Animal Cruelty???

Question

*Keep in mind, i'm not judging anyone. This is just a question.*
~Scenario~
Allowing your animal (more specifically a cat) to roam free outside without a leash/harness, (to keep it within the yard). Should this be considered a form of animal cruelty/endangerment???

Keeping in mind the risks of being hit by a car, being hurt/killed by another animal, pesticides/chemicals on lawns, driveways & in pools/ponds etc, possibly picking up a disease (which could result in huge vet bills or euthanasia) Or simply getting lost and never returning home (it does happen).

Should this be considered animal cruelty???
Please give your answer as detailed as possible.......I know where i stand on this subject, I just want to see if others feel the same as I do!!!

****Again, please keep in mind that i am in no way judging anyone.....this is just a question****

Answer 1

i wouldn't say cruelty unless the cat in question is declawed. then that is just ridiculous. i think of it more as ignorance and lack of responsibility, and stupidity. Unfortunately, these alone do not warrant a punishable crime (sadly).

Answer 2

No. If you live in an area where there are lots of people, it is annoying to others. Cars are a bigger problem also. But there are cats that will not stay inside.
I work at a cat shelter. I took home a cat 2 months ago that needed medical care and when he was better, I adopted him. He was great. We keep our other cats inside and he was too. Well as soon as the nice weather hit, he was trying to get out all the time. We didn't let him.
We came home from the store one afternoon, and he had CHEWED through the screen in one of the windows. He was out. We then had a cat door installed with the magnetic collar so only he can activate the door. He is out right now roaming free. He may get hit by a car tomorrow. I think his life is better (ours too) if he has outside access. If he does get hit tomorrow, I will know he had a good life for as long as we had him. Sometimes we do what we can.
It is different if you put your cat out that has been inside for years just because you don't want to clean the litter anymore.

Cats are predators and they want to hunt. Some are just not happy inside playing with those fake fur mice!!!!!!!!!

I also agree with one of the earlier posters, it is cruel to keep a dog crated 8 hours a day while you are at work. Even to just keep the dog in the house for 8 hours with nothing to do. And there are people that leave the cats for 15 hours a day and then are always out on weekends. Why have a pet at all???

Answer 3

No, I don't see it as animal cruelty. I let my cats roam free outside. They tend to stay within our yard or our neighbors yard (they have a huge bush that all the neighbor cats go under when it is hot out so they can cool off). Our cats come in every night and sometimes during the day, especially the pregnant one as she needs to eat more. When she is really close to her due date (between the 20th and 30th of this month), we will keep her inside. Plus, cats being outside to roam free are able to release stress by running, they get to sharpen their claws on trees and other things which keeps their nails short so you don't usually have to trim them, and cats HATE leashes and harnesses. They are very independent creatures and can't stand to be confined.

There are always risks with animals being outside, even if they are on leashes/harnesses. Other animals can still attack them; they can eat something when you aren't looking; etc. Cats tend to stay away from ponds and pools since they don't usually like water. Cats can still pick up diseases if they are on leashes. That's why we make sure they are vaccinated. Plus, cats have a way of knowing where home is no matter how far away it is. It just depends if someone catches them or not. If so, and you have them microchipped, then that person can take them somewhere to find out who the cat belongs to.

Animal cruelty to me is not feeding your animalsk, beating them up, ignoring them, having them live in filthy conditions, etc. Have you ever watched the shows on Animal Planet, I think it's Animal Cops or something like that? The cases they deal with are usually animal cruelty. Letting your cats roam free outside is NOT considered animal cruelty by any means.

Answer 4

That depends on a a few things.

A big one is where you live. Some places are reasonably cat-safe and others are not. If you lived in a place where letting a cat go out amounted to putting it in immediate danger, then letting it out would constitute cruelty.

Where I live, it's pretty safe for cats by day, but at night there is a danger from nocturnal wildlife, so I would never let a cat out at night around here.

There's also a big difference in the level of danger between letting a cat out to roam freely and letting it out under supervision.

If safety is the only factor you consider, then keeping a cat indoors all the time is an easy choice. But if you consider that there's more to life than safety, then it's more complicated.

We'd all be safer if we never left the house, but most of us wouldn't want to live like that and neither do many cats. Some cats are very happy with the indoor lifestyle and if I had a cat like that I wouldn't try to change its mind. But other cats are miserable being kept inside all the time, and I think that sacrificing their happiness in exchange for their safety would be cruel.

Keeping a cat in all the time that really wants to go out poses a danger of its own, because the cat will keep trying to sneak out and eventually it will succeed. I've heard too many sad stories of indoor cats who slipped out once and were never seen again. If a cat's deetermined to go out, I think it's better to accommodate it desires, preferably within reasonable limits and under supervision. Then if it slips out it will be familiar with the immediate neighborhood and won't panic or get lost.

There's no one-size-fits-all answer to your question. Anyone who thinks there is just hasn't thought it through very thoroughly. My thought is that when it comes to cats going outside, as a general rule, less is better and never is better still, but like all general rules, this one doesn't work in all cases.

Answer 5

Yes I think that letting you pet roam around outside without any supervision should be considered as Animal Cruelty and reckless action. The reasons you listed above are very much valid. If I wanted to take my cat out side I would put it on a leash.

Answer 6

Do believe you have a good point . that incidentally I do not agree with.
You left out one important point, Do you believe that a house cat cannot be abused by it's owner.
detergents and chemicals stored under the sink that a cat can get into
Medications left on the dresser or bathroom sink.
Feeding your cat meow mix instead of hills science diet
Leaving Kittie for the weekend with food and water while off with friends.
children and adults tormenting house cat for kicks.
Squirting it with a water bottle when Kittie had an accident on the carpet.
Not taking your cat to the vets when it is sick.
Feeding your cat kitchen scraps, now has diarrhea
Not treating your house cat when it's loaded with fleas.

Cruelty comes in many forms not only for the outdoor cat but the indoor cat as well.

Answer 7

Yes, I do consider it a form of cruelty. The cat can also be captured by animal control, who will then put it to sleep if they cannot find the owner and nobody else takes it. Also, they can be picked up by sickos that will want to harm the animal, or kill them for some weird ritual.

Sometimes when I see my cat gazing outside, I wonder if I am being mean keeping him inside. I wonder if he feels sadness not being able to explore, which I know is their nature, but I know that it is what is best and safest for him.

Answer 8

I dont think it should be. I live in an rural area, and we've had over 15 cats at one point.. We couldnt obviously have had all those cats in the house at once.. Most of them died due to old age.. Some of them sickness, and some of them DID get hit by cars... But that's life, and most of the animals learn where they are and arent supposed to go. I dont believe we should go around protecting animals, when thats just the natural way of life. Sure, we shouldnt purposely kill them unless they'be over-populating... But.. If we kept all of our cats inside, the litterbox would have to be changed constantly! ^^; I think just keep an eye on them, give them their shots, and everything should work out fine.. There are wild animals too, and cats were just as much wild as any of the other ones.

Answer 9

Alot of people consider it cruelty to lock a cat or dog in a house all day while at work. I have known people who get rid of animals because they do not have enough time to give to one. Just remember they were bread to be out in the world. They are resistant to disease and if they get run over it is luck of the draw. Remember people get run over all of the time. We have cars and it happens. Just be glad you are a human being and not a cat.

Answer 10

The least u could of done was be funny but since ur not I suppose i could answer the question. My answer is no, it's not it's giving the ability to let ur animal know that he/she is free to come and go when ever he/she pleases. I think it's wrong to use a leash/harness, in most cases animals want to run around and play but it's hard to when ur chained up. Therefor do you think it's cruel that ur mother doesn't chain u up.

Answer 11

well AUTUMN , as a cat lover , you are so right . any pet if wanted , and do not want for it to get run over or catch bunch of fleas from the yard or other yards , or drink transmission fluid , or abuse by neighbors that do not want other pets in the yard or flower-beds need to be kept inside or being watched . i would say it is a case of neglect . animal cruelty to me is knowing that your cat is being abuse and not doing something about it or any other pet being abuse physically or sexually that is very much cruelty . whether I'm wrong or right , me & my husband love our 2 cats . to us they are part of the family and i don't even let nobody use bad hitting gestures on them or make them upset by pulling their tails or something . you ask a good question autumn and i hope you find some good answers to your question . bye !