The Not-So-Great Outdoors

Emaciated,
anemic, and suffering in the final stages of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), which attacks cats’
immune systems much like HIV does in humans, the cat in the photo below was
found in the back of someone’s garage, where she had likely retreated to die.
Several people in the neighborhood had been feeding her and noticed that she
was eating less and losing weight, but no one had bothered to take her to a
veterinarian.

This cat was hit by a car

PETA’s
Cruelty Investigations Department gave the cat a merciful release from her suffering, but countless other stray
and feral cats—and even cats who have homes but are allowed to roam outdoors—suffer
agonizing deaths after contracting FIV, feline leukemia virus (FeLV), feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), and other contagious and
fatal diseases.

These
diseases are incurable and almost always deadly, and they are easily
transmitted from one cat to another, often through saliva or feces. (Catfights
are the prime mechanism for the transmission of these illnesses.) Infected cats
may not show symptoms for years and may even test negative for the diseases
initially, only to test positive later. If you let your cat roam outdoors, he
or she is at risk of contracting these diseases and contaminating other cats
(including the other felines in your home) before you even know he or she is sick.

Please
protect your cat from these terrible diseases as well as the many other dangers cats face outdoors, such as traffic, cruel
people, poisons, attacks by animals, parasite infestations, and weather
extremes. Keep your cats indoors and allow him or her
out only on a leash and
harness (with you at the other end of it, of course) or into a securely fenced yard
while under your constant watchful eye.

Shamanic Shift|cc by 2.0

And
if you see a cat hanging around your neighborhood, don’t assume that someone
else is taking care of him or her. Instead of leaving the cat to take his or
her chances on the streets, take
the animal to a shelter, where he or she will
have a chance at finding a loving home with people who care enough to keep the
cat safe indoors.

Read more at The PETA Files