If you live in an apartment, just don't get one
Reasoning edit: pets, especially cats, will leave a smell all over furniture. Cleaning becomes an even worse chore due to the fur. They also require "house training" in order to not chew/claw/destroy most stuff that's lying around the house.
59 Comments
slothrop@lemmy.ca · 75 pts · 245d
Cats are healthier and live longer when kept indoors.
Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world · 70 pts · 245d
Local wildlife are healthier and live longer when cats are kept indoors, too.
ronl2k@lemmy.world · -7 pts · 244d
There's no evidence that domestic cats put pressure on local wildlife. Most domesticated cats live near urban and suburban humans and can keep household rodent populations down. They also have no impact on urban birds like pigeons, sparrows or crows.
Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 244d
If by domestic, you mean cats that live indoors, agreed. Otherwise there's an extensive amount of evidence:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_predation_on_wildlife
ronl2k@lemmy.world · -5 pts · 243d
That Wikipedia article contains incorrect info if it applies to habitats outside of Australia or isolated islands. The math doesn't add up for the vast majority of domesticated cat habitats. Once away from humans, cats have plenty of predators in the wild that would check their population against bird destruction. Also note that some birds prey on cats in the wild.
EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 240d
Cats are actually still a threat to birds of prey:
competition for food sources
direct threat to fledglings
cats carry pasteurella multocida, which is very dangerous to birds
ieGod@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 243d
Well you're very wrong.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/faq-outdoor-cats-and-their-effects-on-birds/
"In the United States alone, there are 60 million to 100 million free-ranging, unowned cats. These are non-native predators that, even using conservative estimates, kill 1.3–4 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals each year in the U.S. alone (Loss et al. 2013, Nature Communications). As a conservation organization, the Cornell Lab recognizes that this is an unnatural situation that is taking a tremendous toll on the native wildlife of our continent. "
"We also suggest that at its core, keeping cats indoors is a pro-cat stance, because it avoids the well-documented problems of predation, violence, car collisions, and disease that afflict all outdoor cats and shorten their lives."
https://abcbirds.org/solutions/keep-cats-indoors/
boletus@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 244d
Many urban and suburban places in Australia have precious native bird life. They do have a measurable impact on the native population.
Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world · 71 pts · 245d
Upvoted for the opinion being unpopular.
Cats don't belong outside. They will kill local wildlife and have contributed to the extinction of dozens of species.
I don't think fish care either way as long as they get the space and care they need. That is, a tiny pond outside isn't any better than a tank of the same volume indoors, all other things being equal.
Rodents definitely belong inside, if having a rodent as a pet is allowed at all in this scenario. I feel like this doesn't require further explanation.
I could see rabbits liking being outside, as long as they're adequately protected from predators. They do well inside, too. I'd call this one 50:50.
If reptiles and amphibians should be kept as pets at all, indoors is way better.
I imagine almost all invertebrate pets would have to be indoors.
Pets that are livestock species go outside, yeah. No argument here.
Some animals shouldn't be pets at all. Some belong inside. Some belong outside. Some go in and out. It's a mixed bag.
slothrop@lemmy.ca · 19 pts · 245d
Upvoted and upvoted. It's weird that in c/UO, a truly extremely unpopular opinion gets downvoted!
It should be in the top few of all time!
I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 244d
It's tempting, it's really tempting. It's easy not to downvote an unpopular opinion, but when it's a really fucking stupid opinion as well.... Ooooh I really wanna push that button.
CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de · 10 pts · 245d
Well, they should have a cozy barn if they’re pets. If they’re really pets, with HVAC and all.
Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 245d
Agreed. I generally think of "Indoors" as meaning "within the home" in this case.
CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de · 7 pts · 245d
I do too, but I’ve seen where some people keep their horses and would gladly move in!
snoons@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 245d
Depends on the type of rabbit. Someone had the same thought as you and abandoned their pet rabbit outside where it starved to death. It was really cute, floppy and big.
Other times it is successful, eats all of the vegetation and create burrows in so many places it threatens the structural integrity of all the buildings in the area.
Carvex@lemmy.world · 47 pts · 245d
Wow that is an unpopular opinion
Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 245d
Right? I'm trying to imagine a similar but even less popular one.
Maybe, "People should have to earn a PhD in Veterinary Medicine and have published post doctoral work in the particular species they keep as pets."
ptz@dubvee.org MOD · 35 pts · 245d
Per rule #6, please defend your UO position with reasoning.
ICastFist@programming.dev · 14 pts · 245d
Edited
marighost@piefed.social · 27 pts · 245d
Upvoted because unpopular but I personally think youre a boring person. Sure, animals smell but thats why you clean them and your house. Id rather clean my house 5 times a week than not have my dogs.
Janx@piefed.social · 5 pts · 244d
I'd rather visit someone who's given a loving home to a cat/dog/whatever than someone who lives in a boring, sterile, oderless, pristine home. Children are smelly and messy and destructive too, but people have always managed with them! Clean after your pet regularly, and live life rather than perfection. They're worth it...
BakedCookie@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 24 pts · 244d
Cats ESPECIALLY belong inside because they decimate the local wildlife.
Cheems@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 245d
Terribly unpopular and stupid opinion. Have an upvote
Bougie_Birdie@piefed.blahaj.zone · 24 pts · 245d
At some point in your life, you also required training to make sure you didn't destroy the furniture or shit on the floor
Cleaning is part of the care. I guess that's just what the deal is though
Some people think animals shouldn't live indoors. It's worth reminding those people that humans are animals
ICastFist@programming.dev · 7 pts · 245d
We should spend a lot more time outside, too
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 245d
well then the outside should be nicer
thoughtfuldragon@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 245d
Outside would be nicer if we stopped hating the unhoused.
Gnugit@aussie.zone · 4 pts · 245d
Yes, we absolutely should.
CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de · 21 pts · 245d
Upvoted, because you’re totally incorrect.
Are you advocating for the somewhat extreme position that pets shouldn’t exist?
Your reasoning suggests that basic duties of pet ownership such as basic training and grooming are too onerous. Canids do not soil their den in the wild and so easily are trained not to soil indoors, and cats don’t need training to use a litter box.
ICastFist@programming.dev · -15 pts · 245d
Glytch@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 245d
If we don't keep pets in the house where do we keep them? Constantly outside? Do we build a separate shed for them? What about fish? Can people keep fish inside? Or lizards? Or Guinea pigs? Or Hamsters? Or gerbils? Or any of the myriad of other small animals that people keep in terrariums/aquariums and can't be kept outside?
The problem with citing that fallacy is that your position is already absurd without reduction.
Tedesche@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 245d
Your reasoning simply seems to reflect the need for additional training and effort on the part of the pet owner. That’s not “reasoning” so much as bitching. Pets do perfectly well in human dwellings, so long as care and effort are taken to make it so. It kind of sounds like you shouldn’t own an indoor pet. That’s fine for you. Stop telling other people what to do when they may well be more caring and/or less lazy than you.
Sunsofold@lemmings.world · 9 pts · 245d
That exact same reasoning applies to humans as well, but we still let them into the house. However, though from a very weird direction, you have certainly landed on an unpopular opinion.
CoffeeTails@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 245d
Why tho?
I mean many pets shouldn't live in a small apartment. Few pets are ok with it. Some pets are okay with living in bigger apartments but then it's more about giving enough enrichment and outdoor or balcony time it it fits the pet
I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 244d
Dumps fish tank outside
Sorry, but pets do not belong inside homes.
Binturong@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 244d
This is an ignorant take in that it doesn't in any way address the emotional benefits of having animals in your living space, or offer any justification for why the costs that are asserted could be worth accepting, or the fact that plenty of animals adapt well to smaller spaces. Don't like cleaning fur? Get short haired animals. Kids need training too, and plenty of human adults have no idea how to properly clean up after themselves. If you don't like animals that's fine, but don't try to perscribe your needs onto others based solely on these grounds, you can just say I don't like pets and that's acceptable.
essell@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 245d
Upvoted because I do disagree, where else they gonna go?
cats outside are a menace, for example. Responsible thing to do is keep them inside.
ICastFist@programming.dev · 0 pts · 244d
From the amount of "cats are dangerous if outside", it's starting to sound like we are the only thing keeping them from destroying environments, after introducing them
NotASharkInAManSuit@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 244d
That’s 100% correct.
essell@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 244d
Absolutely. Plenty of evidence for that.
Though I'm not a fan of the collective responsibility for choices which happened outside of the time and space you and I exist in.
I'll take responsibility for my cat.
Janx@piefed.social · 2 pts · 244d
Yep. They are adorable fuzzy little psychopaths. So we have to be the adults and look out for nature as well as them...
OldChicoAle@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 245d
Don't come over.
Adderbox76@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 243d
Kids, especially toddlers, will leave a smell all over furniture. Cleaning becomes an even worse chore due to feeding time messes and crayons on the wall. They also require potty training in order to not shit themselves and then rub it onto everything lying around the house.
Seiously, toddlers belong outside...
MantisToboggon@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 245d
What if it's a really sexy one?
slothrop@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 245d
Checkmate OP!!
ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 245d
If by that you meant "I don't like the effect pets have on my living spaces", sure, of course, and you don't have to get one/let them inside if the weather's okay!
Rhoeri@piefed.world · 5 pts · 244d
Soooooo. You’re gatekeeping other people’s apartments?
Here’s your upvote.
ICastFist@programming.dev · 1 pts · 243d
Pets deserve better than to live in shitty cramped spaces like we are forced to
mirshafie@europe.pub · 4 pts · 245d
How dare you. My cat is an angel and I'm lucky to get to clean her fur.
Tangent5280@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 244d
Paws typed this comment
FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 244d
I agree - I think it's mean that people keep dogs, for instance, when they're leaving them unattended for most of the day. Personally I wouldn't get a dog unless I had family, a house and a garden for it. Cats have a bit more leeway but I would still want them to have a nice neighbourhood or gardens to explore.
zeca@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 244d
Thats the main argument for me. I keep hearing neighbors dogs barking alone all day, it seems so sad to me...
FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 244d
And I can't tell if its a historical norm or if we've essentially seen a huge increase in the number of lonely pets. I get the feeling that having a family pet is part of the american 'white picket fence' package, but that was conceived in a time when married women were usually SAHM - in which case dogs at home are constantly kept company.
I've often said to people that pets should be shared with neighbours, so they can stay as active as poasible and not be too much of a time drain on one family (E.G some dogs need to walk twice a day, or run once a day) but people don't generally seem interested in a pet's happiness.
bstix@feddit.dk · 1 pts · 243d
Of course a dog should be activated physically and have attention, but it'd also be cruelty to keep it awake and active all day long.
Dogs sleep a lot. They need 12-14 hours every day, and even up to 20 hours for puppies or old dogs.
This fits very well with being left unattended while the kids are at school for instance.
It's better to leave it unattended for one long stretch than several shorter ones daily, because dogs do keep track of time based on routines. Coming in and out several times, or taking the dog along randomly is more stressful for it, because it breaks the routine.
They're very adaptable and teachable, so many things are possible, but it should definitely be taught to chill out by itself, so it's capable of this when you actually need it to be alone for some reason.
De_Narm@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 243d
My cat does leave a strong smell. It has become my favorite smell.
KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 244d
I don't think I've ever been to a cat owners house who's furniture smells like cat, I would love to know what a cat even smells like.
Maybe if those owners don't clean their cats litter properly or often enough, that causes a smell, and yeah, lots of shitty cat parents who don't clean after them well enough.
Or maybe this is about un neutered cats that piss on stuff? That's unfortunately somehow also a thing.
Cats also don't require any training to do any of those things? Just pay attention to your cat, ensure you play with it and give it enough toys and attention and it won't do shit to your stuff.
Your statements have me more confused than anything else.
Dogs smell, they have a weird metallic smell to them and they leave that smell on surfaces, maybe you got confused?
Is this unpopular opinion or just objectively wrong opinion?
unsettlinglymoist@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 241d
ICastFist@programming.dev · 2 pts · 243d
I can assure you I can tell when I enter a house that has cats by smell alone, much like a smoker's car has a distinctive smell
Glytch@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 245d
You seem to have a very limited view on what constitutes a "pet".
Sunsofold@lemmings.world · 1 pts · 245d
That exact same reasoning applies to humans as well, but we still let them into the house. However, though from a very weird direction, you have landed on an unpopular opinion.
pyrinix@kbin.melroy.org · 0 pts · 240d
Dyskolos@lemmy.zip · -5 pts · 245d