• livus@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Cats live longer, healthier, happier lives if they’re kept indoors

    Isn’t that an American stat, based on conditions like coyotes and snow?

    • Ozymati@lemmy.nz
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      1 year ago

      Cars, aggressive dogs, fights with other cats, humans who hate cats, toxic garden plants…

      • livus@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        None of that produces anything like the American stats though (which tend to say lifespan for indoor cats is 15 and outdoor cats is 3 years).

        By contrast, most vets I have talked to put the average lifespan for all pet cats in Aotearoa at around 15, and this tallies with my experience.

        The majority of cats in NZ are “indoor/outdoor”. We have one of the highest cat ownership rates at about 40% of households.

        I myself have owned cats that lived into their 20s.

        I think cars and dogs are likely to affect stats a little, but I’ve never run into any trouble with toxic plants or criminals!

        • Ozymati@lemmy.nz
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          1 year ago

          Still, cat’s safer indoors or only outdoors daytime. I see lost cat posts more often than I’d like to.

          • livus@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            Definitely. Vets especially recommend keeping them in at night, because that’s when most of the fighting takes place.