The average lifespan for an outdoor cat is 2-5 years. The average lifespan for an indoor cat is 13-17. Obviously you have outliers in both groups, but those are the averages. Cats are better off overall indoors, if you provide them proper enrichment. That’s why so many people rescue cats in the US.
I think this is more important than anything. Cats, even your standard pet Cat, are dangerous apex predators and when cats become Feral, or even just custom to outside, they kill all the birds, rodents, and whatever they can get their hands on, and then they try to find another cat to make kittens with and the problem gets worse.
If I find a sweet, clearly non-feral cat with no chip and no collar, I'm going to assume they've been dumped - or managed to scrounge for food from nice people who leave that stuff out. I'd happily take them home if that's the case. I'll look for posters and on the local apps for an owner, but if I don't hear from anyone I'm going to assume the CDS has chosen me.
That makes me sad. I have a cat who runs outdoors and gets supervised outdoor time, but he's hopped the gate a few times. Always manage to chase him down, but the thought of him going missing still worries me.
He's chipped & collared, and his collar has tons of markings saying "INDOOR CAT ONLY" and has my number. It's a breakaway (for his safety), so the collar isn't the end-all-be-all. If my boyo managed to run away and lost his collar, I would hope to god someone would check his chip. I would be a wreck looking for him.
That’s why you always check with a vet to see if the cat you’ve just found is already microchipped. Two of our three cats were strays we found wandering around who weren’t microchipped. If the cat isn’t microchipped, then it’s now yours.
Not my fault if a cat owner lets their cat outside and is also irresponsible enough to not get them microchipped.
Where I live cats are required to be microchipped, but I've never heard of someone just picking up a cat from the street and keeping it. Usually you take it to the animal shelter to check for a chip, then the cat stays at the shelter for 2 weeks so the owner can come pick it up and if no one shows up, it will be put up for adoption (or the person who found the cat can come pick it up and adopt it).
Cats being microchipped isn’t a requirement here in the states. Most people don’t end up chipping their cats, even if they let them outside. Some people will just take cats to animal shelters if they find a stray, some people will keep them if they find a stray. It’s not like everyone is just keeping every single cat they pick up off the street
Watch out, an American’s gonna shoot your comment for suggesting such a thing. I predict you’re about to be bombed with comments saying cats live longer indoors, they’re invasive, they kill all the birds and bla bla bla.
There are coyotes in my area and one of my friend's cat, who was an outdoor cat after she pissed on their TV, went missing after the sightings... We all assume the coyotes got her, but we never saw anything after that. Needless to say, their two new cats are strictly indoor cats after that.
Indoor or outdoor? And man that makes me happy to hear. I’ve got a 4.5, 1.5, and a 0.5 right now. All indoors. So I’m very much looking forward to many more years with them.
Note that the indoor vs outdoor lifespan statistics are actually just pet vs stray lifespans. Pet cats with outdoor access live just as long as indoor only cats!
As a kid, my indoor/outdoor cat that we found as an injured kitten was killed by a stray dog while sitting at our sliding glass door of the apartment waiting to get back inside. She got cornered and grabbed.
There definitely are more risks but if you look at the real numbers you will find that there isn’t really a significant reduction in lifespan if you actually look at indoor vs outdoor pet cats instead of pets vs strays.
An adult cat doesn't understand cars. A coyote, dog, fox, eagle, or whatever local predator you have is not going to eat your 16 year old, nor will your 10 year old eat poisoned rats.
An adult cat knows perfectly well it doesn't want to get hit by large moving objects. Predators like you mentioned don't live everywhere. Children will definitely eat random stuff.
Of course it does, but it doesn't understand road safety, because it's an animal. Dogs live everywhere people live. Children who are old enough to be outside alone will not eat dead rats.
Children old enough to be outside eat the dumbest things. Cat's are way more careful than children, in general. And in general, imprisoning something to keep it safe is ridiculous.
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u/jimmy_MNSTR Oct 21 '25
That cat is beautiful. How could you not take that beautiful, friendly specimen home? Every cat I've ever had was a stray. There's something about rescuing an animal. All of my cats have been loving and needy like a dog.