Are cats always considered a pet or should they live in nature?

Blog 8 von Ömer

Hallo Leute,

One day in my German course there was a discussion about cats. I said that I could not see any cats on the street in Germany and I found it strange.

Another friend of ours stated that this is normal, that cats are pets and that they should only live in houses. In Istanbul, the city where I lived before I came to Germany, more than a million cats live on the streets. People treat cats living on the streets very well and feed them. Municipalities regularly provide food and build small cat houses on the streets.

In this respect, it would not be wrong to say that cats are well received in Istanbul. As far as I know, no animals living on the streets other than birds are allowed in Germany. If a cat or dog is seen on the street, this is reported to the relevant authority and these animals are confiscated. However, many people have cats or dogs at home.

Here comes the question: is the cat a housewife or can it live on the street?

In my opinion, cats, unlike dogs, are not very attached to their sense of ownership. They are more free-spirited than dogs. Although humans have domesticated cats, the hunting instinct in cats is still not lost. Many cats still hunt small insects such as flies and spiders in their homes. In fact, according to our German teacher, his own cat sometimes even hunts birds.

Again, cats are more inclined to run away from home than dogs, in my opinion. Two of my very close friends‘ cats ran away from home because they forgot the door was open.

This suggests to me that cats are still not fully domesticated. As a big cat fan, I’m a big fan of freeing cats. Let the cats live the way they want. I am one of those who prefer streets with cats to streets without cats. What is your opinion about this theme?

Your Ömer