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1:23am July 11, 2014

Just so we’re clear.

karalianne:

If someone who lives in the middle of nowhere posts a status update (on Facebook) saying that their cat has disappeared and they are worried,

it is incredibly insensitive and inappropriate to post a comment about how cats should never be let outside because x, y, and z.

First of all, living in the country - 5-10 minutes from the nearest town (that’s like 2-3 miles) and 30 minutes from the city - is not the same as living in an urban area, or even a suburban area. There are four farms near us. FOUR. Our road gets hardly any traffic.

Second of all, NOBODY around here keeps their animals as indoor-only. Nobody ties their dogs up when they’re outside. Most of the cats are outdoor-only.

It is a fact of life that nature will happen and if you let your pet outside you run the risk of coyotes getting it. I know this. I am aware of this. I know full well that having pets that go outside is not totally safe for them. They can get sick or they can get dead.

Knowing this does not mean that I am going to keep my animals indoors all the time when spending time outside is better for them. Roy’s coat gets smoother and shinier when she’s able to go outside. She loses weight because she’s chasing things outside. It’s a better life for her. She stays near the house so she is generally safe. And she doesn’t usually spend the night outside.

And so I will continue to have indoor-outdoor pets, and I will not tie up my dogs when we have them, and when we get more cats we will finally put in a cat door and get screen doors so the cats can go in and out when they want and the bugs and birds won’t keep flying into the house through the open doors.

And I will be upset when someone goes missing, because my animals are part of my family.

And I will tell people off when they get all uppity with me about how I care for my pets, because they are not part of this culture and they are not part of my family.

Thank you, from someone who lived with Fey in the country (redwood forest, years) before we lived in the city.