House cats became ‘house cats’ almost 10 thousand years ago. And they have lived with us for thousands of years. Moreover, they did so voluntarily, and over thousands of years ‘domestication’ even changed their genes.
At this point, our cats lie on the sofa with us, rest, play games, and even use the sounds they have developed to communicate with us. And they often look out the window. They watch the birds, look at the passers-by. Seeing them like that, romanticizing the event with the human mind and saying, ‘Here you go!’ We say, ‘He wants to go out, run free, I locked the poor guy home’….
Human romance causes cats to die
At this point, I would like to remind and emphasize again in the introduction; Cats are pets and have lived with humans for 10,000 years. Of course, 10 thousand years ago, they didn’t go into houses together one evening and say to people, ‘We are here, we are domestic now’.
They hung out in the fields and gardens. They were more in touch with nature. But would you believe, so were humans. But as people’s daily routines have changed over thousands of years, so have cats. When people made a village instead of a city and put cars on their roads, cats began to be unable to spend time in nature, just as they did not spend time in nature anymore.
When the streets became too dangerous for cats, we started to take our 10 thousand-year-old friends directly to our homes. Then a bigger question arose: Should they go out every now and then? At this point, the answers we gave to ourselves and mentioned above, made us look at this issue romantically. Many people have begun to allow their cats to go outside.
Going out is a big risk for both cats and us, let’s take a closer look at all of them;
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- Even if they are fully vaccinated, a cat going out to the street can get diseases from many animals, from rodents to other cats on the street. These diseases can result in death.
- House cats do not dominate streets and avenues as much as street-raised cats, so they are much more likely to be hit by a vehicle or have an accident.
- Cases in which house cats are beaten by street cats are also frequently encountered by veterinarians. Because house cats are incapable of defending themselves. Such situations can result in injury, organ loss, disability and even death in cats.
- House cats are also much more unlucky with dogs than street cats. For cats that grew up on the street and frequently encounter dogs, it may be easier to find a way to escape, but for a cat that has never met a dog in its life, it would be a fatal encounter.
- House cats that go out on the street may not return home as a result of an incident or loss. This is the reason why most runaway cats are not found.
- Finally, it can transmit many infections and viruses, especially rabies, which house cats will bring from the street.
‘Nothing happens to street cats, will it happen to house cats? Nonsense, cat is cat!’ to those who say;
The average lifespan of stray cats is 3-5 years. Unhealthy diet, infections, cars, bad people, dogs… All these factors cause cats to have a short lifespan. Whereas, in house cats, this period is 15 years on average.
I think the difference is enough to explain the situation…
As a result, even if they are fully vaccinated, find their way home, even if they do not go far, even if they seem to be very happy, if you value your friend’s life, do not let it out on the street.
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