People can get crazy defensive about this stuff, and the goal posts almost always move.

First, they usually try to say that it's cruel to keep fluffy inside. (Cats haven't evolved to safely fit in MOST environments, let's be real. There's a whole damned planet out there.)

If you mention environmental concerns, they'll usually suggest of a bell or collar. (Both can be very deadly to a cat if the collar or bell catches on something. Break-away collars mean absolutely nothing if the clasp istelf catches on something, so they also aren't a safety guarantee.)

Usually, that bit is also followed by pointing out that everything is contributing to species becoming extinct.

Sometimes, I seriously wonder if some people are just trying to get out of exercising their cat. I really hope not though, because that's a horrific thought.

The thought of potentially shortening my cats lifespan is heart breaking. I would never willingly do that to a creature who relies on me like that, so I can't understand this. I'm not sure I ever will.

Yes. But we need to stop smoking, not just chew some gum to mask the problem.

Without handling the pesticide/herbicide part of the equation, you're not handling the actual problem. You're treating a symptom.

All of these disorders and problems existed before. Colony collapse disorder existed before. Bats and their white nose fungus have existed for untold millenia. Songbirds had to face housecats for hundreds of years, just in North America.

So why are we seeing a sudden and massive change to all of those things. Cats aren't suddenly more effective hunters because of climate change. Colony collapse disorder has no logical reason to be affected by climate change as weather has been ruled out as a cause of it.

It's not like they're Fire Ants who are migrating northward as winters lessen in severity, or the massive pine beetle epidemic of BC which happened because it stopped getting cold enough to freeze them to death.

For Bats bees, and songbirds, what do they have in common. Bats eats bugs, songbirds eat bugs and seeds. Bugs can be easily found around crops. Seeds are most common around crops. Honeybees pollinate pesticide/herbicide coated crops.

Hell, the biggest and most glaring thing pointing at pest/herb-icides is that barn swallow almost went extinct but tree swallows were fine. Weird how the bug eating, farm dwelling songbird very nearly died off but the forest dwelling cousin is fine.