No one's pets should ever be anywhere on their own. End of a leash or behind a strong fence is the only thing safest for all. Especially when they are TERRITORIAL, which most dogs are. They are animals after all and one can never be sure what might set them off. Too many people have been bitten/mauled by dogs that "were nice family pets." You needn't have worried about that cat, it would have returned to the ground when it felt safe. No doubt your presence prolonged its time up the tree.

I have a slightly different take. Here in Australia, cats have decimated native birds and small mammals. They should be kept indoors or in contained cat runs to protect other species.

Lily, it was good of you to comfort the cat enough to get it down safely. Obviously it was used to people for it to respond to you that way. Poor kitty. I agree with keeping cats indoors and dogs on leashes. A tragedy can happen in an instant and the animals are just following their instincts.

A guy and his wife were walking their dog (a pitbull) down our street and I was passing with my small dog. Their dog had no interest in mine but I told them about a deer that was just about 5' away from where they were walking and when their dog saw it he started after it. The deer around here are very used to people and dogs so don't feel shy about being in our yards. The man had a good grip on his dog to begin with and was able to stop him before he got to the deer. But this same dog pulled away from them once before to chase a deer. You just never know. Better safe than sorry.

Here is a reason to keep your cat inside, especially if you live in a subdivision. My friend has a Husky and that dog is a killer of all small animals in his yard!!!!! He likes to be outside most of the time and just doesn't like it inside, because....well, he's a HUSKY! HAHA! Anyway, he's killed TWO cats in his backyard! These were probably someone's pet cats too but they were in his yard and he got them. UGH! So sad!

Lucky kitty that you were able to intervene! Our dearly departed Boxer girl loved our kitties, but not strange kitties who wandered into the yard. She almost killed the neighbor's free range cat and after that we always checked the property before letting her outside, which was very inconvenient and only doable before dark. Considering all the outdoor dangers to cats, the inconvenience to neighbors, and the negative impact they can have on birds and other critters, I don't understand why so many people let them roam at will.

Anybody that lets their cat's outside to roam and they get into our fence with our dogs contained or hit by a car is on them not me. I love cat's but they deserve the same respect as our dogs do. Keep them contained! One of our neighbors cat was outside daily but on a leash and live to be a ripe old age. If you love you kitty, keep it safe from Dogs, cars and wildlife. Oh course there is always the exception of the dog or cat that ran off.

Our cats have never been allowed to roam free. We had a "cat run" for our other two cats, which we took down once the last one died. Then less than a year later we got Frank. Instead of building a new one, we use a dog kennel that sits outside on the deck next to the front door. We open the front door and he walks right into it. Lock the door and he watches the birds for hours, only meowing when he's hungry or needs to use the liter box.

Cats are decimating birds here, too, jmm. They should not be allowed to roam! One of my soapboxes.

There's an exception to every rule, isn't there. I'm a nature-lover and cats aren't native here, thus causing problems for our birds and other little critters. But, man-made structures such as barns, warehouses, garbage dumps, etc consolidate food sources for rodents to an un-natural level. So perhaps non-native cats are an effective way to deal with un-natural problems. But, most homes should not be attracting so many rodents that they need an outdoor cat.

Agreeing with all the reasons for not allowing pets to roam off your property, and keeping cats indoors.

That said, it is possible that cat got out by accident. It happens. My little cat used to get out occasionally, but thankfully she was so conditioned to being inside, she would come back in without objection when I went after her.

Coyotes roam freely in our neighborhood. ALL pets are very closely supervised with cats being indoors only.

My cats are indoor-only. Aside from being born outside to a feral mom, they've been inside their entire 10 years. They are seemingly fine with it. They like to sit next to windows and I usually always have my front door open with an airy screen door in place. I think a lot of folks project on cats that they're only happy free and hunting. My cats are happy and haven't killed a single bird in their lives, although I imagine they've killed many in their hearts over the years.

Not having my cats up against the dangers outside is one less thing I have to worry about.

I am in the minority here since I am grateful for the free roaming cats in my neighborhood. While they do take birds they also help control the voles that cause so much damage to plants in this area. If I put poison out for the voles both they and other things the various hawks and owls that make my neighborhood home I would also be poisoning. Other than wolves we have or have had in my neighborhood all of the things that people worry about. I am very careful during birthing time to let only my larger 16-22 pound cats out and I only let them out during the day.

I am not 100% certain even about the wolves as there have been sighting just north of here along the Missouri River.

My dogs used to catch voles. I know because they'd leave their little feet on the doormat. Don't even think about where the rest of the vole went!

I have a slightly different take. Here in Australia, cats have decimated native birds and small mammals. They should be kept indoors or in contained cat runs to protect other species.

Seems like cats would have been a welcome help in Australia's current mouse plague. Then again, seems there are so many mice even cats aren't interested.