I disagree. If it's in person one-to-one, you're correct. Online it may help someone else. The OP isn't the only one in this thread obviously.

Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I posted the story behind the picture despite knowing there will be critics.

I know, I really debated posting. It makes me immensely upset to see things like this and my immediate reaction was FAR more visceral. I feel for OP regardless of how I feel about their responsibility in the situation.

The problem isn't just with cars. Cats do unbelievable damage to ecosystems that didn't evolve alongside them. They've caused dozens of extinctions–over 60 species of small birds and mammals, extinct because of them. Not to mention disease and predation. Cats live longer and healthier lives inside.

Both things can be bad at the same time. For example, free roaming cats decimate bird/rodent populations

Cars are awful but there are other dangers to cats besides cars. There are dogs that frequently kill cats and other dangers like poisons. Cats are also responsible for several bird species going extinct. They should not be outside.

https://yoloaudubon.org/feral-cats-and-wild-birds/

"A recent study by the Smithsonian Institution and the US Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that domestic cats kill about 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion small mammals each year in the lower forty-eight states. This is far higher—and probably more accurate–than previous figures, and likely exceeds all other sources of human-related losses of these animals. That makes it a major bird conservation concern."

"Outdoor domestic cats are a recognized threat to global biodiversity. Cats have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild and continue to adversely impact a wide variety of other species, including those at risk of extinction, such as Piping Plover."

https://abcbirds.org/program/cats-indoors/cats-and-birds/

Lol way to make this somehow anti car. This place is fucking reddit.

Legitimately yes. Cats are not humans. If your cat has proper stimulation, they'll be perfectly happy inside for decades. There's a reason every single animal shelter in the USA has a clause in their adoption contract that requires you to keep the cat inside.

it is better. if they go outside, they get fleas, kill birds, come home injured in bizarre ways, and get into fights with various animals they sometimes lose. RIP Tigger, who died of mysterious wounds in the garage when I was a kid, and Oliver, who straight up vanished shortly after.

You can take cats for walks just like you can a dog.

Less car traffic typically.