PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman Tackles Your Tough Questions and Tricky Situations

Help! My neighbor complains about my cats going onto her property, but I’ve told her to back off. Cats don’t know where the border is, and roaming is their right!

You are in the doghouse on this one, I promise. If you love those cats, or even like them slightly, you would cough up a hairball if you listened in on emergency calls we get about what befalls “outdoor cats.” For your own peace of mind and for the cats’ safety, you need to make your indoors as interesting to them as the outdoors and keep them inside unless you are outside with them. People don’t like having cats relieve themselves on their lawns or stalk birds at their feeder, and we see case after case of people retaliating against the cats, especially after getting into a slanging match with their guardian.

Believe it: Cats get poisoned, shot, set on fire, trapped, and drowned all the time – and of course, cats who are permitted to roam are also run over, attacked by other animals, and get infected with diseases like feline leukemia. Please watch our “Here Kitty, Kitty” PSA that depicts just four examples of recent, real-life cat killings and then go out and buy inexpensive window perches or even download PETA’s easy instructions so you can construct a simple catio that will keep your cats and wildlife safe. More tips are in Ingrid Newkirk’s book 250 Vital Things Your Cat Wants You to Know: The Cat Guardian’s Bible.

Isn’t it a bit extreme to avoid honey?

Oh, honey, let me tell you a not-so-sweet story. Bees work diligently to collect nectar and produce that honey to feed their hive. Honey producers cut off queen bees’ wings and artificially inseminate them on a bee-sized version of the factory farm “rape rack.” Bees’ wings and legs are often torn off by haphazard handling and when they are smoked out of their hive by beekeepers who want the product of the bees’ amazing industry. Be sweet to pollinators: Choose maple syrup, agave nectar, molasses, jam, dandelion and apple “honey,” or Mellody vegan honey instead.