“Unadoptable” shelter cats get second chance at life by chasing mice

Post by peteretep » Mon, Sep 24, 2018, 4:19 AM UTC

bayesian_horse wrote: post #6

Animats wrote: post #5

Well, yes. They're predators. That's what cats are for. When I kept a horse at the Stanford barn, we always had a few barn cats. The cat people tended to overfeed them, so they wouldn't hunt much. Arrangements were made with the people who catch feral cats at Stanford to exchange the fat cats for some lean, aggressive ones they couldn't place in homes. Worked out fine. Soon, they'd cleared the barn, and started hunti…

I'd recommend keeping an eye on the cats' body condition. Domesticated cats are surprisingly efficient hunters, but if mice are too scared/scarce or the cats depress their population, there's only so much the cats can catch. On the other hands most cats should get about half as much food as they currently do, but that's another story.

Post by bayesian_horse » Mon, Sep 24, 2018, 6:04 AM UTC

cm2012 wrote: post #26

jrace wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The spirit behind the phrase "no bad dogs, just bad dog owners" fits very well with your example. Your dog is not bad, and its owner (you) are also not bad. Now, if you took your dog, who you know to have behavior issues to a home and locked him in with some kids...then you are now the bad owner. You are smart and caring enough (thank you!!) to recognize and properly handle your dog. Your dog is not bad, he is just a…

Okay, replace bad with inherently badly behaved then. The worst thing is that many people are fucking awful to other people who return a dog to a shelter when it doesn't work out.

Post by bayesian_horse » Mon, Sep 24, 2018, 6:15 AM UTC

peteretep wrote: post #41

bayesian_horse wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd recommend keeping an eye on the cats' body condition. Domesticated cats are surprisingly efficient hunters, but if mice are too scared/scarce or the cats depress their population, there's only so much the cats can catch. On the other hands most cats should get about half as much food as they currently do, but that's another story.

Is providing unpalatable but nutritious food cruel or effective or both in this situation? I'm not thinking nasty food, just, bland by cat standards.

Post by k_sze » Mon, Sep 24, 2018, 6:19 AM UTC

anotherevan wrote: post #29

I do not remember the title of a sci-fi book I read that mentioned in passing that many spaceships had ship cats to manage rodents, just like sailing ships. It wasn't a feature of the story, just part of the tapestry.

Post by durandal1 » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 1:13 AM UTC

bayesian_horse wrote: post #37

durandal1 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has dedicated years of behavior modification training a rescue dog with genetic fear aggression (actual clinical diagnosis), I wish we'd get away from the "there's no bad dog, only bad dog owners" dogma. I'd agree with you that the majority of behavioral problems with dogs can be removed or mitigated with training. However, dogs as with all other species have their temperament spread a long a distribut…

I call BS on that "diagnosis" (and I'm a Veterinarian btw). That being said, there is such a thing as a dog whose behavioral problems are insurmountable. I just don't want to ascribe it to genetics or anything else specific in any individual dog. If training doesn't seem to work, the only option is medication. Especially if fear is supposed to be a factor. I don't know what you tried and I don't want to judge because…