I think it's morally wrong to keep pets indoors, and I propose a solution...

[Chatwoman]

Hear me out.

Cats and dogs, but especially cats...

They shouldn't be kept indoors for all their lives.

Dogs can be trusted not to run away and they come when you call them, but cats don't do that, thus cats don't get let outside.

And this applies to ANY other TYPE of animal that is kept indoors all their lives.

It's not right. It just isn't.

I get it, we WANT companionship, heck, arguably, we NEED it.

And it's much better to get that companionship from pets than it is to depend on people with all their complex needs.

But...

That doesn't mean that our furry friends need to be held in captivity for all their lives.

My proposed solution??

OUTDOOR PET HOUSES!

Little mini houses that were MADE FOR our pets.

Now of course there would be hurdles to overcome as far as keeping predators OUT of these pet houses...

But the idea is to have a house MADE FOR THE PETS, that they can go in and out of as they wish.

They can take refuge inside their pet house when the weather is wet, or cold.

They can have an array of food and water and we can go and take milk and other treats into their houses.

THERE ARE SO MANY BENEFITS to this method.

Fluffy gets to run around in the grass, chase birds etc., Fluffy gets to have lots of fresh air and vitamin D.

FLUFFY NEEDS THAT.

Fluffy DESERVES that.

Fluffy shouldn't have to just DREAM of it. Fluffy shouldn't have to struggle with the idea that it may never get to go outside.

It's sad as fuck.

We need to start BUILDING PET HOUSES NEXT TO OUR OWN HOUSES as a default, as a mainstay, and as absolute integral part of OUR OWN PROPERTY.

Humanity's job is to care for the animals... the Bible says so. And it says so for a reason. WE ARE MEANT to care for the animals.

To feed them, to provide shelter, to take care of them and love them.

We're not supposed to be IMPRISONING THEM.

We need to take this course of action seriously, and quickly too.

All future houses should be built with a PET HOUSE nearby, or attached. Just like a garage. Just like a shed. This should be part of the property, and planned from the start.

[Chatwoman]

For cats who we didn't want to get away...

I think an area with a tall fence and the pet house in the middle would be a perfect solution.

So it would be like a dog house, only bigger.

It would have a pet sized door, and a bigger way to access it for caretakers.

There should also be a lean-to on the pet house, or an individual structure like a miniature carport so that the pet can lay outside but not be exposed to direct sunlight.

WE NEED TO GIVE OUR PETS OPTIONS.

[Atma]

So it would be like a dog house, only bigger.

In order to maintain the spirit of the thing, I propose the following terms and conditions:

1. The top of the structure shall henceforth be referred to as a "wooftop". 
2. Anytime a cat is laying under the proposed "carport-like" lean-to, it shall be referred to as a "Catillac". 
3. The protective, sun-blocking top of the lean-to shall be referred to as a "Meowning". 
4. All drapery shall be referred to as "Cur-tains".

[ThE fEcKin EeJiT]

I think its cruelty for people to tie dogs up and go out and forget about them.
While they howl and scream as they are lonely.
I would like to do the same thing to such people like my neighbors.
And see how they like it.

[Chatwoman]

I think the only morally ethical way to have an indoor pet is to have a screened in porch... maybe one with an end or section devoted to a flower bed. That way they can get fresh air, sun, and they can also lay in their own patch of nature.

[Chatwoman]

I often think about how beat up outside cats tend to get...

I've got one around here who is always getting into fights.

He comes back with some of the most gnarly wounds...

Without a supply of food and water and some level of (outdoor) shelter, it's hard to imagine he'd survive as well as he has.

Then again, that supply of food/water might be what he keeps fighting to secure. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

And I think about the indoor kitties and how they never get to go out. They may get to lay in a window sill behind a screen, which is far better than nothing...

But to think they'll potentially spend their whole lives inside one building makes me sad.

What's worse though? Going out there and getting ticks on them, getting in fights til they've got potentially life threatening wounds...

Or being indoors only getting to sniff the air through a screen? Sigh. I don't know...

I think it's this delicate balance between the good and the bad that makes the world go around.

That's what existence is... a constant friction. A constant weighing of the scales.

[Chatwoman]

I love the animals.

Wouldn't have any pets in the future though.

I think freedom is most important...

Whether it ultimately leads to a shorter life or not.

[Chatwoman]

Hard to say.

[Chatwoman]

If cats weren't so cute and special, it'd be easy not to have pets.

[Chatwoman]

I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm never having pets again.

But they ARE really cute.

[Chatwoman]

They're just as cute outside though, JBH.