A New Outdoor Threat For Small Pets

Mom is always preaching about keeping us kitties inside to ensure a long and sustainable life for us!

We have written before about the many reasons why domesticated cats should only be indoor cats.

The threats to cats who are indoor/outdoor kitties are many…disease, poisoning, being hit by a car, predators from coyotes to getting into fights with raccoons and skunks, etc…all of which can lead to injury and death.

However a new predator has emerged – from above rather than the ground…HAWKS!

And these hawks are big enough and strong enough to be a serious threat to all small pets like cats and dogs or a pet rabbit or ferret…even when contained by a fenced-in backyard.

It has been reported by local and national news organizations that hawks are swooping in and scooping up cats and small dogs and flying away with them.  While it has mostly happened to “free-roaming indoor/outdoor cats” and dogs who have been let out un-supervised…it has also occurred a few times in the family’s yard!

And just today while mom was gardening, she looked up and saw 6 hawks circling around in the sky and we live in the NYC metro area! They were definitely focused on something on the ground nearby!

So we say – keep us kitties indoors! And then you don’t have to worry about any predator on the ground or in the sky – you know we will always be safe inside!

And for our canine friends, parents, please do not open the front door and let your small dog roam on its own…mom recently read a story about how a hawk grabbed a little dog out wandering around unsupervised and flew away – only to lose its grip and drop the dog who, unfortunately, died from the fall.

Dogs need to go out – supervised please…but us kitties don’t have to go out! It’s simple, keep us indoors!

And if you must take us outside, please be sure we have a harness and a leash on…or are in a “Catio” – an enclosed screened-in patio for cats.