I am aware that this is probably going to start a shit storm, but even if one person listens, it will make a small difference. Disclaimer - I like cats, always had them, but if you care about birds and nature in general, please keep your cats indoors or in enclosed ‘catios’. In my four years in Switzerland, I already rescued six birds, and two of them were injured by cats (and with the third one, I scared the cat away before it could catch the baby bird). Each time, I have to travel 1.5 hrs to the nearest bird refuge, but it’s not even about my time. Yesterday, it was a baby blackbird whose mother was killed by a neighbour’s cat some time ago, so that the baby was left to starve and was ‘the skinniest bird I’ve ever seen’, per refuge employer words. She said chances it survives are not big. Letting cats roam outdoors greatly harms wildlife since they are highly effective predators, even when they are well fed. They kill BILLIONS of birds, mammals and reptiles globally each year contributing to the decline and extinction of already threatened species. Reducing populations of birds affects seed dispersal and insect control, altering entire ecosystems. And no, your cat is not entitled to ‘living its best life’ more than any other specie on this planet. We let the cats breed out of proportion, so we are directly responsible for all the harm they cause. Besides - very importantly - letting cats free roam puts them in great danger themselves. They get hit by cars, get injured by other animals, contract deadly diseases and parasites, get lost, poisoned by rodenticides etc, etc. I am seeing it all the time living in a village (and before you say it is impossible to keep cats inside in a village, it’s not, as I did it in the past, and some of my friends are doing it right now). So please, please consider keeping your cat indoors - for the nature and for its own sake. Thank you to those who do already. submitted by /u/Visual-Reason-579
Originally posted by u/Visual-Reason-579 on r/Switzerland