Add Over 10 Years to Your Cat’s Life

Jul 12, 2017

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Editor, Meet Gulati

The world poses many dangers to outdoor cats. You can increase your cat life expectancy by making him indoor-only.

Here’s what the experts say:

“Letting your cat go outside is the veterinary equivalent of smoking. It significantly reduces feline life expectancy,” says Dr. Eric Barchas (catster .com).

Veterinarians and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) agree it’s safer and healthier for cats to live indoors. Indoor cats can live into their late teens, but the average life expectancy for an outdoor cat is only 2-5 years. You would never allow your two-year-old baby outdoors by itself. Your pet is just as vulnerable and needs that same protection.

There are many dangers to outdoor cats:

Cruelty:

If you are an animal advocate and use social media, you know there is no escaping the numerous posts for cat abuse and cruelty. They are shot, set on fire, crushed, mutilated, maimed, and killed. Please, keep your cat indoors to save it from human predators who torture and kill helpless animals.

Diseases:

According to Humane Society of the United States, over 70 million feral and stray cats fight for survival in the great outdoors. Feral and stray cats can carry dangerous, even fatal diseases. Your outdoor cat is exposed daily to the following diseases:

Parasites:

Outdoor cats can be hosts to fleas, ticks, ear mites, tapeworms, roundworms, hookworms, and heart-worms. While rare, fleas can infect your cat (and you) with tapeworms. Ticks often carry Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. If left untreated, many of these parasites and the diseases they carry can be life-threatening for your cat and you!

Photo credit: www.catclinicurbana.com

Vehicles:

Tens of millions of outdoor cat injuries and deaths occur on roads every year. In winter, outdoor cats often find warmth beneath the hood of a car or on a car’s tires. Unseen by the driver, many of those cats are mangled or killed.

Animals:

Cats are predators by species, but in the big bad world, they are also prey. Dogs, stray and feral cats, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, snakes, alligators, and even large birds of prey can attack, injure, and kill your cat. If a sick animal bites your cat, it can contract a disease or the wound can become dangerously infected.

Poisons, Traps, and Shocks:

Antifreeze poisoning is the most common and notorious form of poisoning among dogs and cats. Whether accidental or intentional, antifreeze poisonings can be fatal. Rodent poisons can also kill your cat. Other dangers include cruel leg-hold traps, electrical wires, and barbed wire fences. Our cats can get into many life-threatening predicaments while playing, chasing prey, or exploring. We have to save them from their own inquisitive selves!

Plants:

Gardens are not always safe havens for cats. Some of the plants growing in them may be toxic. The image below shows the toxic plants you need to watch out for and reactions they may cause in your cat.

Click on “Buster’s Vision Logo” to see Complete List of Poisonous Plants:

Pregnancies:

Please, spay or neuter your cat. Every year millions of unwanted kittens are euthanized. Don’t let your cat produce an unwanted litter.

Environmental Considerations:

The American Bird Conservancy reports outdoor cats kill approximating 2.4 billion birds each year. Hunting is instinctual for cats and birds and small rodents are their natural prey. So, for the safety of birds, and of your cat who may get itself into trouble catching one, it’s best to keep your cat indoors.