Cats killing billions of animals in the US

[Coito ergo sum]

Hmmm. Merkin cats killing other animals. Why am I not surprised.

[Coito ergo sum]

I had the best cat ever when I was a kid. He lived like 20 years, and for the first 15 was a great "mouser." Every spring the yard would be littered with mice, moles and birds. I saw him bag a Bluejay by sneaking up stealthily behind it and jumping it. He caught snakes, squirrels and anything else that moved. The most gentle thing in the world when it came to people, though.

My mom swears our last cat, Tigger, lived for 25 years. We had to put her down because she couldn't retain water.

I got my cat when I was five. I had graduated college and moved away from home and he was still there. My bestest buddy ever.

[klr]

I had the best cat ever when I was a kid. He lived like 20 years, and for the first 15 was a great "mouser." Every spring the yard would be littered with mice, moles and birds. I saw him bag a Bluejay by sneaking up stealthily behind it and jumping it. He caught snakes, squirrels and anything else that moved. The most gentle thing in the world when it came to people, though.

A clever survival strategy. As long as cats are (mostly) gentle to humans, they will be forgiven most of their crimes against the rest of the animal kingdom.

[orpheus]

Can't resist:

The inimitable "the oatmeal" on:

How much cats actually kill

How to pet a kitty

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you

[klr]

Can't resist:

The inimitable "the oatmeal" on:

How much cats actually kill

How to pet a kitty

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you

Now there's a book I'm tempted to buy.

[Bella Fortuna]

I thought about that as well...

[Trinity]

thing is, we humans are probably to blame for this. We want cats as pets then a lot of us can't afford to/don't want to/can't/whatever/ look after them after a honeymoon period. Or we're irresponsible and let them have litters to which we release the offspring into the wild or keep and continue not to neuter. I was told when I got my cat from an animal rescue centre (they only let me have him after I paid to get him neutered) that a pair of un neutered cats in the wild can be responsible for thousands of offspring in one year. Over here, if they catch or have brought in any wild cat, they will neuter it and release it to try and stop the population explosion. Unfortunately, they can't enforce people to be as responsible for their own animals.
I love my cats and all the ones I ever have had, knowing what they do and how they do it but do it they must, for it is their nature to do so. We are responsible for destroying many many many more species on this planet than cats ever will.

[mistermack]

Cats like me for some weird reason.

My sister has a cat that attacks everybody. Some people she lets stroke her for a short while, then, when she's had enough, she gives them a quick bite and scratch and hisses for no reason whatsoever. She's a really weird character.
She will sit halfway up the stairs, and stop my grown-up nieces from going up or down stairs, they are so scared of her.

But I turn up, and she's straight on my lap, and never bites or scratches me. Other cats often do the same. Very odd.

I've only had one cat of my own. It didnt end well. I choked him to death, and the last thing he did was bite right through my finger.
( nothing violent, he was practically dead from pleurisy, and I was trying to make him swallow an antibiotic ).
I think he'd had it anyway. Nothing would persuade him to take any medicine.

[Jason]

I don't like cats. I don't particularly dislike them, I just wouldn't own one.

[Blind groper]

I have a cage trap, which I bait with cat food.

Any feral cat that ends up in the trap, I leave there. I put the entire trap in a plastic rubbish bag, along with a rag soaked in chloroform. Cat goes to sleep, then dies. They make great fertiliser to plant a small tree on top of.

[JimC]

I love our pet cats. They are locked up at night, and, particularly these days, don't chase birds.

However, feral cats do enormous damage to the Oz ecology, particularly to rare, small marsupials like bandicoots. They need eradication in the bush and urban fringes..

[orpheus]

Can't resist:

The inimitable "the oatmeal" on:

How much cats actually kill

How to pet a kitty

How to tell if your cat is plotting to kill you

Now there's a book I'm tempted to buy.

I bought it the other day. It's well worth the money. Very funny indeed.

[Tyrannical]

I'd suggest introducing coyotes into the area as a natural counter.

[Callan]

I don't like cats. I don't particularly dislike them, I just wouldn't own one.

One does not own a cat.

One is merely permitted to pay the rent on the house and to sleep in a small corner of the bed. Sometimes.

[Bella Fortuna]

I don't like cats. I don't particularly dislike them, I just wouldn't own one.

One does not own a cat.

One is merely permitted to pay the rent on the house and to sleep in a small corner of the bed. Sometimes.

And to provide fresh furniture and curtains to shred.