While your cat is a sweet and cute loving companion for you, please, don't forget that those sharp claws and strong jaws are given to felines for a reason and this reason is them being predators. Sometimes it's hard to believe that the fluffy lovebug that's cuddling you or stretching on your couch, or relaxing most of the day has very strong hunting instincts and can turn into a danger to smaller animals in a wink.
If you let your cat outside, you must be used to the tokens of his affection like birdies on your pillow, lizards on your porch or even bigger rodents' bodies in your yard. It's unpleasant for most animal lovers, but not everyone realizes how big of a problem it is for the nature around us.
Statistics (the Audubon Society to be exact) shows that house cats kill from 1.3 billion to 4 billion birds yearly in USA alone. It's hard to imagine what the worldwide number would be!
The problem is so big that it captured attention of many organizations. Campaigns created by the American Bird Conservancy and Indoor Pet Initiative by Ohio State University are trying to warn people about how dangerous free roaming house cats are.
We think that there's nothing better than an adventure cat companion exploring the World together with you. Nothing is out of reach for our feline friends: a walk in the park, a day at the beach, camping with family, some can go as far as go sailing and surfing with their humans. But no matter how responsible an owner you are, things can go south when you are outside with your cat. As we see it, the best outside adventure is the adventure that is safe for everyone involved, including all the Tweeties around.
CLOSE TO HOME
We feel like our yard is the best place to let our cats run free, and for them it maybe so, but being a responsible owner means that you are thinking not only about your pets, but also about the surrounding wildlife. To lessen the possibility of an accident, consider keeping your on the leash – it will be better for his safety as well.
In addition to that, there are other easy ways to help little critters stay out of the harm's way. If you have birdfeeders and baths, please, keep them away from your cat's reach by putting them on a metal pole or making the trees you hang them on difficult to climb by covering their trunks with foil or metal wrappings. These small actions can make big difference for the birds living around us.
Building a catio for your furry friends might be the best way for them to enjoy the Nature, while staying safe and keeping the Nature safe too.
WHILE EXPLORING THE WORLD
Make sure that your cat is wearing a secure harness during your adventures and a leash for you to always know where your cat is and what he's up to, to be able to prevent anything happening to him and him happening to anyone else. If you are camping, keep your pet in your tent overnight not to find the trophies from the night hunt in the morning, delivered to you by your faithful companion.
- A bell on the collar. Yes, a simple bell is one of the best alarms for little creatures that the cat is on the loose. Not only you can choose a fancy accessory to underline your cat's beauty, but also prevent birds, squirrels and chipmunks from depriving the neighborhood of their livelihood.
- Birdsbesafe collars are a next step in the art of saving little lives: bright and vivid, created for the birds to see someone approaching them from afar they are worn over the cat's collar and can be visible even in the dim light.
- If you find your cat a bit too inquisitive for his own good, CatBib might be your option – it prevents a cat to pounce easily. Statistics show that it stops a cat from catching a bird in the 81% of cases and from catching a small mammal in 45%. CatBib has a reflective logo, making your cat visible at night, which is adding to his safety as well.