My beautiful cat, Tequila, was hit by a car on 11th September this year around 10:25 am. She died on the spot in the middle of the street. It still hurts so much every day to wait for her to come home again. I miss her every morning, because she doesn't wake me up. I miss her when I come home from work, because she is not waiting for me to be petted. And I miss her in the evening, when she should be cuddling on my lap while I'm reading on the couch. She was my jumping piece of luck, but on that faithful day she ran out of luck. I will hang this picture of her next to her favorite spot on the couch.
Rest in peace Tequila.
That's what happens when you let your cat roam free outside.
that's what happens when we as a society blithely accept that there are murder machines screaming through our environments.
a significant part of why i'm anti-car is because of how much of a threat they are to animals.
The problem isn't just with cars. Cats do unbelievable damage to ecosystems that didn't evolve alongside them. They've caused dozens of extinctions–over 60 species of small birds and mammals, extinct because of them. Not to mention disease and predation. Cats live longer and healthier lives inside.
So have humans but people don't brag about swerving to hit them.
Both things can be bad at the same time. For example, free roaming cats decimate bird/rodent populations
Cars are awful but there are other dangers to cats besides cars. There are dogs that frequently kill cats and other dangers like poisons. Cats are also responsible for several bird species going extinct. They should not be outside.
https://yoloaudubon.org/feral-cats-and-wild-birds/
"A recent study by the Smithsonian Institution and the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that domestic cats kill about 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion small mammals each year in the lower forty-eight states. This is far higher—and probably more accurate–than previous figures, and likely exceeds all other sources of human-related losses of these animals. That makes it a major bird conservation concern."
"Outdoor domestic cats are a recognized threat to global biodiversity. Cats have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild and continue to adversely impact a wide variety of other species, including those at risk of extinction, such as Piping Plover."
https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/
Lol way to make this somehow anti car. This place is fucking reddit.
it's almost like people specifically moved here from reddit, what a world huh?
and if that happens often enough to annoy you, maybe that should be a minor hint that it's a thing many people care about? but no, easier to dismiss it and not have to think.
Sounds good, chief.
Not the time, chief. Let's just appreciate what a beautiful little bean she was.
Because locking them up inside is so much better
Legitimately yes. Cats are not humans. If your cat has proper stimulation, they'll be perfectly happy inside for decades. There's a reason every single animal shelter in the USA has a clause in their adoption contract that requires you to keep the cat inside.
I've adopted her and her brother from a shelter, which insisted on letting them outside. Here in Germany a "Freigänger" (out-door) cat is considered a happier cat. Tequila herself was very happy and healthy outside for 2,5 years after living inside our flat for 4 years. Inside she was often scared and shy. Since she was allowed to go outside, she seemed a lot more confident and affectionate towards me. Too confident to savely cross the street to the neighbors garden. I knew the risk and I have to live with the consequences. Of course I'm not sure, that it was worth it, now. Sadly nothing will bring her back.
My biggest problem with letting cats outside is the damage they cause to ecosystems, and my understanding is that Europe doesn't have the same problems with outdoor cats that the other continents have. I'm sorry for your loss, and for her brother's loss.
my cat desires to be a Freigänger, but I have found him not less than 5 times with a dead bird, and one time he brought a dead bird inside and threw it about. Also he gets fleas. He is a dickhead, and not allowed outside.
it is better. if they go outside, they get fleas, kill birds, come home injured in bizarre ways, and get into fights with various animals they sometimes lose. RIP Tigger, who died of mysterious wounds in the garage when I was a kid, and Oliver, who straight up vanished shortly after.
You can take cats for walks just like you can a dog.
Idk maybe some cats. My cats would completely lose it if they were tied to a leech
Less car traffic typically.