The Quest of the Mighty Bishrito

Bishrito has spent most of his life as an indoor cat.

Bishrito's view of the Beet Ranch front door.

The ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States both recommend domestic cats be kept as indoor pets. (For articles, click the links.) They cite multiple rationales for this recommendation, such as the increased lifespan of indoor cats compared to outdoor cats (10-12 years indoor vs. 2 years outdoor).

Here are my top three very good (I think) personal reasons for keeping our cats indoors:

1) We live on a street, with cars.
2) Coyotes are native to San Diego. Coyotes eat cats.
3) I like birds.

As much as we love Bish, we have no illusions about his natural instincts as a predator.

 Take me to your birdies.

Click the sparrow or Bishrito the Birdinator for a scary article from the American Bird Conservancy about how many birds are killed by domestic cats every year.

 Friends not food!

Unlike many catrearing decisions we've made over the years, I feel like our decision to keep Bish inside has a strong evidence basis.

But, that argument is lost on Bishrito.

We thought it wouldn't be difficult to make Bish an indoor cat. Our other cat, Clyde (an older female tabby), certainly never cared. Bishrito has a good life here at the Beet Ranch. He has a cat tree, regular meals, TREATS, great healthcare, a big basket of cat toys, and humans who love him. We thought Bish wouldn't remember his first two weeks of life in the wild. If he did, we thought he wouldn't remember them fondly. We were wrong.

He longs for the wild.

This picture always breaks my heart.

Who could fail to relate to the yearning to get out? To seek the wild in a place where the wild has been denied?

Bishrito's quest is our quest too.