Right: There are many kinds of cages offered to cat owners as more and more councils and even state and federal governments threaten restrictions on cats. Some owners, however, say that cats need to roam free to remain healthy and happy.

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Arguments against 24-hour containment for domestic cats

1. 24-hour containment is physically harmful for domestic cats
It has been claimed that permanent containment can have a number of adverse physical effects on cats.
Canberra veterinarian Dr Michael Archinal has claimed that some types of containment could do more harm than good to felines. He has stated, 'There are many cases where it [containment] is actually detrimental to the health of the cat rather than being beneficial. There are some conditions such as recognised bladder conditions which are contributed to by restricting cats capacity for movement and restricting them to litter trays.'
Obesity is also a significant cat welfare issue and a problem to which cats kept in containment are particularly prone. Outdoor cats in the wild must maintain fitness, and therefore a lean body weight, in order to successfully hunt for food. Such fitness is not required in sedentary, indoor cats, and they take advantage of the highly-palatable food that is readily available, without any undue physical effort to sustain.
Among the health issues to which obese cats are prone are: cardiovascular disease; insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes); hepatic lipidosis (a type of liver disease); lameness due to arthritis (joints wear out due to carrying too much weight); skin disease (from not being able to groom properly) and urinary tract infection (due to fat folds of skin collecting faecal debris and bacteria.
Gina Spadafori, a columnist writing for The Pet Connection, notes, 'Obesity in pets causes a lot of the same problems it does in people. An overweight pet is prone to a host of health problems, including diabetes, joint, ligament and tendon difficulties, breathing and heart challenges. Not to mention the reduced quality of life many of these animals suffer.'
In an article written by Jacquie Rand BVSc, DVSc, Diplomate ACVIM, MACVS and published on the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation's Internet site in 2013, the author stated, 'Containment...contributes to obesity and diabetes which reduce a cat's life span. For example, in one study only 50% of obese cats were alive in 4 years after initial study contact compared to 80% for lean cats.'

2. 24-hour containment is stressful for domestic cats
It has been claimed that containment has adverse psychological effects on cats. Chief among these are stress and depression. Depression in cats can prompt significant changes in behaviour, including changes in eating patterns, excessive sleeping, aggression, vocalisation, withdrawn behaviour, excessive grooming and litter box issues.
Bored cats are also likely to exhibit erratic such as damaging carpets, furniture, upending garbage containers, tipping food and water bowls, cord chewing, waking their owners early in the morning, shifting small items (such as jewellery), biting or scratching their owners.
Canberra veterinarian Dr Michael Archinal has stated, 'Depression and anxiety in our pets and this is often because of a lack of environmental enrichment.'
Dr Archinal explained further, 'Cat confinement is on the increase in Canberra so we are seeing some of these conditions increasing.
I have great concerns about cats being totally confined to the house (where) there is a total lack of environmental enrichment for the cat especially with people being away for extended periods of time.
It is not fair for the cat and it is not appropriate.'
In a letter published in The Canberra Times on April 4, 2015, Geoff Potts stated, 'Confining cats to cages within and without households is cruelty in the extreme. Since when in nature are felines confined in a small area, unable to roam as is their nature, and do what cats do everywhere else in the wilds of nature?
This is a continuing and growing example of 'the few' imposing their narrow-minded views on the majority and adds to making Canberra a laughing stock around the nation.'

3. Psychological problems as a result of containment are particularly likely in cats that have previously had significant access to an outdoor environment.
In a letter published in The Northern Star on July 31, 2015, Melanie Smith described the condition of her 11-year-old cat which has recently had to be confined for 24-hours-a-day.
'The boredom and distress is evident and I believe my cat...is in angst as he knows a normal life. It's painful to deny my cat fresh air and natural environment.'
In the same edition of The Northern Star a letter from Amy Carter stated, 'Cats need to run around and explore just as much as dogs do and it's cruel to keep them locked up inside. Maybe the government should focus on wild cats and dogs rather the domestic ones that have done nothing wrong.'
The RSPCA's Internet site similarly notes, 'A cat that has experienced living outdoors beyond the owner's property boundary may become distressed if suddenly kept totally indoors. In these cases cats may begin to display behavioural problems due to the stress of confinement and their health and welfare may be compromised.'
On March 12, 2015, the Australian Veterinary Association ACT Division Committee stated, 'Cats that are unaccustomed to being contained may suffer distress if suddenly restricted. This may lead to the development of behavioural problems which may increase relinquishment rates, both of which are undesirable from an animal welfare perspective.'

4. The impact of domestic cat predation on wildlife is often exaggerated
There have been numerous claims that the extent of the impact of domestic cats on wildlife numbers and danger of extinction has been overstated.
The British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has stated, 'Despite the large numbers of birds killed, there is no scientific evidence that predation by cats in gardens is having any impact on bird populations UK-wide. This may be surprising, but many millions of birds die naturally every year, mainly through starvation, disease, or other forms of predation. There is evidence that cats tend to take weak or sickly birds.'
The RSPB elaborated this point, explaining, 'It is likely that most of the birds killed by cats would have died anyway from other causes before the next breeding season, so cats are unlikely to have a major impact on populations.'
According to this line of argument, though domestic cats do prey on bird species, they do not do so in a way that it likely to increase the attrition rate beyond what would occur naturally, as they kill birds who would not survive.
Allison Grasheim, of Alley Cat Allies, has stated, 'There's a difference between mortality-the death of individual birds-and impact-a change in the population from year to year.'
Grasheim has also noted that some aspects of domestic cats' predatory behaviour can be of benefit to native wildlife populations. She has commented, 'Cats are just a part of a wider ecosystem and do not just prey on birds. They will also reduce the populations of other pest such at mice, rats, and rabbits. Removing cats from the ecosystem may have unforeseen consequences on the ecosystem as a whole, also to the detriment of native wildlife.'
Queensland veterinarian, Eva Berrima, has stated, 'Cats eat mainly rodents and small rabbits, the so-called "pest" species. If these animals are not available, only then will they prey on birds and other wildlife. Several studies have indicated that cats play a crucial role in regulating rabbit populations in Australia, a country that has spent a fortune on trying to control rabbits by other means.'

5. There are many more significant causes of species loss than domestic cats
It has been claimed that domestic cats are often held responsible for species decline when, in fact, the causes lie elsewhere.
The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) cites the following factors as the principal causes of species loss: habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, pollution and unsustainable trade. Habitat loss is rated as the most significant factor.
Critics of a concentration on one invasive species - cats - claim the species is being effectively scapegoat to prevent human beings from having to concentrate on the adverse effects of widespread human behaviours, such as deforestation.
Referring to the causes of species loss in New Zealand, Cath Watson, the President of the Companion Animal Society of New Zealand Veterinary Association, has stated, 'Habitat destruction and competition for food sources from introduced species such as rabbits, possums, insects and introduced bird species also have a huge impact on New Zealand native wildlife, arguably more so than owned cats.'
The British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds(RSPB) has stated, 'Those bird species that have undergone the most serious population declines in the UK (such as skylarks, tree sparrows and corn buntings) rarely encounter cats, so cats cannot be causing their declines. Research shows that these declines are usually caused by habitat change or loss, particularly on farmland.'
An article posted on the Community Biodiversity Network on September 17, 2001, pointed out that Australia is the biggest clearer of woodlands and forests of any developed country on Earth. 'At present, evidence indicates that an average of about 500,000 hectares of native bush is being cleared every year - or more than 100 football fields destroyed every hour in Australia ... Land clearing is having a devastating effect on millions of birds, reptiles and other animals, who are killed immediately or die from starvation or injury soon after their habitats are destroyed.'
According to Dr Garnett, author of the new Action Plan for Australian Birds, 7.5 million birds are killed every year as a result of land clearing.
Referring to birds endangered in the Australian Capital Territory, David Rees, in a letter published in The Canberra Times on April 4, 2015, stated, 'Regent honeyeaters are not a regular sight in the ACT now, last one I saw here was more than 10 years ago. The decline of this species is national and landscape-scale habitat loss over its entire former range (Victoria to South-East Queensland) is the likely main issue. The swift parrot is a winter migrant from Tasmania - the plight of its breeding habitat in Tassie is well recorded in the media. The ACT is a tiny part of its overwintering range and not the main one.'
Rees concluded that ACT domestic cats could not be blamed for the position of either species, 'When either of these birds appear, they are hyperactive feeders high in the canopy, well out of the range of the average domestic cat.'