Today's cat owners face an important decision: Should I keep my cat indoors? For your cat's sake and that of the birds and wildlife, the answer to that question must be Yes!

Hundreds of millions of birds and small animals are killed annually by free-roaming cats. Each year, millions of cats are run over by cars, mauled by dogs, poisoned and lost. This suffering is all the more tragic because it is unnecessary and entirely preventable.

Keeping Cats Indoors is For the Cats.....

The average life expectancy of an outdoor cat is two to five years, while an indoor cat may survive for seventeen or more years. Cats who roam outside are constantly in danger.

Abusive Humans. Unsupervised cats are easy prey for human predators. Millions of cats are treated annually for gunshot and/or stab wounds. Others are tortured by being set on fire, maimed, caught in traps, or sexually assaulted. They may also be captured and sold to research laboratories or used as bait to train fighting dogs.

Disease. Cats allowed outdoors also risk exposure to fatal diseases, such as rabies, feline leukemia, distemper, and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and potentially fatal diseases such as corona virus and upper respiratory infections. They are also more likely to contract debilitating parasites such as worms, ticks, mites and fleas. Parasites that the cat brings home thereby infecting the owner's environment, as well. While vaccines are effective at preventing some of these diseases, there is no vaccine for FIV and the treatment for parasite infections can be costly, especially if the entire home and surrounding areas must also be treated.

Toxic Environment. Cats permitted outdoors are frequently exposed to fatal pesticides, rodenticides, and/or antifreeze poisons.

Other Animals. Outdoor cats are at constant risk of injury from encounters with dogs, other cats, and wild animals like hawks, owls, scorpions, rattle snakes, and coyotes.

And For the Birds.....

Today, birds and other wildlife face more obstacles to their survival than ever before. Wildlife habitats are destroyed and degraded every day and many species are declining in numbers as a result. Even the impacts of natural predators on their prey is changing based on how humans are altering natural environments. The addition of an unnatural predator - the domestic cat - is having a negative impact as well.

Cats Are Not Natural Predators. The domestic cat, which instinctively hunts and captures prey, is a decedent of the wild cats of Africa and southwestern Asia. European immigrants introduced cats to North America only a few hundred years ago. As such, the evolution of wildlife in the Western Hemisphere did not incorporate the presence of a small, abundant predators, like the domestic cat, and did not develop defenses against them. Accordingly, the progress and evolution of wildlife in North America cannot retain its "balance" in the presence of this unnatural predator.

Cats Alter the Balance of Nature. Scientists estimate that cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year and three times as many small mammals. While most birds killed by cats are members of relatively common species, like the Northern Cardinal and Song Sparrow, others are rare and endangered.

Regardless of the status of the species, each wild animal suffers when captured by a cat because death is frequently painful and drawn out. By letting your cat outside, you are placing a higher value on the freedom of your pet than on the life of the cardinals, lizards, or squirrels that the cat kills.

The Truth About Cats

We all know that cats don't have nine lives, but there are other myths about cat predation we'd like to dispel.

1. Belled cats do kill wildlife. Cats with bells on their collars can learn to stalk their prey silently. Even if they don't, wild animals do not necessarily associate the ringing of a bell with danger.
2. Even well-fed cats kill wildlife. The urge to hunt and the urge to eat are controlled by different parts of the cat's brain.
3. Once caught by a cat, few mammals and reptiles survive even if they escape. Infection from the cat's teeth or claws or the stress of capture usually results in death.

Kittens who are kept indoors usually show no desire to venture outside as adults. With knowledge, patience and time, most cats who roamed outside will adjust to happy indoor pets. These tips will help:

• Provide access to a safe, outside enclosure, such as a screened porch.
• Provide window shelves to permit cats to monitor the outdoors from the safety of indoors.
• Play with your cat each day. Paper bags and cardboard boxes are sources of unending delight while you are away.
• Plant kitty grass in indoor pots so your cat can graze.
• Clean litter boxes frequently.
• Because indoor cats may slip out an open door, it's important to keep in mind the other essentials of responsible pet ownership:
• Spay or neuter your cat.
• Provide routine veterinary care, including annual check-ups and vaccinations.
• Be sure your indoor cat wears a collar with an identification tag.
• Microchip your cat.