I am not here to make the case that cats should be kept indoors for the sake of local wildlife – that case has been made over and over and over and over again. Cat owners know these arguments, and if they have not been persuaded by the fact that cats kill more than 6 million native animals in Australia a day they will not be persuaded by me.

There is a fairly tedious assumption that if you love wildlife you must hate cats, and visa versa. And nothing will turn cat people off faster than encountering a person who hates cats.

I understand this. I also hate people who hate cats. So let’s set the birds and the bettongs to one side for the moment, and consider the other, obvious fact: cats should be kept indoors for the sake of cats.

  • @Goodie
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    191 year ago

    Live in NZ. My kitten is, and will always be an indoors cat. When i finally get to a larger house she’ll have a lovely catio.

    • @[email protected]
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      61 year ago

      This is the best option. My parents built a catio that ran from a cat door along their actual patio then went tall and up to a covered window so the cats could go in and out through either entryway.

    • Norah - She/They
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      61 year ago

      Surprised a similar law mandating cats stay inside hasn’t been implemented in NZ. Considering all of the work y’all are doing with the Predator Free 2050 project.

        • @batmangrundies
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          11 year ago

          I’m sorry but New Zealanders generally make Aussies look like Woodstock-era hippies.

          They are very conservative generally.

          I wish people would stop putting NZ on a pedestal. They have ceded often to agricultural interests over environmental concerns resulting in untold damage. The damage they have done to their soil and waterways is apocalyptic.

          I always giggle at the idea of Billionaires “escaping” there not realising the soil is completely depleted already and the water table is poisoned by agricultural runoff.

      • @Goodie
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        11 year ago

        The question is how?

        Taking outdoor cats and making them indoor is pretty cruel.

        It seems easiest to first require all cats to be regged/microchipped, and a few years in start a “cats born after X date must be kept indoors and not roaming.”