Spare Me Your Tears

Not for the first time, I read an online post from a "grief stricken" cat owner, only this time - perhaps because of the presence of a new kitten in the house, one who would surely have died without intervention - I found myself unable to shrug and move past it.  Of the 17 cats who I've shared my life with, only two died prematurely and neither from lack of care or love.  So if you choose to put your cat in harm's way and it's crushed under the wheels of an SUV, then please spare me your heartbreak.  What exactly did you think was likely to happen?

I have friends who have dogs as well as cats and most would never dream of violating the leash law and letting their dogs run free and at risk.  They are responsible owners for the most part - they keep up to date on vaccinations and veterinary care and provide safe, loving homes.  And yet a fair number see nothing whatever wrong with letting their cats roam at will - to be neighborhood nuisances, to be stolen, to go missing, to be mauled by dogs or other cats, to be trapped, to breed, to be struck and killed by a car on a busy city street. I can't reconcile their grief with their casual neglect or the easy replacements they seem to immediately take in. I won't accept their arguments that cats were meant to be outside or that to deny them the feel of the sun or their faces is cruel nor that they have some special immunity that dogs lack.  If you choose not to do all in your power to keep them safe, then please spare me your anguish when they're killed.  What exactly did you think was likely to happen?

These friends will, I have no doubt, come at me with tales of their 18 year old tabbies who have never wandered an inch off their property and wonderful, happy stories of cats who live in the country, far removed from the hazards of city life.  They will protest the idea of confinement as cruel and unusual and assure me that a cat's natural instinct is to prowl.  I'll hear about tough-minded, independent and street-wise cats who have lived long and well being free  to come and go at their leisure.  Their cats would never dream of killing someone's beloved songbirds or trespassing and destroying a flower garden.  Their cats would never seek shelter in a car engine or fall into a storm drain.  Their cats can take care of themselves - they know the limits of their yards and respect the boundaries - they'll never be snakebit or drink antifreeze or tangle with hostile wildlife or cruel children with rocks and worse.

Good for you, I'll tell them, I'm happy for you.  You and your cat have been lucky.  But it doesn't change the fact that an average outside cat's life expectancy is three years.  So if you choose to put your cat at risk, spare me your regret when something horrific - or worse, unknown - befalls them.  What exactly did you think was likely to happen?

Cats are not indestructible or disposable or self-sufficient.  They can't outrun traffic or predators and they don't sit around longing for the outside world.  Find them a window sill or a sun spot, build them an enclosure or get a dog.  If you love them, then keep them safe or spare me your tears.