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I live in the "flat out" country. No, my dogs dont roam, they are kept behind fencing. Cats can roam, but dont last long. If the coyotes and owls dont get them, people shoot them. Nice life for them dont you agree?
By killing mice and rats in barns and grain storage areas, cats are vital for keeping those pests in check. In India, Beck said, cats are believed to play a significant role in lessening the amount of grain loss caused by consumption or contamination by rodents. In other words, it may be true that humans feed cats, but without cats, humans would have less food in the first place. [Why Do Cats Bury Their Poop?]
So, how dramatically would the rodent population increase if cats suddenly vanished? It just so happens that several scientific studies have been conducted that paint a vivid picture. A 1997 study in Great Britain found that the average house cat brought home more than 11 dead animals (including mice, birds, frogs and more) in the course of six months. That meant the 9 million cats of Britain were collectively killing close to 200 million wild specimens per year — not including all those they did not offer up to their owners. A study in New Zealand in 1979 found that, when cats were nearly eradicated from a small island, the local rat population quickly quadrupled.
And if the rodent population shot up, this would of course trigger a cascade of other ecological effects. On that same island in New Zealand, for instance, ecologists observed that, as rat numbers increased in the absence of cats, the population of seabirds whose eggs rats preyed upon declined. If the approximately 220 million domestic cats in the world all bit the dust, seabird populations would likely fall worldwide, while the populations of non-cat predators that prey on rats would be expected to increase.
I live in the suburbs. The cats are not killing rats or mice in grain barns (we don't have grain barns). We don't have mice or rats, either. The ones that live outside are kept in check by native predators, such as black snakes, foxes, and hawks.
The outdoor cats in our neighborhood are not doing us any favors. The only things they kill in my yard are chipmunks and song birds.
Predictably, this type of thread includes a number of redneck, male sociopaths discussing how they'd like to kill, or have killed the neighbors cats.
Somehow, I get the feeling they'd cry bloody murder if I bragged about putting out antifreeze for the neighbor's lab/pit mix that goes off leash all the time and wanders around the neighborhood. Or if I made some random comment like "I wouldn't be sad if the multiple dogs that crap in my yard were taken out with poison arrows."
I would never do that, because I like cats and dogs, and I've owned plenty of both. But I do notice that online there are more cat-haters than dog-haters, and cat-haters are more likely to display violent tendencies and fantasies. All the more reason to keep our cats inside!
No one here has endorsed, much less bragged about cruelty to any animal whatsoever.
Reread my first line, guy. You chimed in so lightning fast that you surely felt I was referring to you, or you didn't understand what I said. If the shoe fits in this situation, well....
I'll stick to my comment and add that over the years I've had much more of an issue with dogs barking, escaping fences and venturing into my yard, or stepping in dog poop vs. cat poop.
Again, we keep our cats indoors, for good reasons that people have discussed. But there is something about anti-cat people (including three or four on this thread), that is peculiar and frequently violent.
Reread my first line, guy. You chimed in so lightning fast that you surely felt I was referring to you, or you didn't understand what I said. If the shoe fits in this situation, well....
I'll stick to my comment and add that over the years I've had much more of an issue with dogs barking, escaping fences or stepping in dog poop vs. cat poop.
Again, we keep our cats indoors, for good reasons listed above. But there is something about anti-cat people (including three or four on this thread), that is peculiar and frequently violent.
1. I am an old lady, not a guy.
2. No, I did not think you referred to me. I wrote at length about how I humanely trap stray cats and haul them off to the animal shelter.
3. Quote me, from this CD thread, where anyone has even remotely endorsed any cruelty to any animal. Or endorsed any sort of violence.
Domesticated animals are not part of the balance of nature.
But you see, this is what's interesting about cats.
We didn't domesticate them.
Researchers say they domesticated themselves. They chose to live along side humans. So they are a part of the balance of nature. Choosing to latch onto another species whose lifestyle/agriculture provided them with a ready food source. It happens in nature all the time with other species. Remora for example. Barnicles.
It's easy to forget that humans are part of the natural world the way we live now but we are.
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has now dried out plants dug up to the side with cat poopies as the parting gift.
Does that happen all that often? Really? You have that many cats roaming around? Pulling plants up. I have a garden, I have 3 cats and I don't see it happen as often as some people claim it does.
And imagine all the poop from birds and rodents and insects that happen in your yard. Thank god for rain.
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I do however think you ended up with indoor/outdoor kitties that became strays rather then true colony cats.
Not strays, A full on colony. I removed 11 cats from this colony and closed it down. Kept two of the younger catlings. The two I kept are very afraid of humans except me. And they are hardwired for the outdoors.
2. No, I did not think you referred to me. I wrote at length about how I humanely trap stray cats and haul them off to the animal shelter.
3. Quote me, from this CD thread, where anyone has even remotely endorsed any cruelty to any animal. Or endorsed any sort of violence.
You can't. It's not here.
Well, you do a good angry old man impression. As to my observation, it was made by reading through this thread, hence my comment. Others noticed as well.
I'm not sure what you're defending, but I'm not going to waste my time going back and quoting the insinuations made by several on the thread. They're not endorsements, but subtle hints and suggestions as to what would happen to said cats. Again, I'll stick to my assertions. I've never seen a thread where dog-haters discuss the violent endings that may greet a dog that ventures into their yard. And yet, with cats it is relatively commonplace for people to discuss killing them.
Have a good evening, ma'am.
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