As they prepare for a move to a new Pennsylvania homestead, one couple is trying to figure out how to handle a problem that plenty of rural pet owners might relate to — their outdoor-loving cat keeps returning home with prey.
That cat, Sméagol, is "super cuddly" with the family, but he also has a habit of coming through the cat door carrying animals — sometimes dead, sometimes still alive.
What's happening?
The family said in a recent post on Reddit that an upcoming move to a larger property with several acres has forced them to rethink Sméagol's routine. At their current orchard, which borders state game lands, he has "unlimited space to explore and hunt."
They also included a photo of a dead rabbit left on a carpeted section of the house.
They are weighing a few options: a chip-activated cat door, getting rid of cat-door access completely, or moving Sméagol to a horse barn with a warm winter shelter. Their reason, as the poster put it, is that "my husband and I do not want any wild animal inside our house EVER."
The thread soon broadened into a larger argument about the tradeoffs of barn cats, indoor cats, and the in-between solutions. Some commenters thought a barn arrangement made sense for a cat that clearly likes to roam, while others said a cat used to indoor life should still be allowed inside — just not through an always-open cat door.
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Why does it matter?
A cat with strong hunting instincts can be useful around barns and outbuildings by helping with rodent control. That same behavior becomes far less appealing, though, when the catch is brought into the house.
Some commenters focused on whether Sméagol should keep indoor access at all.
One wrote, "He only loves being outside so much because he gets to come inside and feel safe and relaxed."
Others stressed the health and environmental case for keeping him indoors, with one commenter saying: "He'll live longer, need less flea/tick intervention, and do less ecological damage if he's all-indoor."
What can I do?
One of the most common compromises suggested by Redditors was simply to eliminate the cat door. Commenters said letting the cat in and out by hand could reduce the chances of prey being carried indoors while still giving him outdoor time.
One commenter put it bluntly: "just don't put in a cat door lol."
Another described a more hands-on version of that approach: "You let them in and out all day long, when you are home. Kick them out when you go to work/whatever."
Other people in the thread said even cats with strong outdoor habits can eventually adapt to staying inside.
One commenter who had adopted former indoor-outdoor cats wrote, "They were mad for about 3 months … and then they got over it," adding that one formerly wild cat later "lived to be 21."
One commenter summed up that while it might be an inconvenience, it's his natural instincts — saying, "don't punish him for it." They also expressed how this behavior means Sméagol really feels positive about his owners, writing, "Cats absolutely are emotional beings who express love and feel belonging, and this is him doing exactly that with his family."
The original poster made it clear that "we will love him to death either way haha."
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