Readers debate on indoor or outdoor
Recently I published a letter from Megan, a Walnut Creek woman worried about an orange tabby that is seen wandering around day and night, and in all sorts of weather, along with your suggestions on what she should do.
Today I’m running letters that debate whether cats should live their lives outdoors.
DEAR JOAN: No domestic animals should be allowed to roam freely. It is not tolerated for dogs; it should also not be tolerated for cats.
Free roaming cats have a huge and negative effect on wildlife, not just by killing birds and other small prey, but also competing with native wild predators for food and habitat. Also, toxoplasmosis spread by free roaming cats not only kills wildlife, but is very dangerous to many humans.
Owners of free roaming pets should be held accountable, including supporters of feral cat colonies.
Laura Comstock
Hayward
DEAR JOAN: To think that you, a person who has been given a very large voice, are advocating kidnapping a person’s companion, and to think that you feel like no cats should be allowed to live mentally healthy lives as they were meant to for thousands of years, is beyond frustrating.
Do you realize that the United States is probably the only country in the world where there are people like you who think cats should only be locked up? Please think about that for a while. Do you really think that the psychological needs of cats is different here?
Please, I beg you not to advocate stealing people’s beloved pets away from them. While I certainly do question the wisdom of letting a cat outside who has spent its earlier life indoors, it is not justifiable to claim that all outdoor cats are unsafe or neglected in any way.
Certainly outdoor cats can get scratches and infections, but the trade-off is that the cat is mentally healthy. Locking up a cat inside for many hours with no one home is what is abusive.
Tommy Travers
Bay Area
DEAR JOAN: Megan should let the cat and owner be. I doubt that the cat is neglected and she has every right to wander.
I prefer to corral my cats in at night (the coyotes are close by), but sometimes they just will not have it. They know they can come in at any time, but sometimes they prefer to sit 20 feet from my front door and enjoy the night sky.
My preference for an indoor-outdoor existence is not scientific, just practical: Cats have claws and they love to climb. They are animals and are born to belong outdoors. Cat obesity is a man-made disease that is helped with indoor only existence. Cats have a mind of their own, and we should respect what they want to do within reason and practicality.
Therefore, I am not going to jail them indoors. I am well aware of the risk that they might get hit by a car or the slight possibility of being mauled by another animal. We are lucky to have mostly mild weather, and my cats are very well fed and have all of their vaccinations.
Marilyn Reiss San Jose
DEAR JOAN: How sad that this poor cat that was probably loved at one time is now tossed outside. Really? The person thinks she is doing it a favor? There is nothing good outside for a cat. Nothing. Believe that.
Ruby Waderich Vallejo