WhoKilledBambi wrote:
I would have to disagree with it being better for them. Most indoor cats I've met are, if not overweight, really out of shape, they suffer boredom and so many of them go a bit stir crazy. Some decide that living inside is better for them, but most really need the fresh air and exercise.
Cats kill things. It's what they do. If you don't want that, don't have a cat.

Most of the outdoor cats I've met, unless they were earning their keep on a farm, have been either grossly obese from being fed by all their "well meaning" neighbours, scar-ridden/ill from their contact with strange cats/dogs/foxes or dead on the road.

When it comes to killing things some dogs will do it given the chance but with dogs, certainly in the UK it's not generally acceptable to let them do it. In fact, if people believe you purposefully allowed your dog to catch or even just chase another animal you can be prosecuted for it. It just makes no sense to me that cats are then allowed to massacre whatever they feel like, whether it's birds or the kid down the street's pet rabbits, and their owners just throw their hands up, say "it's just their nature" and there's no problem with that.

The same double standards apply with clearing up after them. You can be fined a lot of money in the UK for not cleaning up after your dog once but then it's fine for a cat owner to expect everyone else to clean up after their cats.

It doesn't seem right that people can get a pet that the entire neighbourhood has to put up with.