The only things you are missing by staying in are the bad things your family is making sure will never happen to you. You have everything you need to be healthy and happy right where you are! Unfortunately, misguided kindness by people who think they are helping adds to the problem of animal overpopulation and the suffering it causes. Cats are domestic animals and must be responsibly cared for as such. Far too many people allow cats to reside on their properties, providing nothing other than food. These animals reproduce at an alarming rate and when the colony has become too large, animal control agencies are called in to remove them and must euthanize many because they are not suitable for placement as pets. While this causes great heartache for the people who claim to love them, the tragedy is actually perpetuated by those very people.

Early socialization--handling, grooming, play with humans--is critical to the development of a cat that will make a good pet. Socialization must take place from the time kittens are able to walk up until they are about 3 months old. If they have never been handled by that time, very few will develop the friendly personality that most people desire. Left out "on their own" they will begin reproducing by the time they are 6-8 months old, and the cycle will continue. Soon a colony of feral (domestic, but wild-acting) cats exists. These animals have never received any of the basic veterinary care responsible owners provide for their pets and if they do become sick or injured treatment is difficult, if not impossible, due to their often violent reactions to handling and confinement. They are surely infested with both internal and external parasites. Left untreated they can cause severe medical problems and extreme discomfort. In addition, the cats are at great risk of contracting rabies and transmitting it to domestic pets and humans.