Need another reason to keep your cat in the house?

How about a cruel human?  Dumping and trapping it in a trash can? 
Click here for the story.

Time to take the cat for a walk!

Interesting developments from Barre, Vermont: This town is the next in a small but important list of towns implementing cat leash laws.

And of course, the uneducated cat owners are mad about it. I mean really, isn't it time for all of them to just shut up and accept the facts?

Proof that indoor cats pose no threat to birds (Funny!)

...though it's a pet peeve of mine (sorry, bad pun) when people say "sea gull".
There is no such animal...

From the annals of "Hell if I know"

I'm not even sure what to make of this. A website that lists all the great reasons your cat SHOULD be an outdoor cat, but that also lists all the dangers your cat will face while outside?
Ummmm, pardon my French, but

WTF?

There's so much wrong (and only a few things right) with the website, I can only sit here and say, "Hand, meet forehead."
Click here.

One person's heartbreak

This story is just one of most likely thousands of similar stories that could be told about outdoor cats.
It doesn't matter what kind of "situation" your cat has at home. They need you to be a smart and caring pet owner and they need to stay inside. Always.

It's unfortunate for the cats that sometimes their owners think they have valid reasons to let the cat roam "free".

It's even more unfortunate when owners make no sense at all and their reasons are illusions they made for themselves.

A letter I am seriously considering putting into distribution in our neighborhood

Dear Neighbor,

This is an open letter to everyone in the neighborhood. Specifically, cat owners.
If you don't own a cat, you are free to recycle this.
And if you have kids who are selling chocolate for fund raising, please send them our way.

Cat Owners:
If you own an indoor cat, then bless you.

If you let your cat roam freely outside, please consider this not a warning, but a declaration.
When you own a pet, there comes a set of responsibilities.
This includes feeding it, loving it, giving it veterinary care and keeping it out of danger. You are promising to keep this animal happy and healthy.
IF YOU LET YOUR CAT ROAM FREE, you are blatantly ignoring your DUTY as a pet owner.
Cats are non-native, predatory animals who kill our native wildlife such as birds, mice, lizards, amphibians, etc. Studies have shown that bird populations and diversity drop dramatically in areas where cats are allowed to roam free. And it's not THEIR FAULT.

If you are about to start explaining to me that "cats are just acting on their instincts", or "My cat won't stay indoors!" or "My cat is happy when he's outside!", please think on this:

Imagine your cat. Better yet, go find your cat and look into his or her eyes.
Now, imagine your cat, just having been hit by a car. Your cat is laying in a ditch, maybe already dead.
Or maybe the blow wasn't quite enough to kill him. Your cat is mangled and in excruciating pain, dragging himself into the weeds. Your cat will spend the next few hours, or maybe a day or two, either bleeding to death or slowly succumbing to starvation, because he is paralyzed and can't get back to the house. Your cat has died a horrible death.

Or maybe a stray dog has gotten hold of your cat. The dog is savagely shaking the life out of your cat. Your cat has died a horrible death.

Or maybe your cat has been caught by a great horned owl, or red-tailed hawk. He has been lifted off the ground and taken to a tree where he is being squeezed by hundreds of pounds of pressure so that he will stop struggling so the bird can eat him. Your cat has died a horrible death.

Or maybe your cat has been captured by sick teenagers who set him on fire. Just for fun.
He is left to lay wherever they throw him. Your cat has died a horrible death.

Sick to your stomach yet? You should be.
Ready to wipe these scenarios from your mind? There is one, and only one thing you need to do.

KEEP YOUR CAT IN YOUR HOUSE.
That's it.

And here comes the declaration:
If I find your cat roaming the neighborhood, I will be taking him off the streets to our local shelter where he will have the safety you neglected to provide.
If you didn't have him micro-chipped, then you will probably never see him again.
I will be giving him the chance you never did. Because I care more about him than you do.

If you want to come down and yell at me, feel free.
I'm the Freak Down the Street with all the birds in her yard, and her cats in the HOUSE.

A healthy dose of reality

Think your cat is happy running free outside?