As the weather turns warmer, the desire to let cats outside—and the desire cats have to go outside—increases.
Cats roaming through the neighborhood are common enough. However, letting a cat go outside comes with a number of unique problems. There are severe risks to the cats themselves as well as the potential for serious environmental impact of letting cats go outside.
One of the biggest threats to cats that go outside is attacks from other animals. Cats, because of their size, can be vulnerable to attacks from raccoons and foxes. Coyotes are also a potential problem, especially since they have been spotted multiple times in the DeKalb area in the last several months. Even if your cat should survive being attacked by another animal, bites and scratches can quickly become infected. Encounters with other cats are likely as well, which could mean unwanted litters of kittens soon afterward.
Another significant potential issue is disease. Less friendly encounters with other cats can spread illnesses like Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and Feline Leukemia Virus. Pests and parasites can also be a problem. Fleas and ticks are just two of the minor difficulties adventurous cats can encounter out in the wild. Rabies from racoons and other wildlife is a constant issue for outdoor cats; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are roughly 300 cases of human contact with rabies-infected cats each year. Cats left outdoors can also encounter communicable diseases like typhus.
Accidents are a constant threat to outdoor cats. We tend to be under the impression that a cat put outside will stay close to home, but a study in the journal Ecography estimates that a housecat placed outside will have a territory that averages 20 acres of land. In that much area, there are substantial dangers outside of other wildlife. Because they can range over such a large territory, cats can become lost and struggle to find their way home. Naturally, cars are a frequent problem as well. Although as many as 75% of lost cats eventually find their way home, many do not.
While there is a great deal of potential danger for the cats, there are further problems caused by letting cats out. The first of these is similar to those dangers listed above. Cats who roam often will use children’s sandboxes, stream banks, gardens, and parks as litterboxes. This can cause the spread of illnesses as well as many parasites including hookworm, roundworm, toxoplasmosis and giardia.
Cats also are notorious for killing wildlife. Cats are natural predators, and being domesticated has not curbed those instincts. Housecats have contributed to the extinction of more than 60 breeds of birds, mammals, and reptiles and are considered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as one of the most significant non-native invasive species in the world. Outdoor cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds a year, a staggering number but one made possible by the tens of millions of cats that are placed outdoors.
Letting your cat go outside is a personal decision, of course, but cats are safer and live healthier lives when kept inside. With care and effort, you can provide a safe, healthy, happy and stimulating environment for your cats without the risks and problems entailed with letting them roam.