Housecats in Danger: Allowing Cats to Roam Free May Have Catastrophic Results

City leash laws, federal requirements of proof of rabies-vaccination and licensing all apply to dog ownership. Housecats have no such restrictions-yet maybe it is time to implement some. The safest option for all concerned is to keep housecats inside houses.

Cats owners often allow their pets outside to wander at will, with no supervision. What happens when Fluffy disappears over the fence for hours on end? Chances are that cat is doing what living creatures do: eating and eliminating, competing-and possibly reproducing.

Your cat is most likely using neighbors' flowerbeds as a litter box, depositing items dogs may find palatable. Fido is exposed to diseases, and can in turn expose humans to certain zoonoses (diseases transmittable between species). Small animal veterinarian Dr. Jennifer L. Fry, says "In addition to internal parasites, organisms such as Toxoplasmosis are transmitted in some cat feces. It's also possible that the feces can become infested with fly larvae, foreign bacteria, fungus, etc. Some viral diseases, such as Parvovirus, can also be transmitted by the fecal-oral route."

Your Fluffy doesn't have disease or parasites? She might bring some home if allowed to wander. Your cat could encounter other cats, some of them feral. Territorial cats will fight, exposing your pet to infections from broken skin. If you haven't gotten around to spaying or neutering, your cat could add to the population problem.

This high population of cats wandering free, whether feral or owned, takes a toll on our wildlife. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, each year cats kill hundreds of millions of migratory songbirds. Cats kill small mammals and reptile species as well. Whether these animals would have been culled naturally by other means (disease or starvation) is not debated here; housecats are non-native predators on every continent outside of Africa. Every bird or mammal caught by a housecat is one meal a native predator (fox, weasel or raptor) won't get to eat, in turn effecting predator populations.

Other dangers outside the house potentially fatal to your pet include automobiles, feral dogs, raccoons, and even cougars.

Fluffy's best bet for a healthy life is for you to make him or her a full time indoor pet.