quote:

ORIGINAL: kittinSol
Why keep cats as 'indoor pets' only? Get a stuffed cabbage instead! If a cat should die outside from the result of fighting... that was his or her destiny. Cats are a little piece of the wild in our boring domesticity. Why take it away from them?

quote:

ORIGINAL: Foititis
Tail docking is hardly an abhorrent practice by any stretch of the imagination, indeed the reason many dogs were docked originally was because they were cattle dogs and their tails often became caught under hoof. Now granted aesthetic tail docking is a moral grey area for most people (myself included) however it hardly falls into the same category as de-clawing a cat, if only for major discrepancy in financial cost and effort involved.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Foititis

quote:

ORIGINAL: kittinSol
Why keep cats as 'indoor pets' only? Get a stuffed cabbage instead! If a cat should die outside from the result of fighting... that was his or her destiny. Cats are a little piece of the wild in our boring domesticity. Why take it away from them?

Because they actively hunt/kill native animals who are a part of ecosystem and thus contribute to the dilapidation of the biodiversity of an area.  

quote:

ORIGINAL: kittinSol

quote:

ORIGINAL: Foititis

quote:

ORIGINAL: kittinSol
Why keep cats as 'indoor pets' only? Get a stuffed cabbage instead! If a cat should die outside from the result of fighting... that was his or her destiny. Cats are a little piece of the wild in our boring domesticity. Why take it away from them?

Because they actively hunt/kill native animals who are a part of ecosystem and thus contribute to the dilapidation of the biodiversity of an area.  

I didn't know that cats were a vermin: one learns everyday.

quote:

ORIGINAL: MissMorrigan

Docking of tails was also done to prevent tail-fly among working dogs, and to prevent 'whipping' of legs by an excitable dog. Wherein my previous posts have I applied my views to non-domesticated animals? I refer, throughout, to domesticated pets and my views remain that they are performed for cosmetic/convenient reasons, not for the wellbeing of the animal. And you're right, they're not in the same category, but only insofar as one is performed under anaesthetic, the other not.

quote:

ORIGINAL: camille65

 http://library.fws.gov/Bird_Publications/songbrd.html
University of Wisconsin ornithologist, Dr. Santley Temple estimates that 20-150 million songbirds are killed each year by rural cats in Wisconsin alone.
Feline predation is not "natural." Cats were domesticated by the ancient Egyptians and taken throughout the world by the Romans. Cats were brought to North America in the 1800's to control rats. The "tabby" that sits curled up on your couch is not a natural predator and has never been in the natural food chain in the Western Hemisphere.
Cats are a serious threat to fledglings, birds roosting at night and birds on a nest. Research shows that de-clawing cats and bell collars do not prevent them from killing birds and other small animals. For healthy cats and wild birds, cats should not be allowed to roam free.

http://birdadvocates.blogspot.com/2007/05/whats-killing-songbirds.html
In Silence of the Songbirds, biologist Bridget Stutchbury (left) argues that songbirds are disappearing from our skies – an environmental danger sign equivalent to canaries in a coal mine.
"We’ve lost nearly half the birds that filled our skies just 40 years ago,"

http://www.petplace.com/cats/the-great-debate-indoor-versus-outdoor-cats/page1.aspx

Risks of outdoor life include exposure to infectious diseases, such as feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus, feline infectious peritonitis, and rabies; injury or death occurring on busy roads; and attacks by predators. Not only does keeping cats indoors protect their health, it also protects the lives of countless birds that they would otherwise kill. In some areas, cats have severely reduced the populations of certain songbirds - almost to the point of extinction.
http://www.petplace.com/cats/outdoor-dangers/page1.aspx
Whether pedigreed or random-bred, the vast majority of cats can be perfectly happy indoors, calmly watching nature from the safety of their home, as long as a stimulating environment is provided.

In fact, most United States cat experts – the Cat Fanciers Association, humane organizations and others – are continually trying to reach the public with the message that keeping a cat indoors protects him from disease and all manner and means of danger.

quote:

ORIGINAL: myflutterby79

As for declawing, I've had a declawed cat and while it's a little pricey and there's recovery time involved, as long as your cat never goes outside alone (they can't defend themselves) it's safe for them.  Plus, you have the added benefit of not having to restrain yourself when your cat forgoes the kitty scratch toys for expensive furniture or someone's leg.  It's just simpler

quote:

ORIGINAL: MissMorrigan

As an aside, Venus. You said you don't like circuses, and I am with you on that, so check out Cirque du Soleil. Very talented people.

quote:

ORIGINAL: venusinblu

quote:

ORIGINAL: myflutterby79

The other issue with outdoor cats is one a lot of people don't think about.  I like cats but my neighbors both have outdoor cats.  One feeds her cats near our shared fence and they come into our front yard to poop, which wouldn't be THAT bad if she didn't literally have about 13 cats eating there each night.  That's a lot of poop.  Second, my other neighbor threw a screaming hissing fit at someone who hit her black cat who ran in front of her car in the middle of the night.  It's very traumatizing to hit and animal to begin with, then having someone scream at you because you hit their animal that doesn't belong in the street and that was impossible to see in the dark with no street lights is something that shouldn't be added to the trauma by a pet owner. Letting any animal roam free is irresponsible at best.  And her other cat got mauled by a dog.  And she blames everyone but herself for just letting her cats run free.  The other issue we have in our area (we have an unusual number of people who buy cats and then turn them loose on the world) is feline STD, which are a slow and painful death.  I don't let my cat outside without a leash just like you wouldn't let your dog go on the street for a run.  It's no different than turning any other animal loose and hoping for the best.  Its ridiculous.
As for declawing, I've had a declawed cat and while it's a little pricey and there's recovery time involved, as long as your cat never goes outside alone (they can't defend themselves) it's safe for them.  Plus, you have the added benefit of not having to restrain yourself when your cat forgoes the kitty scratch toys for expensive furniture or someone's leg.  It's just simpler

quote:

ORIGINAL: eyesopened

Not to mention, let a cat get bit by a mosquito carrying heartworm.... death is horrible!  Happened to one of my cats who i let outside to 'frolic' and another cat ingested a flea and got a tapeworm...i won't let my cats outside for any reason now.