Should Cats Be Allowed Outside?
I had always been a staunch supporter of keeping cats indoors only, until I became a goat and chicken farmer. Once we got goats and chickens — and, therefore, a goat barn and chicken coop — I realized the value of outdoor cats for mouse control.
The neighborhood snakes tried, bless their cold little hearts. We had lots of snakes then, drawn by the plentiful food source. I once walked into the chicken coop and interrupted a snake eating a mouse — the mouse was hanging out of his mouth. I backed out slowly. “Sorry, Mr. Snakey. You’re a good boy. You just keep doing what you’re doing.”
But the snakes couldn’t keep up. Snakes don’t kill for the fun of it; they kill when they’re hungry. I needed cats. So when a friend found a litter of kittens, I said I’d take them all.
There were five of them. I gave one to a friend because she looked just like my friend’s old kitty. The other four were given monster names because they were the meanest kittens I’d ever met — all teeth and claws. We had Zombie 1 and Zombie 2 (who were identical, so really, who knew which was 1 and which was 2?), Dracula, and Banshee.
Within a year, Dracula and Banshee were gone. Banshee disappeared and Drac got hit by a car. I knew when I got outdoor kitties that their life expectancies were short, but it was still very, very sad. Outdoor kitties typically only live 2 to 5 years. Drac and Banshee didn’t even live that long.
By the time the Zombies were grown, I could tell them apart. One was more affectionate than the other (Sweet Zombie) and the other was fat (Fat Zombie). After Sweet Zombie had a couple of seizures, I decided to keep him inside. I didn’t want him to have a seizure far from home.
That left Fat Zombie as an outdoor cat. Actually, an indoor-outdoor cat. I had started feeding them inside when they were really little — otherwise, the chickens would steal their food. And then I started letting them come in for naps or cuddles. Basically, they could come inside whenever they wanted to.
But Fat Zombie really likes being outside, and he can control the rodent population all by himself. He doesn’t typically wander too far away, although there have been times where he was nowhere around, having wandered farther than usual.
I was fully prepared to keep Fat Zombie as an indoor-outdoor cat. For the first time in my life, I could make a case that being outdoors on a part-time basis may be beneficial to a cat — he enjoys playing in the snow, hunting, sunning on my deck, following me as I do farm chores.
Unfortunately, we have had a change of plans because my neighborhood is full of inconsiderate people who let their dogs roam. They roam in packs, hunting — big dogs. I won’t risk having Fat Zombie torn apart by a pack of neighborhood dogs. Currently, there’s a dead possum in the woods — it’s been torn open. I don’t want that to be Fat Zombie’s fate. I live outside city limits — there’s no one to complain to about the dogs. The best I can do is yell at them to “Get off my lawn!”
Fat Zombie is not enjoying his life right now. He wants so badly to go outside. At first, I tried just limiting his time to a couple of hours in the morning, but he took off and didn’t come when I called him, so I nixed that idea.
In general, I still believe that keeping cats indoors is better, but I can now see an argument for letting them go outside occasionally. This spring, I may try to let Fat Zombie have some supervised time outside. I may even try to take him on walks. But he doesn’t get to wander the neighborhood without me any more.
