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Speaker 1: This is pet Life Radio. Let's talk pets.

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Speaker 2: Hello Bee Line friends, Welcome to Gratitude. I'm your show host,

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Michelle burn. So one of the topics that's near and

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dear to me is keeping your cats indoors. I know

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that there's you know, schools of thoughts. Some people think

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their cats are fine outdoors. Some people think no. Some

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people think because they live in you know, a little

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bit of a rural setting, you know, the country, it's fine.

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But it's really not. And we're going to talk to

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a special guest today that's going to share why.

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Speaker 3: So stay tuned, take a bite out of your competition,

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media that is as large and reaches more pet parents

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Speaker 4: Let's talk pets on petlifradio dot com.

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Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone. I'd like to welcome Sarah McFarlane. She

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is a spokesperson for PETA and we're talking today about

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why all cats she'd be indoors. Welcome Sarah. Can you

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give some background on yourself and I don't know who

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might not know about this, but a little bit about PETA.

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Speaker 5: Absolutely, good morning. Yes, so, Pina. We are the world's

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largest animal rights organization with over ten million members and

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supporters globally, and our goal is to end exploitation and

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killing of animals for any animal, for any reason.

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Speaker 2: Okay, thank you so much. So we're talking today about

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why all cats should be indoor cats? And there's two

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schools that thought. You know, some people think that cats

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should you know, be out in the wild, and which

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means out in our cities and urban areas. It's not

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that wild. And some people are strictly, you know, indoor.

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I'm of the latter. But why should cats be kept inside?

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Speaker 5: Well? Are cats? They depend on us to keep them safe,

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and every moment a cat is allowed to roam outside unattended,

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they face potentially deadly risks. So speeding cars, and diseases

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and parasites, and sadly even attacks from cruel people and

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letting cats outside when they're unattended. This is like playing

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Russian roulette with their lives. And that's why the safest

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place for cats is always indoors.

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Speaker 2: I absolutely agree. There's also a stat that says that

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cats left outdoors. I don't know if this is feral

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community or just you know, cats that are left outdoors

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on a regular basis don't even make it to their

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fifth birthday.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, the average lifespan for cats, and this is feral

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or not, the average lifespan for a cat who's allowed

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to go outdoors is three to five years. And when

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our cats are kept inside and given the proper care,

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they can live twenty plus years. I had a cat

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who lived in twenty years who's inside. We never let

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her out, So letting them outside, I mean that is

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a significant drop in their life expectancy. And like you said,

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feral or a cat with a family.

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Speaker 2: So what are the types of things that p TOC's

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regarding cats left to roam outside besides the obvious, you know,

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like they can get hit by a car or picking

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up diseases or attacked by animals. I mean, I live

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in Fort Lauderdale and there are so many raccoons around

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here in possums. You would not think right Fort Lauderdale,

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you know, big city, but they're there right exactly.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, that's the thing. There are so many threats to

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cats outside, like you said, other wildlife illnesses, injury, but frighteningly,

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every single day, Peta hears horrendous reports of people attacking cats.

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And we see stories all the time of people setting

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cats on fire, beating them to death, stabbing them, poisoning them,

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even shooting them with guns or bows and arrows. And

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we see this horrific abuse all across the country in

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all settings. And what's so heartbreaking is that preventing these deaths,

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it's as simple as just keeping our cats inside where

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it's safe and where they belong. We can prevent this.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, you know were I'm catitude. You know a

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lot of people have cats, some don't, Some are thinking

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about adopting cats. What about for those that don't have cats,

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Why should they care about this issue?

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Speaker 5: Well, no kind person wants to see a cat suffer.

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You know, cats who are allowed to roam outside as well,

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they decimate local populations of birds and other wildlife. So

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it's in all animals' best interests for cats to be

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kept inside. And some of the people actually who care

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most about cats being lapped outdoors are those who don't

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even have them, but they don't want cats roaming in

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their yards or killing birds at their feeders. So this

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is an issue that does affect us.

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Speaker 1: All.

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Speaker 2: Okay, thank you. So you know, some people are, yeah,

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I'm going to keep my cat indoors, are like, well

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this and not. And then I've talked to some that's say, well,

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you know, cats are they're domesticated, but they're used to hunting.

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They like to be outside. I just don't see why

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I should restrict my cat from being, you know, outdoors.

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My cat, you know, in their mind, doesn't go in

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the street.

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Speaker 5: They're safe. You know, it's okay.

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Speaker 2: What do you say to those people that are just

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really think their cats need to be outdoors?

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Speaker 5: Right? Well, you know, that is an important question, and

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it's important for us to remember our cats. They're not

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tigers or bobcats or cougars. Over thousands of years, cats

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have been domesticated. They've been manipulated to be dependent on

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humans for their care, so they're not anywhere near as

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self sustaining as cat and your big cats in the

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wild like tigers and lions, and these definitely our cats.

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So we're talking about these are like dependents. They're completely

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dependent on us, and we have to make the best

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decision for their safety. And like we said earlier, considering

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when calves are leapt outside or allowed to go outside,

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their lifespan is only three to five years. Letting them

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outside is not what's best for them. We've got to

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keep them indoors.

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Speaker 2: That's what I think too. I mean unfortunate up where

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it's warm all year long, but my cats are indoors.

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I have a cadio, which means it's my patio, but

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it's theirs, so they rule. It has more cat furniture

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than people furniture, and I think at least three water

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fountains in a couple of fountains.

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Speaker 5: I love that. We love cadios of peto. We think

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they're great. That's like the perfect environment for an indoor cat.

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We love it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's funny. I could see my cats, you know,

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watching the iguanas big guana is large ones well, talking

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to the dog next door. The neighbor dog when the

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dog comes out to do their business.

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Speaker 5: Oh yeah.

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Speaker 2: I also don't think people realize sometimes the elements when

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their cats are outdoors. I mean, I'm in a warm climate,

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but it gets hot here, and I don't think cats

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do especially well in constant heat, especially when they're you know,

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domesticated and used to you know, the cush life being

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inside and air condition and everything, and what about cold.

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Don't the elements have an effect as well?

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Speaker 5: Oh gosh. Absolutely. There's definitely a misconception that because animals

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or cats have fur, that they have fur colts on

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or something that is absolutely not true. We if you do.

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We always say, if you're cold, your cat is cold.

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They pretty much feel what we feel. And cats you

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left out in the winter, that is just one of

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the most treacherous environments for cats as cold weather. And

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we hear this all the time in our Community Animal Project.

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We see cats, homeless cats or cats who are left outside.

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I mean, they so easily can freeze to death, or

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they get these terrible upper respiratory infections and they don't

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have veterinary care, so a lot of times they're just

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left to die slowly. They die these horrible deaths. And yeah,

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wintertime is it's the worst time of the year probably

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for cats who are left outside. Yeah, summer too is terrible. Yeah,

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I agree.

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Speaker 2: And let's also take a moment to say, watch out

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for hidden spaces or hidden locations for cats. Check your tires,

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check underneath your car, and bang the hood of your car.

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Cats hide in these areas, even if it's not cold weather.

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You know place, if it's their trential rains, your cat

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could go up inside the motor block.

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Speaker 5: So just be aware. Yes, that's a great idea. Yeah,

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and also if you know of anyone in your area

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or one of your friends who lets their cat out,

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please share this information with them and let them know

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it's never obviously safe or healthy to let their cats outside,

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but definitely with the colder weather coming up, be sure

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to let them know how dangerous winters are for cats.

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Speaker 2: Okay, thank you. What about if somebody witnesses some of

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the cruelty we just talked about to animals, you know, cats,

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but just animals in general, what should they do?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, well, you know, a quick call to the authorities

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that literally can mean the difference between life and death

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for an animal in danger. And we urge people to

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never ignore an animal in distress or any suspicious activity

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you might see or hear. So of course, if you

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hear gunshots or you suspect maybe there's somebody leaving tainted

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cat food out in your area, or reports of cats

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going missing, everybody to alert police or animal control immediately

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and definitely make helping that cat the priority. And if

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you're able to document the cruel sky do that as well.

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So if you're able to safely, don't trustpaths, of course,

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but if you're able to safely photograph or tape what's

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going on, be sure to do that and send the

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footage to animal control or the police. And you know,

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of course, we can also prevent this abuse by urging

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our friends and our family members and our neighbors always

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keep your cats indoors.

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Speaker 2: Okay, thanks so much. Let's talk about trap and neuter

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and release programs otherwise you known as TNR.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, so TIN or trap, neuter release. It's exactly what

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it sounds like. It's when homeless cats are rounded up,

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they're trapped, they're either spade or they're neutered, and they're

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released back outside. And the thing about that is whether

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a cat is homeless or part of a family. They're domesticated,

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you know, they depend on humans for the necessities of life,

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for their food, their water, their shelter, their veterinary care.

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So T and R this really means trap, neuter and

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re abandoned for cats. And when they're turned outside, they're

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guaranteed to have a short and miserable life. And when

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cats are released dot doors, like we said, they suffer

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immensely from dehydration and starvation, parasites, upper respiratory infections, and

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of course cruel humans. And you know, when a cat

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isn't a victim, a cat is a predator. We have

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to remember that on average, a cat outdoors will kill

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two hundred and fifty birds and other animals every single year.

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So that's why PETA does not support TA in our programs.

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It's not a solution for homeless cats.

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Speaker 2: So what is a good solution.

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Speaker 5: We know the only way to address the situation, to

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stop homeless animals is to support spay and neuter legislation,

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which PETA has always supported. That is the only way

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that we're going to combat the homeless crisis. There are

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an estimated seventy to eighty million homeless dogs and cats

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in the United States alone, and that's because they're not

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being spade and neutered.

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Speaker 2: That's crazy. It's a challenge definitely. If there's a you know,

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feral community in your neighborhood and you you know, trap them,

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get them fixed, but you can't adopt, so you are

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possibly at capacity at your home. There are no kill shelters,

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but they do get to capacity as well. So yeah,

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legislation is the way to go. What else can people

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do to help? Well, you know, of course, the most

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important thing you can do, whether you have a cat

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or not. Just want to reiterate it. Make sure every

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cat you know is spade or neutered. If there's a

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cat you know who isn't, talk to their guardian, let

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them know about the homeless animal crisis. Let them know

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how important this is. And of course, if you have

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a cat, again, make sure you're keeping them indoors.

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Speaker 5: We talked about the cadio. We love cadios. If you're

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not able to create a cadio, you can make a

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wonderful and fulfilled indoor environment for your cat. Just give

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them a room with the view and toys, some scratching posts,

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other enrichment, and we have so many great ideas on

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peta dot org. So for anybody who's interested, just going

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over to our website. We've got all the information you need.

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Speaker 2: Okay, thank you so much for coming on Catatude, Sarah

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and sharing all this wonderful information with our listening audience.

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Speaker 5: Oh, thank you so much.

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Speaker 2: Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this show. I want

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to thank Sarah McFarlane from Peta for coming on Catitude

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and sharing such wonderful insight as why all cats should

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be indoor cats. You can find out more just go

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to pita dot org. Thank you to my cat crew Dennis,

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Charlotte and Molly. They live the good life indoors. They've

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always been indoors. Thanks again for everyone listening to Catitude.

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I appreciate your listenership, and of course a ghuge thank

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you to my producer for doing all he does to

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make my show and all shows on how Life Radio

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sound amazing. And remember listen to Attitude, have Caatitude

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Speaker 4: Let's Talk pets every week on demand only on petlifradio

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dot com