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Australia’s war on feral cats

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Re: Australia’s war on feral cats

#31

Post by buserror »

Having grown up with a cat lady (17 cats at some point) I can tell you that anyone who claims 'look in the mirror' and try to apply human ethics to their pets is completely irrational.

Most of the time these people will actually make up complete nonsense story to justify the pet behaviour, including completely stupid stuff like "it's Tuesday, he always like to be on the dinning table on tuesday" and endless other nonsense.

There are several papers [ Example: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/toxoplasma... ] describe how Toxoplasmosis could not only get into owner's system, but also change their behaviour; they had demonstrated that mices infected with it would actually be /attracted/ to cats completely irrationally.

When you look at this and extrapolate on how many people are actually /crazy/ about cats [ Check, the interweb! ] and could be affected by that sort of brain damage --all of them driving, voting and making 'rational' decisions-- it's really worrying...

Re: Australia’s war on feral cats

#32

Post by buserror »

littletimmy wrote: post #29
vacri wrote: post #4

Weird article. The article finishes up complaining that humans are the prime agents of reducing biodiversity and are hence morally obligated to fix it... but apparently not by animal management. Somehow we are morally obligated to fix the damage we have done, but not by reducing the numbers of cats (or foxes, toads, pigs, rabbits, camels...). The proposed alternatives are merely links to sites that don't give clear p…

We should engage in a culling of humans. This despicable species of hairless African chimp has marauded the rest of the earth. Humans are 7 billion. Ideally, we need some 500 million.

Are you volunteering? :-)

Re: Australia’s war on feral cats

#33

Post by rwmj »

geowwy wrote: post #10
shirro wrote: post #7

Cats are totally out of control here and there needs to be more action both on fully feral animals and those left to roam freely by their "owners". I can't move around my yard at any time of day or night without disturbing a cat. They aren't chipped or tagged and there are no registration fees unlike dog ownership. There is no equivalent of a dog catcher or fines for people who let them wander. I got a hefty fine for…

>>> They aren't chipped or tagged and there are no registration fees unlike dog ownership. There is no equivalent of a dog catcher or fines for people who let them wander. In Western Australia it's now illegal to let your cat out the house unless it's chipped, tagged, tattooed and de-sexed. Other states will probably follow soon.

Tattooed?

Edit: Finally I scrolled past all the "cat tattoos" on Google, and found out what this is about: http://www.mypetsdoctor.com/tattoos-indicate-spay-neuter

Re: Australia’s war on feral cats

#34

Post by Ntrails »

buserror wrote: post #31

Having grown up with a cat lady (17 cats at some point) I can tell you that anyone who claims 'look in the mirror' and try to apply human ethics to their pets is completely irrational. Most of the time these people will actually make up complete nonsense story to justify the pet behaviour, including completely stupid stuff like "it's Tuesday, he always like to be on the dinning table on tuesday" and endless other non…

I go home to see my mother on the weekends a lot at the moment (temporarily of no fixed abode). When I start getting ready to leave at around 6pm on a Sunday the dog will lie in the Hallway between me and the front door. We consider that he knows I'm about to leave, and that's why he's there. I spend plenty of time in my room without seeing that behaviour.

Am I suffering from brain damage in anthropomorphising his behaviour somewhat? Or am I simply choosing the explanation that gives me the most comfort?

The reality is I can't tell why any human being does something, regardless of the fact they can actually talk. I choose what to believe as the motives for them, and do the same for my dog.

Re: Australia’s war on feral cats

#35

Post by vacri »

jacobush wrote: post #30
vacri wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The arguments in that article don't seem to ring true. It's claiming that simple trap-and-remove just has other cats move into the area and that if you don't catch all of them, the breeding pairs bring population back to the same level. But with TNR, the population is never reduced, since you put them back; you have the same problem with breeders if you don't catch them all; and when the neutered cats start dying out…

Neutered cats compete for resources that otherwise breeding ones would access.

So you have a full competing population, otherwise there'd be spare for the breeding cats. Then when the neutered ones die, existing breeders fill in the gaps, or, as the article says, neighbours come in.

Re: Australia’s war on feral cats

#36

Post by wycx »

A_COMPUTER wrote: post #9

Who here remembers John Wamsley? Is he still on a crusade to reduce the feral cat population in Australia? I remember this guy from way back, he made a lot of people mad. http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/wamsleys-war/clip1/?n... Also, this article reads hilariously close to an essay from a climate change "skeptic".

Hat your cat today!

Re: Australia’s war on feral cats

#37

Post by thedaemon »

Ntrails wrote: post #34
buserror wrote: post #31

Having grown up with a cat lady (17 cats at some point) I can tell you that anyone who claims 'look in the mirror' and try to apply human ethics to their pets is completely irrational. Most of the time these people will actually make up complete nonsense story to justify the pet behaviour, including completely stupid stuff like "it's Tuesday, he always like to be on the dinning table on tuesday" and endless other non…

I go home to see my mother on the weekends a lot at the moment (temporarily of no fixed abode). When I start getting ready to leave at around 6pm on a Sunday the dog will lie in the Hallway between me and the front door. We consider that he knows I'm about to leave, and that's why he's there. I spend plenty of time in my room without seeing that behaviour. Am I suffering from brain damage in anthropomorphising his be…

Dogs are not cats. The dog cares about you and knows you usually leave then. They have a very good sense of time even thought they "live in the moment."

Re: Australia’s war on feral cats

#39

Post by eveningcoffee »

flashman wrote: post #2

What a silly set of arguments: 1) "We have ethical responsibilities to cats as well as to biodiversity" 2) "[Compared to humans] are we really to believe that it is cats who are the enemy of biodiversity?" 3) "Out of respect for cats and the people who care for them, we should give preference to nonlethal alternatives in management first and foremost." To which I say: 1) There will always be more cats. We're nearly o…

These kind of dilemmas are not unique. Here is an example from a fellow user https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10385725
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