Is it cruel to keep cats?

LeMson said:
We have a cat, it's fed 3-4 times a day (plus Dreamies), though doesn't eat it all, nice places to sleep all over the house, can go in and out when she likes, though she doesn't enjoy the cold, wind and hates the rain. She get's a handful of birds each summer, 4 this year. Access to vets and is insured on petplan. She is asleep in the other room now, has been since 10:30am, spent the early morning looking out the window's downstairs and upstairs. I'd swap for that existence tbh :D
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Sounds like our cat.

I'm currently standing as I type this. She's been asleep in "my" chair in my office for the last 2 hours and refuses to move.
 
Nooo. Our 3 legged ginger beast would have been dead a decade ago if she was left in the wild. She lives in comfort, sleeps and eats all she needs. Not at all cruel
 
Its like any domesticated animal really, just en-masse cat domestication happened much later than dogs (as a working cat is basically just a feral car thats tolerated as opposed to needing trained)

Remember if a cat doesnt like the way you treat it it'll bugger off and go somewhere else (unless your imprisoning it, which is cruel), when you let your cat out it comes back because it wants to.
 
In Japan, there is now the phenomenon known as the "humanification" of cats. Basically, as people get older (Japan has an aging population problem) they prefer cats over dogs because cats don't need to be walked etc. Because people in Japan don't have kids, over time they start to treat their cat as their child, buying them clothes, dressing them up in Hallowe'en costumes etc.
 
Even if you released your domestic cats into the wild it would only be a matter of time before Robin Seplut would get round to looking after them for you.
 
my gran had a whole host of farm cats..they would breed and nest in one of the haystacks in the yard...they would let you pet them if they wanted to..but they were essentially feral and there were plenty of rodents..we learned to approach with caution! the kittens were always happy to play though

they were fed but not individually so they must have arrived at some sort of pecking order

but they were originally domestic cats that just didnt interact much with people and presumably natural selection took over as they lived a semi wild life
 
I see that when a cat scratches or licks itself it's generally trying to get rid of the scent on it(so I read). Stroke it then 30 secs later itself trying to lick the scent off(good to have no smell for hunting so it seems). So should you even stroke them. Technically we should wear gloves of some sort. I'm onto the speech bubbles over it's head now. The main one is, 'Gawd, what racket is that idiot listening to now, keep it down!'.
 
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Well my stupid cat has hurt himself again. Came in from work and he's shuffling about the house and looks like his done his back leg.

Can't get near him as he just goes mad. Gonna let him sleep it off and try and get him in the vets.

Either that or fill a bag with rocks and take him to the lake.
 
The difference between Cats and Dogs.

If you drop dead in your home and nobody finds you...

Your Dog will stand guard over your lifeless body.

Your Cat will simply regard you as its next meal.

(I am being quite serious here...!)
 
Orionaut said:
The difference between Cats and Dogs.

If you drop dead in your home and nobody finds you...

Your Dog will stand guard over your lifeless body.

Your Cat will simply regard you as its next meal.

(I am being quite serious here...!)
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There’s been numerous instances of dogs eating dead owners to survive. Cats could hardly eat much off you and tbh, I couldn’t give a rats ass as i’m dead. If they need to eat me to stay alive, chomp away dear friend.
 
Orionaut said:
The difference between Cats and Dogs.

If you drop dead in your home and nobody finds you...

Your Dog will stand guard over your lifeless body.

Your Cat will simply regard you as its next meal.

(I am being quite serious here...!)
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You're being quite incorrect if serious. Both will eat you.
 
Nothing wrong with having indoor cats, if it's all they've known and they have enough space and stimulation.

dowie said:
I don't think it is cruel on the cats themselves, they're usually pretty happy to be kept by humans. On the other hand if they're not house cats then they will have a tendency to decimate the local wildlife, the keeping of cats in general isn't so good for the UK's bird population etc.. if you're going to chose only one or the other then a dog is a much better option in that respect.
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Rspb disagrees with you

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-w...-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/
 
I used to think it was cruel to keep cats cooped up in doors. Then mine got run over sometime in Spring this year and was wrecked. Vet was somewhat confident he could save her but not sure how many legs she'd have. 2 hip operations, a leg operation, a toe removed, several skin grafts and months of incredibly painful bandage changes (she had no skin at all on 2 of her legs, it was horrible) and she's now a house cat, mostly. She's known as the 'miracle cat' in the vets now and has all her legs, though one back leg can't bend as it's fused straight. We let her out into the back garden and keep an eye on her so she doesn't escape (though has a few times). She cost a clean fortune so we don't want it happening again! She sleeps on my chest every night as soon as I get into bed, worth every penny in my book :)

Long story short get pet insurance or be heartless if something bad happens.
 
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