Yesterday, on my way home, I met a stray cat that was not afraid of strangers in the community. When I walked over, the cat came over to say hello. When it came to my legs, it started to lie down. It looked like a very close person. It was also clean when I saw it. They are clean, their fur is shiny and smooth, and they feel in better spirits than many domestic cats. It makes me think of a question: "Do cats in free-range conditions live happier lives?"

After all, the stray cats in the community are really living a good life now. There are many caring young people who will put cat food and canned cats for them. They can bask in the sun during the day and sleep under the car engine at night. It seems like you really have no worries about food and clothing... But is this really good for cats? Today we will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of "free-range cats"!

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What are the advantages of free-range cats?

Compared with domestic cats, free-range cats are not restrained and can go out and move freely. In this case, the cat is indeed quite free compared to being restrained at home. First of all, there is no animal that doesn’t like freedom, so let’s start with the advantages of “free-range cats”!

1. Reduce “damage” to your home

All of you cat scavengers must have had the same experience. Cats often use their claws to "vent their anger" when they are at home, especially for furniture made of soft materials. As long as a cat stares at these furniture, it will definitely be difficult to escape. The cat's magic scratch will make the owner feel particularly distressed when it is destroyed.

But if the cat is free-range, there will be no such worries, because it will spend most of the day exploring, so relatively speaking, there will be fewer opportunities to demolish walls and furniture. In addition, when cats are walking outside, cement floors, asphalt roads, and even trees will indirectly help cats trim their nails, so there is no need to worry about trimming nails, they can do it themselves!

2. Ensure adequate exercise

This second advantage is related to physical health, and the amount of exercise will become very sufficient. Just imagine, a cat is locked up in a house all day long, with almost no opportunity to exercise except sleeping and eating. Especially if it encounters a lazy owner, then everyone is really lazy together. Cats that lack exercise will begin to lose shape and gradually gain weight. Once a cat becomes obese, there will be more hidden health risks. Obesity will bring many diseases. Also, once a cat lacks exercise, it will not want to sleep unless it is tired, and then it will show high energy and start running around in various ways at night, making people unable to sleep!

But if it is a free-range cat, you don’t have to worry about this.Raising a cat can solve this problem. Cats are born with adventurous attributes. If they can go out freely, they must divide their territories. Then I would patrol my "territory" every day to see the country I had built, which invisibly increased the amount of exercise. At the same time, cats are out patrolling during the day and need to replenish their energy at night. Naturally, they will worry less and sleep obediently at night.

3. Get rid of mental illness

In recent years, we can always hear about cats who have been trapped at home for a long time, resulting in poor mental state. Over time, they have developed mental illness problems and suffered from "depression". Many domestic cats become depressed, do not like to eat and drink, and react abnormally. One problem that cannot be ignored in causing this disease is boredom. Boredom for too long will turn into stress. The less likely way to feel too stressed out, or the way to release stress, is to go out. This is also another benefit of free-range cats. Free-range cats have many things to do every day and will not be overly bored or prone to stress, because they can go where they want to go anytime and anywhere.

On the contrary, cats who have been wandering outside for a long time can form a consciousness that the home is very safe and comfortable, but the outside is full of dangers. So when the cats return home, the comfort prompts them to relax and be beautiful. After a good sleep, the stress disappears! After seeing this, many people are starting to get excited. It turns out that there are so many benefits to freeing cats? So should I also let my cats go free? The answer to this question is of course not yes, because Wherever there are advantages, there must be disadvantages!

What are the disadvantages of free-range cats?

Rather than talking about the shortcomings and disadvantages of freeing cats, let’s talk about what kind of problems freeing cats will cause! Only by knowing the pros and cons of things can everyone make better judgments and choices, then let me Let’s take a look at what problems may arise if you let cats roam free!

　1. Accidents and diseases

Accidents and diseases are one of the most obvious problems. The probability of accidents and diseases when going out for free activities will be greatly increased. This is a problem that must be seriously considered. If you live in a city with busy traffic, I still I advise you to give up the idea of ​​free-range breeding as soon as possible, because the probability of accidents in cities will be greatly increased. In contrast, in places such as suburbs and rural areas, the traffic flow is definitely less, so the probability of accidents will be lower. However, you must understand that getting into traffic accidents is unavoidable. After all, cars are now a necessity in everyone’s life. It’s an indispensable item. There are cars coming and going everywhere when you go out.

In addition, the risk of illness and injury also increases. Cats who are left unsupervised for long periods of time are at risk of injury from fighting with other animals and being bullied by naughty children. And if you go out to play, you will be infected with parasites such as fleas or ticks.Insects will also increase the chance of infecting other cats with germs, which are the main sources of cat illness!

　2. Cause trouble to neighbors

Harmonious neighborly relations are very important, and the usual causes of bad neighborly relations are mostly trivial matters in life. Some people like to have free-range cats, and some people are not good at getting along with cats. Some people like cats very much when they see them, while some people just can’t accept the existence of cats. Probably the most common problem here is feces and urine. Cats that are used to being free outside often defecate everywhere due to territorial issues. You can't always follow the cat, so you can't control whether this will happen! If the cat urinates and defecates in other people's territory every day, it will definitely be disliked by others. .

Cats may also stain or scratch houses, cars, or other property. When these things happen and are witnessed by neighbors, they may mistake it for a stray cat and do something harmful to it. A reminder here, too, is that it’s important to gain understanding from your neighbors, and also make sure your cat wears a collar with your name and contact details on it, so it won’t be mistaken for a stray. Even if something unpleasant happens, there is still a chance to contact you!

3. Carry out unnecessary reproduction

This is really a headache, because you cannot ensure that the cat will not have relationships with other cats outside. Of course, this premise is that the cat has been neutered, otherwise this matter must be taken seriously. Cats have a strong reproductive capacity and can give birth to several kittens at a time. These new babies may cause trouble to the family. Most people don’t have the energy to take care of many cats, and if these cats give birth outside, it will increase the number of stray cats for no reason. This is also a big problem. This is also the reason why many people abandon cats, because the cats go out to play. , bringing home a full belly of kittens, and the owner cannot take care of so many cats, so be careful about this problem.

Through the advantages and disadvantages of free-range cats mentioned above, I think everyone has their own opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of indoor cats and free-range cats. Each cat has a different way of thinking and each cat has a different personality, so it’s hard to decide which one is better. Therefore, if you want to raise a cat or not, please think carefully about what you need to pay attention to, and then make the best choice based on your family and your love for cats.