I’ve thought the same thing for cows and sheep!
The Animals Act 1971 doesn’t classify cats as ‘livestock’ so they have a legal right to roam. Since hunting is innate cat behaviour, English law views it as a natural event rather than the owner’s responsibility.
Very odd. Accepting a domestic breed as a natural predator. Sure, you’ve got the wildcat in Scotland, but it appears that they aren’t doing well. Go figure.
Regardless, UK doesn’t have much wildlife left anyway.
I live in the US where it is the norm to keep cats indoors. I’m from Ireland and many cats are indoor/outdoor there.
I do a lot of cat rescue here in the US, and most rescues will not adopt a cat to somebody who plans to allow the cat go outside. This is more for the cat’s safety than anything else. Outdoor cats are much more prone to diseases, to injuries from other animals, cars, coyotes or other predators, etc.
There is some dispute about the oft-quoted claim that cats kill billions of songbirds every year. It seems that those statistics may come from flawed analysis done years ago. I’m not disputing that they kill birds - but maybe not in the numbers that are quoted. They also kill creatures that people don’t usually like - rats, mice, etc.
I can see both sides of the indoor vs outdoor argument. I can understand the people who think it’s cruel to keep a cat inside, just as I think it’s cruel to keep a tiger in a small enclosure in a zoo. However, I think if a cat has always lived indoors and has lots of climbing opportunities, enrichment activities, plenty of space to run and to hide, and a playmate if they are young, it is not cruel to keep them inside.
Even if the actual mortality of wildlife by feral and domestic cats was a tenth of that estimate, it would still be way too much.
As we all know, cats are very efficient predators. Being non-natives, there impact is huge on animals that have not adapted to them. We should be respectful to our native fauna and keep cats indoors.
I find it crazy that people talk about keeping cats inside as cruel. Meanwhile, we control their food, neuter them, and sometimes make them wear funny hats 
Anyway, maybe the ultimate compromise is controling feral cat populations and getting rid of cat colonies. Actually, I have a great idea on drastically reducing impacts of cat colonoes on local wildlife. If only I could get an organization to embrace it.
Enclose an area, like an aviary, in a natural setting - grass, bushes, small trees… This way the cats can live outdoors, will not be able to prey on birds and other small animals, and will be protected from animals and being hit by cars. Not perfect because small animals could probably still to get into the enclosure, but better than nothing.
Would probably be expensive to set up, but could be maintained by volunteers. People could go in, feed and play with the cats, and hopefully increase adoptability. Good for the cats and good for wildlife.
We are getting off-topic, but I don’t think this would work, unfortunately. It is very difficult to relocate outdoor cats, so there would need to be multiple enclosures all over a city, wherever there are colonies.
Even if the enclosure was where the cats normally live, forcing a cat to live in an enclosure when they are used to roaming freely would be very traumatic for the cat. They might injure themselves trying to escape
It’s also not a good idea to keep cats in an enclosure with no escape, in case they start fighting with each other. That is likely to happen if they are stressed because of the new confinement.
I’m talking a fair-sized enclosure, not a small pen. Like a lot of conies, the cats really don’t deviate that far because that’s where the food is. Also, for the sake of wildlife, non-native cats could still be outdoors with maybe not the same “freedom”, but they’d have safety.
Otherwise, letting these colonies exist as is, is simply creating unacceptable predation pressures on local, native wildlife. If we love animals, then we should be considering impacts on wild animals.
Of course, this is my view. Again, I hate the idea of a nest full of chicks dying because a HO wants Fluffy to be able to roam and hunt.
Great topic @Theblackleys
Historically in the UK, cats were often kept as “mousers,” specifically to catch mice and rats. Farms, cottages, barns, mills, granaries and even ships relied on them to keep buildings and food stores free of rodents. This tradition even continues at 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s residence, where Larry has been the famous “Chief Mouser “ since 2011. He even has his own page on the official UK Government website: 10 Downing Street - GOV.UK
Another famous mouser was Palmerston, the Foreign Office cat, who became a social-media celebrity with his own X account, @DiploMog
British railway stations also traditionally had cats kept as mousers, some becoming celebrities and much-loved among railway staff and passengers.
So when a UK house-sitting cat is an enthusiastic hunter, there’s actually a long British tradition behind it!
Personally I’m all for cats cleaning up mice and rats. There are a lot of countries where cats are welcome for this very reason.
Mousers were used in the U.S. as well — in some books or articles covering or touching on history, settlement of the country, farming or such, you’ll see such references. But as the U.S. industrialized, that became less of a thing. And maybe because we have housing stock that’s newer, we ended up needing mousers less?
Note: Some dogs, like terriers, were bred to catch rodents. They’d pursue them into holes and the dogs would be pulled out by their tails, back in the day.
Exactly! That’s why they should be kept indoors. And in barns where needed.
The crucial thing, if you’re keeping cats indoors, is to do what Jackson Galaxy calls “catifying” the space: Lots of climbing trees, high areas, walkways.. As much stimulation and variety of levels you can dream up.
I cat-sit professionally too. I’m now refusing to take on drop-in sits of longer than a weekend, for indoor-only cats. It just got too upsetting to see how many people think it’s perfectly OK to leave their indoor cats in a small apartment, with no toys, no cat trees, nothing - and covered windows.. Just having someone drop in twice (or even just once) a day to scoop the litter and plonk down some food. For several weeks.
What broke me was one potential client, who was planning to be away for three weeks, telling me his two indoor cats only needed a visit every other day, because “they just sleep all the time”. Of course they did, poor things! - they were given nothing to be awake for.
Those are just bad pet owners. However, be the cats indoor or out, what kind of cat owner would want their animals outside alone every day when they’d be away?
Also, what saddens me is how some people care for their single dog. They leave for a length of time and only have someone come by 3 times a day to simply feed and let it outside for a little bit. Even more so, birds confined to cages their whole lives.
Anyway, cats and dogs have mainly been bred for human companionship. Some prople just treat them like possessions instead of extended family. Well, family members that you’re ok neutering.
As a child I would often visit a farm owned by friends of my grandparents down in Devon. They had cats but never fed them, as they were expected to just live off of mice and rats that they caught. They also always lived outside but plenty of barns and things for them to get into. I guess they lived as any wild animal that fends for themselves does. From what I recall they always looked well.
In my California neighbourhood, sadly, it is coyotes and cars !