Column: Many dangers lurk for an outdoor kitty

A simple scan for microchips performed at all shelter intakes could save your companion animal from euthanasia.

Here in Sudbury, at many times of the year, there are so many strays brought in, the present system is overwhelmed and older cats are often put down within three days of intake if unclaimed.

So many people who do look to adopt from the shelter or rescue groups overlook adult cats in favour of kittens. For older cats, this is a particular tragedy.

Many people lose their beloved pets to this fate before they even realize they are gone. Unfortunately, there are those owners who still think that letting the family cat out to run free at night is normal.

Allow me to say without reservation this is a very bad idea. I see many cats on a weekly basis with injuries and infections, often life-threatening, that could be avoided entirely if only their owners would realize that to make their cat an indoor cat is not only far kinder for the cat, but much better for everyone.

The hot summer months tempt too many pet owners to open the door to the family kitty, assuming he or she will be waiting by the door in the morning. A microchip should be a must for any pet owners who consider letting their cat run free, and even for those who don’t.

The permanent, non-removable chip which costs less to install than two cases of beer, could make all the difference between losing your favourite pet forever or a happy reunion.

Easy to install and injected under the skin with a pre-sterilized needle, it causes no more fleeting discomfort than any routine injection. The chip will identify your cat and contain relevant information to get your pet back home safely.

Entered into a 24-hour, nation-wide data bank, no matter where your pet turns up, you will be notified. Of course, there is one even more secure way to protect your pet, and that is to see to it that your cat is an indoor cat.

The hazards for the outdoor cat are many. In more rural areas, ferrets, fishers, foxes, wolves and larger birds of prey will actively hunt house cats. Farmers and trappers may leave traps intended for vermin, and may inadvertently catch your family cat.

In the city, of course, the main threats are different.

Toxins leaked from radiators and poisons left out for rats can kill or debilitate your cat, but first among the threats to outdoor cats are vehicles. To understand why so many cats are hit by cars, you have to understand how differently cats see the world.

You or I typically have a field of view about 180 degrees, with varying amounts of peripheral vision, depending on the individual. A cat has at least a 200-degree field of view and much more peripheral vision than we will ever have, the better to spot small prey like mice. Their eyes are attuned to spot minute movement like a quivering mouse or insect.

Cats also see about eight times better at night than we do, thanks to the number of light-gathering cells in the back of the cat’s eye, and, although it is thought they see in fewer colours, they can differentiate many more hues.

The trade off is that human eyes can change shape more easily than those of cats, allowing us to focus at further distances. We can easily detect motion at 100 feet away or more, which is 10 times better than cats. We can detect even slow-moving objects at this distance, whereas a cat may either not notice or assume such objects are stationary. A car bearing down on them at even moderate speed may be invisible until its too late for the cat to get out of the way. Therefore, every time a cat crosses a street, its a gamble as to whether or not it will make it across safely.

However, cars are just one threat.

Last year, a cat turned into SAINTS, a wonderful local cat rescue charity, was found to have 18 pellets embedded in its body. Arming children (some of whom can be incredibly cruel) with weapons capable of shooting 22-calibre projectiles at speeds of 900 feet per second should be illegal, but it isn't at this time in our country. And we thought lawn darts were a stupid idea.

There are also so many diseases and parasites that your outdoor cat can acquire that can pose a threat to your pet and your family's health. Round worms, tape worms, and Giardia (beaver fever), just to name a few, can be passed to humans through feces and become serious infections in humans.

Toxoplasma gondii, a common parasite for outdoor cats was once thought only to be a problem for expecting mothers. Toxoplasmosis, the parasitic disease caused by the organism, is now being investigated more rigorously by scientists who have discovered that the infection can cause strange behavioural changes in otherwise healthy people.

Aside from the parasites that can infect people, there are many others that can cause chronic disease in your cat and may even go unnoticed. Fleas may carry blood parasites that can debilitate your cat, and sadly, a virus called feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is spread through biting and mating, for which there is no vaccine or cure, is becoming more common in Northern Ontario.

Now if all these threats weren't enough to convince you to make your cat an indoor kitty, think for a second of the plight of songbirds. The impact of free-roaming cats on bird populations has only recently been recognized, but it is devastating. Whole species are in serious decline, and free-roaming and feral cats are high on the list of culprits.

Cats are, after all, nature’s nearly perfect design for a predator, and cats will do what cats are designed to do, if we let them. New analysis published recently in Science News, concludes free-roaming and feral cat populations kill between 1.8 and 4 billion birds each year, and that this rate of loss is unsustainable for these bird populations, many of whom are already under threat from habitat loss and climate change.

Converting your outdoor cat to indoor cat may take a little time and kitty may resent it, but after a while the cat will no longer be interested in going outside. I have seen people successfully make this transition time and again, so I hope this article will convince a few more of you to make this decision. Your cat will, on average, live a much longer life and enjoy better overall health. And you and your favourite feline can look forward to may happy years together instead of a sudden, tragic parting.

Dr. Nicole Baran is the owner and operator of Sudbury Regional Cat Hospital. This column will appear monthly.