snakeoftheday:

Over the course of running this blog, we have received a few messages about outdoor cats bringing home wild snakes. So, while this is certainly not the first post to bring up the issue, it bears repeating that outdoor cats are extremely damaging to the environment. 

A number of studies have shown that outdoor cats, along with feral cats, kill billions of native birds, mammals, and reptiles and have even contributed to or outright caused the extinction of entire species. While some, like the Lyall’s Wren, are and were particularly vulnerable due to their limited range, outdoor cats pose a significant threat everywhere. You probably live within the range of an endangered, threatened, or protected species without even knowing it. 

You can instantly and permanently improve the health of your local ecosystem just by keeping your cat indoors. This isn’t even to mention that outdoor cats live statistically shorter, more stressful, and less healthy lives. So, for the sake of your pet and the lives of many vulnerable creatures, don’t let them roam. 

If your cat needs to be outside that damn badly then it better be supervised or you better have an outdoor enclosure of some sort. Cats kill things for the heck of it and most of the time don’t even eat what they kill, so it’s not like they’re even hunting for food. Just because you haven’t seen yours bring prey home doesn’t mean your cat isn’t still a natural hunter.