this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2025
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Can places still keep them for pest control? What's wrong with an outdoor cat?
EDIT: It's so weird getting downvoted for a genuine question. See y'all in the next thread about why isn't Lemmy more popular.
Your question suffered in part because another person was in the comments arguing that cats aren't a problem. Sometimes, someone who is just asking questions appears alongside someone who is "Just Asking Questions" and being a total asshole about it.
100%, this would have happened on Reddit, too.
They kill a lot of wildlife, which in many settings is not desirable.
Here's the often cited study from 2013 that estimates outdoor cats kill billions of birds and mammals annually in the US alone:
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380
Even if they don't kill, say, a bird, a cat's mouth and teeth are loaded with bacteria. It generally doesn't harm humans that much, but birds and small mammals stand a good chance of dying from infection if they're bitten or scratched up by a cat.
A cat's bite can absolutely hurt humans. That bacteria can be lethal.
If there’s a setting where cats can survive and kill “wildlife”, I would push back against the use of the term “wildlife”, because in order for this to be true humans have eliminated most predator species in the “biome”. All I hear when people in a city say they don’t want feral cats is they want cute birds at their feeders.
In an area rural enough to have coyotes…feral cats can be a positive addition to the biome so you don’t get overrun by rodents. Birds don’t have to worry because the cats need to stay close to cover due to various predators.
You clearly have done zero research on the topic and are simply telling us what you would like to be true. "Common sense" is what you use when you don't know better. But in this case, data exists, and you don't need to be speculating about things you don't know about.
You didn’t say anything.
Feel free to engage with my reply.
I can translate for you!
translation: shut up
Someone pointing out logical fallacies is most definitely them saying something.
Unfortunately, often the willfully ignorant and those who live lifes free of logic cannot understand these words and decide they are meaningless.
They also tend to think people smart than them are dumber than them, but that's often a defense mechanism over a paper thin ego.
Man, mind like an ocean indeed... Mostly empty, with a few bits of bacteria and just enough sentient meat to function.
Cats have no natural predators most likely wherever you are, so no. If you live in Turkey, or around there, fine. That's where they (rather, their ancestors) are native. They do have natural predators. If you live anywhere else then this excuse is bullshit just to make yourself feel better for being a shitty pet owner. It's bad for their health and for the environment. You aren't doing them or anything else any favors by not doing your job as a caretaker.
large owls will happily predate on cats. They're like flying cats that are even more Murder Hobo-ish.
I said natural predators. Sure, there are still things that will eat them, but nothing evolved to hunt them.
Owls are badass.
That’s something these anti cat people can’t reconcile…they live in a city that’s become a pretty finch paradise because they drove all the owls out when they paved their nests. Owls would have a smorgasbord…kill far more pretty birds than cats…if they could nest in parks.
I’m not really pro cat…I’m actually anti people. I just think it’s dumb for people to think cats are a serious problem because they watched some doc sponsored by a bird watchers society.
You know cats are here because of people, right? They, along with our cities, are issues we crested.
I'm not anti-cat. I'm anti-destruction-of-the-environment. Cats are our responsibility, and fault, as much as the destruction our cities and roads are.
If you feel that way then maybe you’ll understand that cats are really low on the list of how we’re being harmful. Top of the list is stop being a materialist. Solve that problem, and the 1000th problem on the list, cats, will solve itself.
The message a lot of the anti-cat people propagate is: have indoor cats. Terrible idea. All the nonsense you buy for your indoor cats is also going to destroy the environment…but it won’t be some cute bird at the feeder so you don’t care. The literary “you”.
God, what a shitty opinion. You people always go with the "what about" argument to justify shitty behavior. "Littering isn't bad because burning coal for electricity is worse!" Such a lazy and bullshit argument. Something else bad happening does not justify other bad actions. This is shit you're supposed to be taught as a child, but I guess some of you never learned that lesson.
Spare me.
You don’t seem interested in the conversation…just anger.
You’re projecting.
I live in a rural area where there are no outdoor cats or dogs because they’re instantly killed by predators.
I don’t live in a city that has an artificial environment with no predators created by the presence of humans. People who live in cities who are opposed to outdoor cats just can’t stomach having predators in their midst, to put it bluntly. A good chunk of the birds and rodents they kill are also imported species. Comparing any of these interactions to something happens in the wild is naive.
Where the hell do you live that dogs are getting killed by predators instantly? Do you mean like small dogs? I could see that.
The biggest predator of them all: automobiles
Drunk neighbors if I had to base it on my experiences living in the country…
Canada.
Sigh I suppose I should have said most dogs…not dogs bred to kill wolves and fight bears, for example.
Oh, so you weren't asking a question, you wanted a prompt to argue. Got it.
Seriously. People are claiming to be worried about biomes in the middle of a city where the only lawns allowed are grass and pavement and the town is bombed with bug killers every year and mice are dealt with by having them killed indiscriminately by pest control. It’s actually illegal in my city to plant edible plants on our forested parts because of some bullshit about drawing homeless populations.
But yeah the outdoor cats are the issue. That shit ain’t even close to the top on my triage.
The issue is people thinking there is just an issue. When will you children learn that one bad thing does not justify another? All that you said is an issue, yes. I can also point out much worse issues, so we shouldn't worry about those, right? Of course that isn't correct! More than one thing can be bad at the same time, and we can also work on more than one thing at a time. Work on bringing back native plants and animals to suburbia and reduce how many evasive species we release into the environment. This isn't an exclusive or situation. We can work on all of it.
When we start actually giving a shit about the local biome then I’ll consider giving my cat the shittiest life possible. Until then? Y’all can go fuck yourselves.
Indoor cats live longer healthier lives on average.
Anyway, you're a shitty person. No one would ever improve anything if everything else had to be fixed first. You can always come up with some excuse for something else that needs to be improved before you hold yourself accountable for your own actions. No, this is all a lame bullshit excuse because you don't want to do the right thing. It isn't about other people. It's about you being a lazy selfish asshole.
Nah, I do lots of local activism for the environment and the community. Going around and telling everyone in my neighbourhood to keep their cats inside doesnt feel helpful.
I'm talking about you keeping your cat inside, not going to neighbors and telling them to.
Also “you’re a shitty person because you’re okay with cats being allowed outdoors” is an insane take.
No more than "you’re a shitty person because you’re okay with throwing trash on the ground outdoors." Actually, it's worse than that be cause it's also bad for the health of the cat and the environment.
See I would argue that it’s cruel to keep an animal that wants to be outside trapped in a house for the entirety of their lives.
I guess you also think it's cruel to not let children run in the road when they want to, right?
If you're not providing the right stimulation for your pet, in a safe and healthy environment where they don't cause issues for others, then that's on you as a pet owner. Either don't keep a pet or do your fucking job. They don't get to make the decisions. You do.
lol this is such a moronic example of false equivalency that I don’t even know what to say to you.
It's not a false equivalence. It's hyperbole. It's meant to give an extreme example that you wouldn't agree with, which follows the same logic, to disprove your logic.
Using hyperbole to compare something in an argument is false equivalency Einstein.
I think I've read that they can really hurt the local wildlife as they're excellent hunters. Also they poop in sandboxes and you can get really sick from it.
And cats hunt for fun, not just food.
Hunt for practice.
On a farm you pretty much need a cat or you'll be overrun by mice.
What you call a pest, the ecosystem calls native wildlife. The "pest control" is what's wrong.
Alrighty then!
Offer yourself to the rats!
It's cruel to the cat. There is no shortage of outdoor hazards that can injure them or make them sick. It's also very bad for biodiversity. Domestic cats alone are responsible for the endangerment and extinction of hundreds of species. There are other, better, more targeted ways to deal with pests. Do not keep your pets outside.