WINTER 1999 Dedicated to the Rescue, Care and Adoption of Homeless Cats Number 17

Published Quarterly by Animal Umbrella, P.O. Box 2675, Acton MA 01720-6675

One of the most controversial issues dividing cat lovers today is whether to keep a cat indoors or outdoors. Although some cats may prefer to go out every day and return at their will, most cats adjust perfectly well to an indoor environment provided that they can look outside from a window.
Animal Umbrella is against letting cats outdoors because today the world has become more dangerous to cats in the street. Some of the dangers are:

• CARS - there are more cars in the world than ten years ago and people drive faster. Thousands of owned or stray cats are run over every year in Massachusetts alone.
• HOSTILE DOGS - because of the crime rate increase, more and more people are adopting large and aggressive dogs who can easily kill a cat.
• WILD ANIMALS - as more land is being developed, more wild animals like raccoons, foxes, coyotes etc. are moving closer to people's homes and backyard cats. Many cats get attacked every year and most do not survive the terrible wounds.
• HOSTILE PEOPLE - Many people do not like cats in their area and will do very cruel things to get rid of them. In many neighborhoods today cats are considered a pest and treated as such (killed in many different ways).
• WELL MEANING PEOPLE - an owned cat can sometimes get lost. If found by a well-meaning person, it could be turned over to a local pound or a kill shelter,  the cat could easily be euthanized in a few days (in some places, in a few hours).
• ACCIDENTS - Cats are curious animals. Unfortunately at times they get trapped in places where they cannot escape (pipes, holes, etc.) and die a terrible death.

Finally, even if a cat escapes all these dangers, it can still bring home fleas, ticks and worms, and get ear mites. If exposed to a sick cat outdoors it can become infected with the FIV and FELV diseases.

Because of the dangers highlighted above, Animal Umbrella does not adopt cats and kittens to households planning to let them outdoors, as we are concerned about the quality of life our cats and kittens will experience once they have left our shelter and foster homes. ADOPTION IS A COMMITMENT OF LOVE FOR LIFE!
By Annamarie Taylor                                                                                                                     More Articles . . .