Billions?? Really?

slinky · Post by **slinky** » 30th Jan, '13, 12:13

I mean, I know they're little assassins, but BILLIONS??

Cats killing billions of animals in the US

They say a collar with a bell on it is a big help and can reduce a cat's kill by a third. Interesting, as I don't recall how many collars I went through with my old cat in the US. He'd come home without them regularly. Maybe he understood the concept that it would reduce his success rate....

Morrolan · Post by **Morrolan** » 30th Jan, '13, 12:23

i wouldn't be surprised. one house cat can be responsible for hundreds of kills. in Australia they are responsible for the near extinction of several local species.

Lichtgestalt · Post by **Lichtgestalt** » 30th Jan, '13, 13:02

Judging what a certain cat brings home on dead mice by just being outside for a few hours the body count is well over a hundred a year

slinky · Post by **slinky** » 30th Jan, '13, 13:40

Well, The Oatmeal is in agreement

How Much do Cats Actually Kill

canuck · Post by **canuck** » 30th Jan, '13, 18:38

Didthey count rats? Mice?

Pinklepurr · Post by **Pinklepurr** » 30th Jan, '13, 18:57

Sheesh is it anti-cat week? These stories are everywhere this week. Did this guy really start it all off? He does seem just a bit of a psycho.

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/conserv ... gn-5323582

I can't say I sad to hear about rats and mice etc...and my cats are too dumb to even catch the rats with wings (pigeons) that strut around our back garden!

Edit: Do they count all the little lizards and bugs in those billions?

BoD · Post by **BoD** » 31st Jan, '13, 07:08

Must just be strange American cats. Swiss cats (for example) have also have the same claws and teeth, but don't go around randomly killing animals (apparently, based upon no actual evidence at all)

avatarless · Post by **avatarless** » 31st Jan, '13, 10:10

So what? These cats never wander far from human settlements, so they are no more an invasive species than their owners. Cats don't kill little critters, people kill little critters. But seriously, human settlement displaces most "natural" predators: fox, wolves, coyotes, snakes, badgers, even cats like bobcat, lynx, and so on. This means domesticated cats are performing an essential ecosystem service. Something has to kill all those critters; they need a predator. Furthermore, many of the birds they kill could be considered invasive themselves as they are not forest dwelling types of birds and are attracted to land cleared by humans. So there.

slinky · Post by **slinky** » 31st Jan, '13, 11:06

avatarless wrote:This means domesticated cats are performing an essential ecosystem service. Something has to kill all those critters; they need a predator. Furthermore, many of the birds they kill could be considered invasive themselves as they are not forest dwelling types of birds and are attracted to land cleared by humans. So there.

Good point for the NZ guy in PP's article going on about getting rid of cats -- the way it was explained to me is that in NZ there is no natural predator for rabbits so every year thousands have to be poisoned or the place would be overrun. Why not let the cats have at 'em?

avatarless · Post by **avatarless** » 31st Jan, '13, 22:22

Slinky,

Yeah, I'm not sure how well my rant applies to NZ, but seems very applicable to the US.

Morrolan · Post by **Morrolan** » 1st Feb, '13, 08:28

A'less: the problem is not that cats kill for food, as all predators do, it is that they kill for fun. pair that with the fact that they almost literally breed like rabbits and quite easily revert back to semi-wild state and there's your problem. the predators that human habitation displace, are small in number per square mile and have low level reproduction rates. to say that feral cats fill an ecological nice, kill only non-forest dwelling birds (that apparently should be killed anyway as they choose to live near human dwellings) and somehow during their bloodbath perform a natural function is not showing much understanding of ecosystems or of the predatory nature of the average cat.

Lili Von Shtupp · Post by **Lili Von Shtupp** » 1st Feb, '13, 08:38

THANK GOD THEY DON'T HAVE GUNS!

Pinklepurr · Post by **Pinklepurr** » 1st Feb, '13, 10:01

Lili Von Shtupp wrote:THANK GOD THEY DON'T HAVE GUNS!

slinky · Post by **slinky** » 1st Feb, '13, 10:38

Lili Von Shtupp wrote:THANK GOD THEY DON'T HAVE GUNS!

No sh!t. I think mine might have shot me oreddi

(Most of the time he LOVES me, but sometimes he's an ass and scratches stuff and I have to fire the water sprayer at him...

)

Morrolan · Post by **Morrolan** » 1st Feb, '13, 13:01

Lili Von Shtupp wrote:THANK GOD THEY DON'T HAVE GUNS!

come again?

Fat Bob · Post by **Fat Bob** » 1st Feb, '13, 15:01

Been saying it for years. Coal sack, bricks, Mcritchie reservoir. Simple.

avatarless · Post by **avatarless** » 3rd Feb, '13, 04:09

M,

I'm not sure I agree with you. I imagine, in aggregate, that the menagerie of bobcats, weasels, coyotes, snakes, owls, etc. that have been displaced take in quite a haul. True, a few predator species (eg., coyotes) are now adapting to urban/suburban areas. Guess what? In those areas, they pick off feral cats! In Florida, they come right into your yard and take your dog. Sh!t, in florida they've been known to take your dog right off the leash while you're out for a stroll. Anyway, we humans don't live in a traditional ecosystem, more like a garden, so the usual rules don't apply. So long as domestic cats stay in the human "garden" and don't stray into wilderness areas, I think it's perfectly valid to say they provide a service. Additionally, feral cats do eat what they kill. There are plenty of ferals where I am, currently, but I can't remember seeing any evidence of getting into the garbage. I'll have to too keep an eye out...

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