Following Irene Aldana’s electrifying win at UFC 296, the women’s bantamweight fighter stars in a new PETA video, going toe-to-toe against the deadly dangers cats face when allowed to roam outdoors and urging everyone to go into full guard for their feline companions by keeping them safe indoors.

“When I step out of the Octagon, my fight ends. But when a cat steps outside, their fight begins,” Aldana says in the video. “I can choose my own battles, but cats outside can’t. They have to fight to survive.”

A recent eye-opening article in The New Yorker explains how roaming outdoors is not only dangerous for cats but also deadly for birds and other wildlife, who are maimed and killed by the billions by free-roaming cats. Cats are vulnerable to the elements, often hit by cars, or attacked by other animals or cruel humans who perceive them as a “nuisance.” While cats kept safe inside have a life expectancy of 12 to 20 years, those left to fend for themselves outdoors usually die in prolonged and/or violent ways before they reach the age of 5.

“Please, keep cats safe, living indoors with you,” Aldana says in conclusion.

Aldana joins a long list of fighters and other top athletes—including Thiago “The Pitbull” Alves, Tito Ortiz, “Sugar” Shane Mosley, Marlen Esparza, Tony Gonzalez, Ty Lawson, K.J. Noons, Mac Danzig, and Jake Shields—who have teamed up with PETA to knock out cruelty to animals.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org, or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram

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