Like, as long as the pet house is adequate to the pet's needs this is fine. I have known people who have barn cats (cats who live in the barn). The cats were perfectly healthy.
I don't think it's okay to keep a dog in a kennel constantly, but a dog who lives in a fenced in yard with a dog house, seems reasonable.
The woman who we bought our rabbit from has a building on her property that's basically just a large rabbit hutch. Its temperature regulated of course because this is Iowa.
The point is, not letting animals live in your house is not in and of itself cruel or wrong.
It depends. A lot of cats and dogs are used for pest control/security. This could, arguably, make them more working animals than pets, however, so I guess it depends how you define pet.
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Where I live it's far, far too cold in the winter, and often too hot in the summer to leave almost any pet outside year round, regardless of their purpose. Additionally we get a lot of hawks and great horned owls and bald eagles and coyotes, all of which are quite content to make a meal out of a cat or smaller dog. Not to mention crows that aren't so much hungry as territorial. This is mostly a problem during the night, but as cats have a tendency to roam, it's very difficult to keep them safe when they're left out of doors.
I suppose I consider a pet to be an animal you have for an emotional bond, not a purpose-driven animal. People that go out and get a cute puppy and then leave it in the backyard and occasionally throw a ball at it, that's just a waste. Now I will admit some cats actually prefer to be outside, but I don't really consider outdoor cats to be pets, even though they can be affectionate.
If outdoor cars aren't pet then I've never had any pet
All of my animals are outside, they're used to it and also enjoy their open living spaces.
The animals we keep aren't for companionship and affection only, they're useful and have purposes as much as US human.
Then they AREN'T pets, they are work animals, just as a plow horse or dairy cow would be, which is perfectly fine, and beneficial for both humans and animals. But I would hope they are spayed/neutered so they aren't contributing to the massive cat over population.
I would argue that a pet is an animal owned by a human for the primary purpose of companionship or pleasure, even if the animal also has usefulness. And honestly I wouldn't agruge if someone had an emotional bond with a work animal and wanted to refer to it as their pet. I am under the impression that most people who have service animals also have emotional bonds with their animal for example.
So if you obtained your cat for companionship, but it also takes care of mice whenever they get into the house, that cat is definitely still a pet. This was the case for my mom's cat, and she still feels bad that she was out of state a d couldn't be there when he had to be put down. (He got very sick suddenly).
It's a lot more grey with an animal whose primary purpose is usefulness, but I'd think it's fine if people want to think and talk about these animals as pets due to emotional bonds.
Also, I don't think its pointless to have an outdoor emotional bonding animal.
There is an autistic boy in California who owns two goats that live on a Farm where he must go to visit them. His mother drives him to the Farm serval times a day. These goats are explicitly for companionship, and have been helping the boy improve his socialization.
Since his goats are therapy animals one could definitely argue that they are work animals, but that doesn't change the fact that these outdoor only animals do in fact get plenty of emotional attention from their human.
And the same can easily apply to an outdoor dog whose owner goes out and plays with/walks the dog on a daily basis. Or any other myriad of animals whose purpose is emotional bonding. It really just depends on how much the human goes outside to be with the pet.
I let all my pets sleep on or in my bed if they want to, I've never known another way of living
And yes, my cats aren't allowed in the house.
I don't think it's okay to keep a dog in a kennel constantly, but a dog who lives in a fenced in yard with a dog house, seems reasonable.
The woman who we bought our rabbit from has a building on her property that's basically just a large rabbit hutch. Its temperature regulated of course because this is Iowa.
The point is, not letting animals live in your house is not in and of itself cruel or wrong.
'
Where I live it's far, far too cold in the winter, and often too hot in the summer to leave almost any pet outside year round, regardless of their purpose. Additionally we get a lot of hawks and great horned owls and bald eagles and coyotes, all of which are quite content to make a meal out of a cat or smaller dog. Not to mention crows that aren't so much hungry as territorial. This is mostly a problem during the night, but as cats have a tendency to roam, it's very difficult to keep them safe when they're left out of doors.
All of my animals are outside, they're used to it and also enjoy their open living spaces.
The animals we keep aren't for companionship and affection only, they're useful and have purposes as much as US human.
Useful things are good things.
So if you obtained your cat for companionship, but it also takes care of mice whenever they get into the house, that cat is definitely still a pet. This was the case for my mom's cat, and she still feels bad that she was out of state a d couldn't be there when he had to be put down. (He got very sick suddenly).
It's a lot more grey with an animal whose primary purpose is usefulness, but I'd think it's fine if people want to think and talk about these animals as pets due to emotional bonds.
There is an autistic boy in California who owns two goats that live on a Farm where he must go to visit them. His mother drives him to the Farm serval times a day. These goats are explicitly for companionship, and have been helping the boy improve his socialization.
Since his goats are therapy animals one could definitely argue that they are work animals, but that doesn't change the fact that these outdoor only animals do in fact get plenty of emotional attention from their human.
And the same can easily apply to an outdoor dog whose owner goes out and plays with/walks the dog on a daily basis. Or any other myriad of animals whose purpose is emotional bonding. It really just depends on how much the human goes outside to be with the pet.