Indoor or outdoor cats? Ask Kim weighs in

Dear Kim,

My adopted kitty brings home dead things.  I don’t know if it’s doing the killing or just finding stuff to bring home.  It really creeps me out picking up the body parts of dead animals.  Is there a way to stop him from doing this?  Yuck!

Cat Mom

Topeka

Dear Cat Mom,

Ewww, I never enjoyed that part of cat ownership either.  I hope you don’t have a “cat door”, so the dead things aren’t making their way into your house.  Nothing like waking up to a dead mouse in your bed!

Seriously though, while some may feel this is a valuable quality of our fluffy friends, the truth is quite different.  Cats are natural born hunters.  They hunt even when they’re not hungry.  If they only did this for food, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.  Research shows that outdoor cats can be devastating to songbird and wildlife populations.  So much so, cats have caused the extinction of some animals.  Bird feeders are smorgasbords for loose cats.

The only way to stop this behavior is to make them “indoor” cats.  This is not always easy when the kitty has spent its life outdoors.  If that’s not an option, there are special collars that help wildlife see and hear them before they pounce.  I have also heard of people using underground fencing and collars.  That at least keeps the cat contained on your property.  Cats that roam freely encounter all sorts of hazards detrimental to their health and well-being.  As a responsible pet owner, you should do what you can to protect them.  Finally, please be sure your cat is spayed or neutered.  It helped keep my Tom cat closer to home.

Have a question?  Ask Kim!    https://www.ksnt.com/ask-kim-a-question/