Something i was asked about - cat safety

[clarenmax]

My neighbour still lets her little girl out at night, thinkings its safer    It may be in the countryside, but now in the middle of a town when all the muppets have a few shandies 

[Littlebobo]

I think you also have to think about other hazards at night like stupid chavvy kids and other animals unnuetered toms etc ??

A lot of people that i know think it is safer to let there cats out at night as it is less risk and it is more natural ..I have had several heated discussions about how dangerous it is !!

[blackcat]

I have always kept my cats in at night for a variety of reasons. However it is true that they are more in danger at night. As Ela points out, they will be dazzled by a car's on-coming lights and stop dead in front of the vehicle, making it hard for the driver to avoid them. Also, some drivers will actually swerve to hit a cat if they are of that particular persuasion. In addition, it is at night that cats do a lot of their courting with the result that they get into fights (whether or not they are neutered). At dusk, in particular they are vulnerable on the roads since they are hard to see. All my cats have always been indoors at night, but I have not always managed to get home early enough to lock them in. It has always beenon such occasions that they are killed or seriously injured in RTAs so now I make it a point to get home in time. Plays havoc with my social life, but I don't care.

[Ela]

Got a feeling I've read that car headlights are a problem for cats which makes it dangerous at night time

Many years ago there was an article in one of the cat mags about this subject and it said that although cats can see in the dark better than humans, when a bright light such as a car headlamp is in view their eyes  dilate and then they cannot see a thing.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

I don't have time to look for anything now, but I'm sure there have been surveys showing that a disproportionate number of cats are injured by cars at night time (compared to the traffic volume).  That's probably partly due to their being difficult to see but maybe also because less traffic makes the cat a bit more confident at crossing the road (and less able to judge distance due to headlights?  Got a feeling I've read that car headlights are a problem for cats which makes it dangerous at night time) whereas a constant stream of traffic may just deter the cat from crossing altogether.

I also think that dawn and dusk are dangerous times for cats, esp in winter as that's when there is heavy commuter traffic.  It's also when cats want to be outside due to abundance of prey.  Protecting birds etc is often given as a reason for keeping cats inside at these times.

[CurlyCatz]

Remember a thread i had a few weeks ago about the amount of cats i came across in very rural areas in the dark.  I could only assume it was due to the high volume of wildlife on the grass verges and this seemed to be the prime spot for the cats.

I dunno i am really becoming more and more anti outdoor free range access for cats, i guess if you are up a farm track road about 2 miles or something they would be really quite safe but failing that i would be just too terrified.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

A lot does depend on the area you live in.  My cats are safer late evenings than they are in the day but only because after a certain time no one drives up our lane.  In saying that Cody did get killed the other day      For some bizarre reason, he went into the woods at the end of the garden and ended up going down into the road.  I would quite happily keep my cats in 24/7 and this usually applies but on the odd occasion my ferals have got out, and getting them back in is sometimes a nightmare and they've ended up having their freedom for a few days, this was to Cody's cost    I would say you have to weigh up the risks both day and night, if you live in a cul de sac for instance, after a certain time there would be no cars, if you live on a road, it may be quiet at certain times but it only takes one car and as others have pointed out, night time they are harder to see and traffic does tend to speed up.  I'm usually surprised if I have to go to the vets in the middle of the night, how many cats I see sauntering across the roads and on one particular night I had 2 ran out in front of me within minutes of each other. 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Its something I ony heard once I came to cat chat and was used to cats being out all the time in London and Kocka was.

I am the only one with a cat here except for vicious ginger up the road and she is out and about always at night.

My cats have a flap and come and go as they please, Sasa is snoring on the sofa at moment but Misa is sitting outside waiting for a mrrrrrrow. The birmans seem to be up most of night but dont leave the garden...............I wrong Misa had been eating and is back!

Sorrycat help  but I guess it really is determined by the area you live in and how far your cats will roam.

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Well, Tan, I've never actually been adviced to keep cats in at night per se. I once had this discussion with the rehoming officer at Battersea and they seemed pretty happy that I allow my cats free access day or night. Although obviously we like to know where they are... 

I think the common belief that cats should be kept in at night, stems from a backlash against the old superstition that cats must be forced to go out at night. That's something I could never tolerate and I can see that approach is wrong.

Some cats are quite happy to remain indoors, while others eager to hunt and sniff around would climb the walls if you tried to keep them in. As for road accidents, well, traffic is less at night therefore speeds are greater and cats can travel further without the hinderance of coming up against people and dogs... Fortunately, I've always lived in areas where my cats don't need to cross roads to get to hunting grounds. 

Er... I'm not helping your quest much, am I? 

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Mine never go out at night, apart from Willow when she goes on her 2/3 away days !!

Over the years i have lost 3 cats to RTA and these have always been in the daytime.

[Beccles]

Partly because cats are so SOOooooooooo hard to see at night... and also because there being less traffic means that drivers generally go faster and are less cautious.

That's also the time that other dangers to cats are more abundant... foxies, badgers, large ferocious birdies... and horrible children  that aren't nice to cats.

[Tan]

I have always known that you must keep ya cats in at night. To me it has been a said thing that you have to do the same as Neutering. It seems very general knowledge in the cat world.
I know all rescues have this rule as it's more dangerous at night and more cats are killed at that time than the day.
Is there a survey or something where this info has come from? Or is it rescue experience?
Is this different in different area's ie in a Town compared to a country area?

What do you say to someone who asks well why is it more dangerous at night if my road is busy in day and quiet at night.