My family always had cats growing up. They were not strictly indoor cats and were given the option to roam the neighbourhood. I never questioned this, even after my cat, Bailey, died after being hit by a car. As sad as I was, I thought this was just bad luck. I didn’t realize at the time, that cats left outside tend to have much shorter and often more stressful lives.
When we leave our cats outside unsupervised, they may be exposed to many threats and dangers that we are unaware of. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association discourages domestic cats from being left unsupervised outdoors due to the risks to their health and welfare. These threats include passing cars, predation by wildlife or attacks by dogs or other cats. As pet owners and animal lovers, we also need to consider the threat our pets pose to wildlife, and unfortunately cats are a major threat.
The house cat belongs to the family Felidae, which includes all other cats, such as lions and cheetahs. Cats are an amazing group of animals and have incredible adaptions to be proficient hunting machines. They have flexible bodies with powerful limbs. Their eyes are forward facing and adapted to hunting in low light conditions. Specialized muscles on their toes allow them to actively protract their nails from cutaneous sheaths, like small daggers (cheetahs are an exception here). Cats evolved over millions of years to pursue and take down prey and domesticated cats are no exception. They are obligate hunters, which means that even when their dietary needs are met, they still have a strong drive to hunt and kill.
Some may suggest that house cats hunting small animals is just a part of nature. House cats are domesticated animals that don’t fit within an ecosystem, as are dogs or chickens. When house cats are introduced into an environment where they do not belong, they can have devastating effects, so by definition, this makes them an invasive species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has deemed cats to be one of the world’s worst invasive species. They have been linked to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals and reptiles.
Since 1970, bird populations in North America have declined by 70 per cent. Threats include habitat loss, climate change, building/window collisions and predation by domestic cats. Building collisions are the second leading cause of human-based bird mortality in Canada with an estimated 25 million bird deaths a year. The leading cause, by far, is roaming domestic cats, which account for an estimated 204 million bird deaths in Canada alone.
Although these numbers are upsetting, there is a way for us to protect our urban wildlife and keep our beloved pets safe. If you want your cat to get some outdoor time, you can purchase or build a catio (yes, it’s a thing) or train your cat to walk on a leash. Doing right by our pets and our wildlife is one and the same.
