121–130 of 139 posts
And a counterpoint http://www.npr.org/2016/04/04/473002208/facing-a-growing-rat... That example is why cats were domesticated in the first place. Not having a healthy predator prey relationship in areas leads to public health issues.
I wonder what could be released in a dense city like New York to take care of the rat problem. Bats? Snakes? It's a comical thought, but so far there's no real solution.
The only healthy relationship we've found so far is that of rats to poison, but the rats seem to be winning that battle given their ubiquitousness!
"That beloved pets should not be given the opportunity to kill wildlife for sport is the easy part of this debate." Why not start by extending that to humans as well?
You'd ask yourself just how diverse the wildlife in an urban environment is, where the bulk of domestic cats live. Right now I'm not convinced about the ecological impact.
It's worth reading the author's actual peer reviewed paper: http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380
While the models they use are fairly conservative, it seems like figure 2 is pretty telling. 50% of the variance in their estimates comes from the "Unowned cats" parameter - a parameter with which "no empirically derived data exist".
IMO think they are reaching too far on this - but it is a nice elegant, simple study. I look forward to following the letters re: this pub.
> This is a ridiculous point to waffle on: pet cats should no more be allowed to roam around at will than should pet dogs, horses, pythons, or pot-bellied pigs. Actually, my Dad grew up on a mountain where, every day after school, he would come home and gather up the pig and cows that had been let free to eat for the day. So there's certainly use cases for letting a pig roam free and gather some forage. By the time I…
Uh, the fantasy world your dad described is not the real world. Cows are one thing, they are too big to lose except perhaps in India, but do you have any idea what environmental damage is being done by feral pigs that were "let free to eat for the day' and never came back? If you want to domesticate an animal to work for you, then you take responsibility for it and all it does, plain and simple. Eventually we will us…
Just for nitpicking: How can they be "apex predators" "at the top of the food chain" when they're eaten by coyotes e.g.?
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I've heard multiple stories on this theme: a farm cat that's lived out in the barn and fields for years, often not particularly concerned with humans, one day decides to hang it up and "retire" to a comfortable old age being a cozy house cat. I find this behavior to be so absolutely fascinating .
Not to dispirit you but the idea that mammals get lazier as they get older is a mighty low bar for fascination
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Doesn't work. My cat who died a couple of years ago at the age of 16 had a bell on his collar all his life. I couldn't pick that bell up without it tinkling but Radar could walk from one end of the house to the other, including the stairs, without a sound. Also when hunting he did most of it by waiting for his prey to get close enough so that any noise from the bell was simply the last sound they heard. For a while h…
Countering your anecdotal evidence with some of my own: it works fine for many, many cats. Even if the success rate is <100%, it's worth doing.
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Yeah, the hard part is just that cats have different motivations than dogs. Dogs will do something just because they know you want them to do it and you are above them in the pack. They are also more likely to be food motivated. One of my cats is very food motivated. She will always come running for the word "treat". One of them is extremely not food motivated. He gets excited when I say treat because the other cats…
"Dogs will do something just because they know you want them to do it and you are above them in the pack. They are also more likely to be food motivated." Dr. John Pilley, who trained his dog Chaser to learn over 1000 words and even syntax (like the difference between "To ball take Frisbee" and "To Frisbee take ball")[1], said Chaser is best motivated by play. "My last words to the class were to remind them that play…
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That's exactly like saying humans ought to only live in the savannah of Africa as hunters and gatherers. Just because that's where humans evolved doesn't mean that that is the only way they are "supposed" to live, nor is where they are "happiest". For starters, humans in civilization and indoor cats live a heck of a lot longer and don't have to worry about getting eaten by predators.
Our modern ways of living, sedentary, often little visceral excitement, control by overlords and paperwork and rules do lead to an awful lot of depression and anomie. Why do you think so many people are unhappy? Indoor cats have that without any of the benefits. It's not as black and white as you paint it
You mean, except for significantly reduced exposure to diseases and prompt care for any health issues that do arise, better food, and risk free entertainment?
Based on the average life expectancy alone, an indoor cat has a lot of benefits.