Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer

https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Wars-Deva.../dp/0691167419

https://mebirdingfieldnotes.files.wo...over.jpg?w=625

In 1894, a lighthouse keeper named David Lyall arrived on Stephens Island off New Zealand with a cat named Tibbles. In just over a year, the Stephens Island Wren, a rare bird endemic to the island, was rendered extinct. Mounting scientific evidence confirms what many conservationists have suspected for some time―that in the United States alone, free-ranging cats are killing birds and other animals by the billions. Equally alarming are the little-known but potentially devastating public health consequences of rabies and parasitic Toxoplasma passing from cats to humans at rising rates. Cat Wars tells the story of the threats free-ranging cats pose to biodiversity and public health throughout the world, and sheds new light on the controversies surrounding the management of the explosion of these cat populations.

This compelling book traces the historical and cultural ties between humans and cats from early domestication to the current boom in pet ownership, along the way accessibly explaining the science of extinction, population modeling, and feline diseases. It charts the developments that have led to our present impasse―from Stan Temple's breakthrough studies on cat predation in Wisconsin to cat-eradication programs underway in Australia today. It describes how a small but vocal minority of cat advocates has campaigned successfully for no action in much the same way that special interest groups have stymied attempts to curtail smoking and climate change.

Cat Wars paints a revealing picture of a complex global problem―and proposes solutions that foresee a time when wildlife and humans are no longer vulnerable to the impacts of free-ranging cats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM8XYZ4KXQk

I don’t think my boy freedom likes catz.

Being an obvious advocate of eugenics the first thing I did to my cat was rip out her womb. Thus no issues with overpopulation and secondly the cat never leaves the home. She seems happy enough and is far less of a threat to the world than the human species.

Besides being great companions, cats may have actually saved civilization from starvation and disease.
Imagine living in a time and place where every home was teeming with tiny, dangerous beasts. Some new threat lurked at every corner: asps hiding in clay jars, rats spoiling massive amounts of stored grain, venomous scorpions creeping under cradles. In this time and place-- Ancient Egypt-- one creature existed that could make the world safe from these little monsters: the cat.

The same graceful creatures that now sleep on our pillows were life-saving companions to the people of ancient Egypt. It's no wonder that generations of Egyptians were drawn to worship them.

One of the earliest deities of ancient Egypt was the goddess Mafdet, who was highly revered by people seeking protection against venomous animals like snakes and scorpions. She was shown with a variety of fierce, feline forms, most often as a woman with the head of a lion, cheetah, or house-cat (though sometimes she was shown as a cat with a woman's head). Because cats could protect against the tiny monsters that made Egyptian homes unsafe, Mafdet was regarded as the protector of the home-- and of the kingdom itself!

Later in Egyptian history, the goddess Bastet (sometimes just "Bast") replaced Mafdet as the feline goddess of choice. Like Mafdet, she was regarded as a fierce protector of the home (and especially of children and royalty), largely because of cats' renowned ability to kill snakes, scorpions, and other vermin. Her followers called her the "Eye of Ra," the sun god, and believed that she fiercely watched the world and guarded Egypt against invasion.



Catz saved us n shitz

Cats do kill birds so owners are encouraged to make sure they have a bell collar to warn their prey. The cats do not need the food anything they catch is played with and tortured.

About 10 years ago, two scientists decided to estimate the total number of birds on the planet. The number they came up with was 200 to 400 billion individual birds. Compared to 5 billion people, this amounts to about 40 to 60 birds per person. Your second question, unfortunately, is much easier to answer.


We have more than enough birds, we can spare a few ten or hundred million

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by walrus

About 10 years ago, two scientists decided to estimate the total number of birds on the planet. The number they came up with was 200 to 400 billion individual birds. Compared to 5 billion people, this amounts to about 40 to 60 birds per person. Your second question, unfortunately, is much easier to answer.


We have more than enough birds, we can spare a few ten or hundred million

---

Those numbers are wrong.

There are nearly 8 billion human mammals in the world. ONE SPECIES. There are 5,416 species of mammals, probably 200 to 400 billion individuals.

THERE ARE SOME 8000 SPECIES OF BIRDS. There are probably several billion birds. Most species evolved long before humans.

Numbers of most species are declining every year, mainly due to 3 factors: cats, loss/degradation of habitat, and pesticides.


There is more genetic difference between an Indigo Bunting and a Great Blue Heron than between a human and a giraffe.

https://d1ia71hq4oe7pn.cloudfront.ne...5731-720px.jpg

http://tx.audubon.org/sites/g/files/...?itok=oSQB_ZLO

The authors of the book in the opening post have been here in Vancouver during the past week for the World Ornithological Conference.

I met up with some of these international bird biologists in a park this past Wednesday.

Cats have naturally become a problem for some of the native birds, along with possums, rats and the like.

I think owners do carry some responsibility in these areas to place a bell or something similar on their pet where native wild life is at risk. This won't help every bird/ lizard etc but it's a start I suppose.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Freedom

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by walrus

About 10 years ago, two scientists decided to estimate the total number of birds on the planet. The number they came up with was 200 to 400 billion individual birds. Compared to 5 billion people, this amounts to about 40 to 60 birds per person. Your second question, unfortunately, is much easier to answer.


We have more than enough birds, we can spare a few ten or hundred million

---

Those numbers are wrong.

There are nearly 8 billion human mammals in the world. ONE SPECIES. There are 5,416 species of mammals, probably 200 to 400 billion individuals.

THERE ARE SOME 8000 SPECIES OF BIRDS. There are probably several billion birds. Most species evolved long before humans.

Numbers of most species are declining every year, mainly due to 3 factors: cats, loss/degradation of habitat, and pesticides.


There is more genetic difference between an Indigo Bunting and a Great Blue Heron than between a human and a giraffe.

https://d1ia71hq4oe7pn.cloudfront.ne...5731-720px.jpg

http://tx.audubon.org/sites/g/files/...?itok=oSQB_ZLO

---

Yeah it was a dated article I know there are a shitload of bird spieces but in general we have a shitload of birds. Hundreds of billions of them. You seem to have it out for cats. What we really need to be concerned about is the Asian fish that have made it to US waters. The Great Lakes is being ruined. @Freedom cats are not the enemy, fish are, the nasty buggers

in the first place. [Why Do Cats Bury Their Poop?]

So, how dramatically would the rodent population increase if cats suddenly vanished? It just so happens that several scientific studies have been conducted that paint a vivid picture. A 1997 study in Great Britain found that the average house cat brought home more than 11 dead animals (including mice, birds, frogs and more) in the course of six months. That meant the 9 million cats of Britain were collectively killing close to 200 million wild specimens per year — not including all those they did not offer up to their owners. A study in New Zealand in 1979 found that, when cats were nearly eradicated from a small island, the local rat population quickly quadrupled.

And if the rodent population shot up, this would of course trigger a cascade of other ecological effects. On that same island in New Zealand, for instance, ecologists observed that, as rat numbers increased in the absence of cats, the population of seabirds whose eggs rats preyed upon declined. If the approximately 220 million domestic cats in the world all bit the dust, seabird populations would likely fall worldwide, while the populations of non-cat predators that prey on rats would be expected to increase.

"All species have an impact," Beck said.

And let's not forget the emotional toll that a mass cat death would take on us humans: "In this country, cats are much loved by many. While there are more dog-owning households (38 percent) than cat- owning households (34 percent), there are actually more domestic cats than dogs because cat owners own more of them. Cats as pets have always been appreciated for the contact, relatively low maintenance, and pedomorphic (child-like) face and general morphology."

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alpha

Cats have naturally become a problem for some of the native birds, along with possums, rats and the like.

I think owners do carry some responsibility in these areas to place a bell or something similar on their pet where native wild life is at risk. This won't help every bird/ lizard etc but it's a start I suppose.

---

I made my cat a pair of slippers so she wouldn’t be so loud when she walked

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by walrus

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alpha

Cats have naturally become a problem for some of the native birds, along with possums, rats and the like.

I think owners do carry some responsibility in these areas to place a bell or something similar on their pet where native wild life is at risk. This won't help every bird/ lizard etc but it's a start I suppose.

---

I made my cat a pair of slippers so she wouldn’t be so loud when she walked

---

It's an impossible thing to control. Even some birds, will raid other types of bird species nests.

People should not have brought house cats, Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), and black rats (Rattus rattus) with them to Islands where they don't belong.

Eradication of both feral cats and the two rattus species results in a slow increase in the number of endangered birds.

Large Island Declared Rat-Free in Biggest Removal Success

South Georgia Island near Antarctica is now teeming with native wildlife, thanks to an effort to remove invasive rats that had been devouring birds.

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/...e-animals-spd/


An Evaluation of Feral Cat Management Options Using a Decision Analysis Network

https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss4/art10/

Efforts are needed to protect native species from feral cats

https://phys.org/news/2016-11-effort...cats.html#nRlv

Cats Responsible For Driving Many Species To Extinction

https://www.iflscience.com/plants-an...to-extinction/

Invasive predators major cause of species extinctions

Introduced rodents, such as black rats and house mice, have the most widespread impacts of invasive predators worldwide, linked to the extinction of 75 species, including 52 birds, 21 mammals, and two reptiles.

Feral cats aren’t far behind, coming a close second, contributing to 63 extinctions.


On some islands, rats do slightly more damage than cats. On large continents like North America however, where native predators like hawks, foxes and Great Horned Owls prevent invasive species of rats from spreading into wilderness areas, cats do far more damage to native songbird populations, especially because unlike rats they are sustained and protected by their human owners.

I saw a Cooper's Hawk take a Norway rat in a large local park not too long ago. Rats are just the right size to make for a good meal for a Great Horned Owl, a Cooper's or Red-tailed Hawk or a Coyote, and probably easier to catch than native rodents which have adapted to these native predators during many thousands of years of evolution.

It is national dog day today 😉

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Freedom

Cats Responsible For Driving Many Species To Extinction

https://www.iflscience.com/plants-an...to-extinction/

Invasive predators major cause of species extinctions

Introduced rodents, such as black rats and house mice, have the most widespread impacts of invasive predators worldwide, linked to the extinction of 75 species, including 52 birds, 21 mammals, and two reptiles.

Feral cats aren’t far behind, coming a close second, contributing to 63 extinctions.


On some islands, rats do slightly more damage than cats. On large continents like North America however, where native predators like hawks, foxes and Great Horned Owls prevent invasive species of rats from spreading into wilderness areas, cats do far more damage to native songbird populations, especially because unlike rats they are sustained and protected by their human owners.

I saw a Cooper's Hawk take a Norway rat in a large local park not too long ago. Rats are just the right size to make for a good meal for a Great Horned Owl, a Cooper's or Red-tailed Hawk or a Coyote, and probably easier to catch than native rodents which have adapted to these native predators during many thousands of years of evolution.

---

This is redicoulos. @Freedom is calling for feline genocide. 99% of everything that has lived has gone extinct while humans kill endangered species for trinkets. @Master I call for the immediate ban of freedom for his hostility and threatening to kill every cat on the planet. He has gone too far this time.

Despite the large numbers of birds killed by cats in gardens, there is no clear scientific evidence that such mortality is causing bird populations to decline. This may be surprising, but many millions of birds die naturally every year, mainly through starvation, disease or other forms of predation. There is evidence that cats tend to take weak or sickly birds.

We also know that of the millions of baby birds hatched each year, most will die before they reach breeding age. This is also quite natural, and each pair needs only to rear two young that survive to breeding age to replace themselves and maintain the population.

It is likely that most of the birds killed by cats would have died anyway from other causes before the next breeding season, so cats are unlikely to have a major impact on populations. If their predation was additional to these other causes of mortality, this might have a serious impact on bird populations.

Those bird species which have undergone the most serious population declines in the UK (such as skylarks, tree sparrows and corn buntings) rarely encounter cats, so cats cannot be causing their declines. Research shows that these declines are usually caused by habitat change or loss, particularly on farmland.

image:
Cat, hunting. Marshside RSPB reserve, Southport, Lancashire, England.

Read more at https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wi...3lW05mEZdbs.99

As u can see freedomito this is fake news created by ((them)) the truth is above

It seems that white people are crazy for cats. And a very high percentage of those white people are also cigarette smokers. You just can't make this stuff up there's a different correlation there and it is nauseating

Wait I forgot to mention. Somebody's going to accuse me of being a bully now. But I am just stating the truth. Millions and millions of single white women sleep with their cats under the covers and live lonely lives with no companions except for their cats. Millions of millions of men are doing the same thing as well.

****FUCKING MENTALLY ILL BONKERS***

My cat has never killed a bird or a mouse or anything of the sort. She is asleep right now dreaming of such things but that is very different. A cat is as good as its owner and I am meticulous in that regard.

I disagree with people who allow their pet cats to roam the streets and refuse to control breeding. That's where humans become irresponsible owners for me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gandalf

I disagree with people who allow their pet cats to roam the streets and refuse to control breeding. That's where humans become irresponsible owners for me.

---

I fix my cat but do let her walk around outside. I have a big yard and she just roomps around, lays in the sun and kills a few mice, snakes and birds. My neighbors have two German Shepard’s which keeps her from roaming

That's good. For me it is the uncontrolled breeding that is the problem. Cats are similar to low IQ humans in that they can be very friendly, but just want to have millions of babies and will as Freedom points out use violence on a whim. They have no consideration of their future environmental impact. That is where us super eugenics types must rip out wombs and protect the planet. It's all for their own good of course.

The average mature cat can have 3 litters with a total of 12 kittens per year; 10.2 surviving kittens of which 4.7 are female
The average litter size is 4 kittens with 15% loss before reaching weaning age (3.4 kittens per litter)
Gender ratio per litter averages of males to females is roughly 46.5% female (of 3.4 kittens = 1.8 males and 1.6 females)
35% spay ratio allowance for offspring (unscientific factor balancing owned and stray cats)
20% annual mortality ratio
Not factored into this equation:

An immature cat's first litter usually consists of 2 kittens versus 4.
Unspayed female cats can begin reproducing at 6 months of age and can produce a litter during the same year of birth.
30% feral mortality
Year Female Cats Minus Died1
(@ 20% mortality) Minus Spayed2
(@ 35% spayed) Breeding Female Cats # Kittens Born # Surviving Post Weaning3 Surviving Female Kittens4
Year 1 0 - 0 - 0 1 female cat will have 12 kittens 10 will survive and 5 will be females
Year 2 6 - 1 - 2 3 female cats will have 31 kittens 26 will survive and 12 will be females
Year 3 15 - 3 - 5 7 female cats will have 79 kittens 67 will survive and 31 will be females
Year 4 38 - 8 - 13 17 female cats will have 203 kittens 172 will survive and 80 will be females
Year 5 96 - 19 - 34 43 female cats will have 519 kittens 442 will survive and 205 will be females
Year 6 247 - 49 - 86 111 female cats will have 1332 kittens 1132 will survive and 527 will be females
Year 7 633 - 127 - 222 285 female cats will have 3417 kittens 2905 will survive and 1351 will be females
Year 8 1623 - 325 - 568 730 female cats will have 8766 kittens 7451 will survive and 3465 will be females
Year 9 4164 - 833 - 1457 1874 female cats will have 22484 kittens 19112 will survive and 8887 will be females
Year 10 10680 - 2136 - 3738 4806 female cats will have 57672 kittens 49021 will survive and 22795 will be females
1http://www.animalsandsociety.org/assets/library/199_s15327604jaws07041.pdf
2http://catvet.homestead.com/devon_rex_project_report_1st_year.doc
3http://la.rsmjournals.com/content/4/1/99.full.pdf
4http://www.royalcanin.us/library/catlittersize.aspx



Freedom is evil calling for feline genocide but the numbers are staggering

Anything that can fly and still gets killled doesn’t have my sympathy. Do birds even do anything anyways? Only hummingbirds pollinate as far as I know. I’m off to buy feral cats and start breeding them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by p4pking

Anything that can fly and still gets killled doesn’t have my sympathy. Do birds even do anything anyways? Only hummingbirds pollinate as far as I know. I’m off to buy feral cats and start breeding them.

---

My man

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gandalf

I disagree with people who allow their pet cats to roam the streets and refuse to control breeding. That's where humans become irresponsible owners for me.

---

Miss our cat. Gave us 18 years of being a twat but loved her anyway. She was spayed and we had a cat flap. Keeping a cat indoors is so unnatural. It is basically imprisoning them and removing their independence which is their very nature.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by p4pking

Anything that can fly and still gets killled doesn’t have my sympathy. Do birds even do anything anyways? Only hummingbirds pollinate as far as I know. I’m off to buy feral cats and start breeding them.

---

When I was a boy, I remember how the rotten son of a farmer who lived not far from us destroyed all the Barn Swallow nests on his father's barns. He used to shoot Tree Swallows and Willow Flycatchers too. The adult swallows returned to South America for the winter that year without producing any young.

The next year there were more flies and mosquitoes bothering people and lifestock.

After a few years without the birds that keep the flying insect populations under control, there were an enormous amount of flies in the area during the summer. We couldn't go outside without being bitten.

Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) https://eu.news-leader.com/story/spo...tica/15792329/

9 cool facts about barn swallows: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/princ...acts-1.3637139


Roadrunners were greatly appreciated by the Indigenous people of Mexico and the Southwestern US, because they kept the number of Rattlesnakes (which are toxic enough to kill a child) down to normal levels.

Coolest living creature on earth: The Roadrunner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyZ2P-XVIMg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Beanz

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gandalf

I disagree with people who allow their pet cats to roam the streets and refuse to control breeding. That's where humans become irresponsible owners for me.

---

Miss our cat. Gave us 18 years of being a twat but loved her anyway. She was spayed and we had a cat flap. Keeping a cat indoors is so unnatural. It is basically imprisoning them and removing their independence which is their very nature.

---

Beaner my kitty is 18 just got diagnosed with lymphoma. Vet gave me a script for pills which is supposed to slow down the cancer. She isn’t suffering. 18 years is a longtime to have a little buddy but I need to make sure I don’t keep her up too long for my own reasons

I think it depends on where you live, Beanz. I hit a cat while driving my car one day. It literally freaked and jumped into it and bounced right off. That haunted me and I pray it was okay. Due to the nature of the road I could not stop but did a circle and nothing was there. It could have been badly hurt. I have seen dozens of roadkill sightings, cats and dogs mostly, but also baby deer. I am not religious but I say a few words expressing my remorse that they have had to die like that.

An oudoor cat is more likely to die young as compared to a fully domesticated cat and it is true that they like to kill. It is their nature and I don't blame them for that though. Certainly out here with apartments it is not practical to let a cat out. Instead I make play time and just try to keep her active with new toys. You have to take them away though as at 2am you get the mewling outside your door with some green worm like green fluff sitting there and her big round eyes looking up at you.

No, I wouldn't want her prowling around here. The area is full of cars and I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her. I get paranoid even leaving windows open despite them having metal mosquito/bug netting. I read a story about John Lennons cat leaping from the New York apartment window to its death. Heartbreaking.

That's a horrible thing to have to hear, Walrus. 18 is a good innings, but still. Sorry to hear that.

I honestly feel closer to my cat than most people. My wife thinks we are too close. The cat likes my soft lullaby English voice, but will 'kakakaka' at her when she does her noisy Korean voice thing. Koreans sound like they are angry. In England we say pleasantries and it is nice, Koreans do the same but sound like they are going to deck one another. My cat is English.

Yea sorry to hear about your cat Walrus, can be hard but sometimes if they start to suffer it's better off.

We have 2 kittens (boy and girl), both are off to the vet this week to get fixed. Pets can be so much fun, they can also drive you crazy.

They can be great for kids as well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gandalf

I think it depends on where you live, Beanz. I hit a cat while driving my car one day. It literally freaked and jumped into it and bounced right off. That haunted me and I pray it was okay. Due to the nature of the road I could not stop but did a circle and nothing was there. It could have been badly hurt. I have seen dozens of roadkill sightings, cats and dogs mostly, but also baby deer. I am not religious but I say a few words expressing my remorse that they have had to die like that.

An oudoor cat is more likely to die young as compared to a fully domesticated cat and it is true that they like to kill. It is their nature and I don't blame them for that though. Certainly out here with apartments it is not practical to let a cat out. Instead I make play time and just try to keep her active with new toys. You have to take them away though as at 2am you get the mewling outside your door with some green worm like green fluff sitting there and her big round eyes looking up at you.

No, I wouldn't want her prowling around here. The area is full of cars and I couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her. I get paranoid even leaving windows open despite them having metal mosquito/bug netting. I read a story about John Lennons cat leaping from the New York apartment window to its death. Heartbreaking.

---

Yes I can see in an apartment block is different to here out in the suburbs on the edge of the city, loads of woods etc for them to roam and explore. Still seems a bit like caged birds. Caged birds that people put in front of windows is just taking the piss. "Oooh look you can't go there into the great wide open"

I wouldn't let a cat out in South Korea either lest she become bulgogi :-X:saint:

I tried to do the harness thing, but she was having none of it. Seems to have taken after me a little too much. Runs for cover whenever a delivery comes to the door and I do much the same.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by brocktonblockbust

Wait I forgot to mention. Somebody's going to accuse me of being a bully now. But I am just stating the truth. Millions and millions of single white women sleep with their cats under the covers and live lonely lives with no companions except for their cats. Millions of millions of men are doing the same thing as well.

****FUCKING MENTALLY ILL BONKERS***

---

You aren’t a bully u are just a punk ass little bitch repeating the same shit over and over and over and over and over and over,White, smoking, strawberry etc it’s just like a little doggy nipping at your heels. Stupid redicoulos shit without end and what is the intent? It’s inconsequential just annoying.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by p4pking

Anything that can fly and still gets killled doesn’t have my sympathy. Do birds even do anything anyways? Only hummingbirds pollinate as far as I know. I’m off to buy feral cats and start breeding them.

---

I hear there's one for sale now.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9WRl7-3HWM

That cat was a hard mofo, If mosquitos and rattlesnakes had those kind of cajones I could see wanting more birds around.

Who doesn't love waking up to a furry arse in your face listening to her whine about eating and drinking again? I mean that's why I look forward to running downstairs and seeing my cat sitting there quietly offering me understanding. He knows my struggle.

What struggle? @walrus only gets to have fevered dreams about waking up to furry asses every single day! you’re living it, and here to complain?