Cats and the Outdoors
Your outdoor cat will happily use the neighbour’s garden or lawn as a giant litter box, potentially causing problems between you and your neighbour. The City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 349 (PDF file size 95KB), prohibits cat owners from allowing their cats to cause damage or nuisance to a neighbour’s property. This means that your cat should be kept indoors or supervised while outdoors so that you can be sure you are complying with the bylaw.
Outdoor cats are prone to getting lost and hundreds of cats die annually on the streets of Toronto, alone and unidentified. Their owners will never know of their demise. Searching for a lost cat, especially if it does not have a City licence tag is a time consuming and often disappointing effort. Less than 10% of lost cats are reunited with their owners.
It’s a fact that an indoor cat lives a longer, healthier life than that of an outdoor cat. An indoor cat never faces the dozens of dangers waiting outside your front door like cars, other cats waiting to fight or exposure to disease and parasites. Cats raised indoors are perfectly content with their world. Those that have experienced the outdoors will need some time to get used to being inside. A cat run in the backyard may be the initial step to help your outdoor cat learn to relax and enjoy the comforts of home.
Sterilizing your cat is important whether your cat goes outside or not. However, it is especially important to spay/neuter your cat if you do allow your cat to roam unsupervised. Many outdoor cats are also breeding with other cats, increasing the already overwhelming population of unwanted, homeless cats.
Please be a responsible cat owner and a respectful neighbour!