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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Forget about guns....
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Showing posts 1 - 24 of 24, (reverse)
AuthorThread
 01/30/2013 02:45:27 PM · #1
This is the killer we really have to worry about.
 01/30/2013 02:55:36 PM · #2
I agree 100% I know there are a bunch of cat lovers on this page but they do a number on our native wildlife.
Especially the birds.
When I was young we had a cat and I made sure she had a bell on her neck.
This saved alot of birds.
 01/30/2013 03:10:04 PM · #3
Umm let's see how that cuddly kitten does against a 9mm........
 01/30/2013 03:15:16 PM · #4
this is why i kick cats. in fact i may enter myself doing such for the wind challenge, if the wind blows right you can kick those suckers like 40 yds, especially kittens
 01/30/2013 03:16:28 PM · #5
Originally posted by MattO:
Umm let's see how that cuddly kitten does against a 9mm........


I think my kitty could take someone with a 9mm. She's sweet to me, but when it really comes down to it, she's a murdering psychobitch.
 01/30/2013 03:50:43 PM · #6
Ridiculous. So they have been keeping tabs on kitty kills over a significant period of time? I think not. Where I live there is a plague of rabbits, carelessly released by some local "rescuer," and multiplying (of course). After fencing against deer, we have also to fence against rabbits. I would not care so much were it not that we depend on what we grow to eat. (Maybe they should study just how much of our veggie crop is lost to rabbits. They may not eat that much, but when they get at the seedlings there is not always time to start over, never mind the rising cost of even non GMO seed). A long time local vet attributes the rabbit numbers to the decline of feral cats, and to the decline of feral cats he attributes spaying and neutering...

Balances are constantly in flux, and the raising of an astonished finger at one species is flat-brained.

I wish I had a 22. A friend has her grandson shoot the marauders, and has taught him to clean and skin them so she can make a stew. Time to turn my Esau self back into Jacob? (Bible challenge).

Message edited by author 2013-01-30 15:52:57.
 01/30/2013 03:59:00 PM · #7
I lived in a house a while back where the woman that lived there before me had fed stray cats.....The cats (and the best I could tell there were close to 30) would come into my yard and crap and screw all over the place. So I got my trusty pellet gun and every afternoon when I saw one I popped it. It took a couple of weeks but they quit coming around.
 01/30/2013 04:17:50 PM · #8
Originally posted by tnun:
Ridiculous. So they have been keeping tabs on kitty kills over a significant period of time? I think not. Where I live there is a plague of rabbits, carelessly released by some local "rescuer," and multiplying (of course).
...


I suspect whether this is a "problem" or not depends on circumstances. I doubt it's much of an actual problem in most urban or suburban areas of the U.S., where there's so many other things upsetting the natural balance that a cat or 30 isn't going to make much difference. But in rural areas of New Zealand, for example, introduced species, including domestic cats, are playing havoc with the natural environment and quickly destroying the native species in some areas.

Around here, the biggest problem we have is with snails. 100 years ago, some French guy who liked escargot brought them over, and they've been destroying all of our plants ever since. If only cats cared about snails...
 01/30/2013 04:44:06 PM · #9
Fear the cat!
 01/30/2013 05:01:59 PM · #10
Well, yes, that's it - species populations in flux. Difficult to move human populations without altering balances. In addition to deer and rabbits we have monsieur l'escargot AND introduced grey/brown/black slugs which love the cultivated garden, unlike the native banana slug which pretty much stays in the woods. And then there are the micro-organisms which our sanitation has eliminated, making us a civilization of asthmatics. (Moises Velasquez-Manoff, An Epidemic of Absence).

I wish I had something helpful to say. I just treasure the 2 cats (stray? not ours) who do hunt in our garden, and who seem to have kept the birds away from the blueberries, or maybe that was luck.
 01/30/2013 05:04:26 PM · #11
Originally posted by bhuge:
Fear the cat!


That was awesome and very true...I have seen those stats before just not with the wonderful pics
 01/30/2013 05:11:54 PM · #12
I had to write a term paper in college that compared two things, told which one was better and supported the assertion with referenced sources...

I wrote a paper that claimed dogs were better pets than cat and cited a bunch of sources...of course I only picked out the good stuff about dogs and the bad stuff about cats. Being unbiased was NOT part of the assignment. Turns out the prof was a closet "crazy cat lady". She gave me an F and yelled at me when I dared to question her. Since she was clearly irrational, I went to the Department head. I got a B+.
 01/30/2013 05:14:37 PM · #13
CAT, n. A soft, indestructible automaton provided by nature to be kicked when things go wrong in the domestic circle.

—Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

*******************
Looks like it's time to re-post this ...

INSTRUCTIONS FOR GIVING YOUR CAT A PILL

1. Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat’s mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of 10.

5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of closet. Call spouse in from garden to help.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, holding front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold cat’s head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat’s throat vigorously.

7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with its head just visible from below spouse’s armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force cat’s mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply band-aid to spouse’s forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10. Retrieve cat from neighbor’s shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12. Call fire department to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

13. Tie cat’s front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table. Find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed. Force cat’s mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Hold head vertically and pour 1/2 pint of water down throat to wash pill down.

14. Get spouse to drive you to emergency room; sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye.
Stop by furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15. Arrange for the vet to make a house call.
 01/30/2013 05:19:47 PM · #14
Originally posted by tnun:
...

I wish I had something helpful to say. I just treasure the 2 cats (stray? not ours) who do hunt in our garden, and who seem to have kept the birds away from the blueberries, or maybe that was luck.


I love our cat too, and I'm not getting rid of her. Besides the fact that she's cuddly, I appreciate her ability to keep the house a critter free zone. But there's no doubt when I see her in action...she will murder anything that's smaller than she is. I keep her indoors for her own safety. Keeping her from murdering wildlife, I suppose, is a bonus.

01/30/2013 07:59:44 PM · #15
Originally posted by nygold:

When I was young we had a cat and I made sure she had a bell on her neck.
This saved alot of birds.


...I seem to recall a study conducted in the UK I believe that suggested that the presence of a bell did little to save birds from preying cats.

Ray
 01/30/2013 08:06:09 PM · #16
Originally posted by RayEthier:
Originally posted by nygold:

When I was young we had a cat and I made sure she had a bell on her neck.
This saved alot of birds.


...I seem to recall a study conducted in the UK I believe that suggested that the presence of a bell did little to save birds from preying cats.

Ray


Good thing my cat didn't hunt in the UK.
Maybe the birds are smarter here.
 01/30/2013 08:28:42 PM · #17
Originally posted by nygold:
Originally posted by RayEthier:
Originally posted by nygold:

When I was young we had a cat and I made sure she had a bell on her neck.
This saved alot of birds.


...I seem to recall a study conducted in the UK I believe that suggested that the presence of a bell did little to save birds from preying cats.

Ray


Good thing my cat didn't hunt in the UK.
Maybe the birds are smarter here.


Seems the Canadian cats aren't all affected by bells either Info

Other studies provided conflicting viewpoints in this regard and in an article found Here suggested that "The efficiency of fitting cats with bells is contentious. Barrette (1998), found that belling of cats has no significant effect on the amount of prey caught. The results of Ruxton et al. (2002) on the other hand suggest that equipping cats with bells reduced prey delivery rates by about 50%. During an eight-week study each cat delivered an average of 5.5 prey animals in the four weeks with the bell off and 2.9 items in the four weeks with the bells on (Ruxton et al., 2002)). The result of the longer study by Woods et al. (in press) show that fewer mammals were killed and brought home by cats that were equipped with bells. Birds capture rates were not affected by equipping cats with bells.

I have a cat, but considering the number of foxes and coyotes in this area, his best bet is to stay inside at night. \

At this time of year he does not want to go outside and the birds are safe since they are smarter than me and left for warmer climes quite a while ago. :O)

Ray

Message edited by author 2013-01-30 20:29:27.
 01/30/2013 10:13:37 PM · #18
And why do these cats end up feral? Because @$$holes get tired of them and drop them off on country roads and at farms where they're left to fend for themselves. For some odd reason, people will euthanize or adopt out a dog, but cats just get dumped. I've had cats for years, and I didn't let them become killers because I fed them and kept after them.

Assign blame where it belongs.....
 01/30/2013 11:21:38 PM · #19
(This thread is useless without pictures)

Now, I had a cat, the late & much mourned VooDoo, who could annihilate an enemy with a glance..

01/30/2013 11:38:13 PM · #20
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
And why do these cats end up feral? Because @$$holes get tired of them and drop them off on country roads and at farms where they're left to fend for themselves. For some odd reason, people will euthanize or adopt out a dog, but cats just get dumped.

Actually the overwhelming majority of feral cats are from litters bred by other, mating feral cats. Not to say dumping them isn't an irresponsible thing to do, but... At least a lot of dumped cats have already been fixed and cannot breed.
 01/30/2013 11:42:33 PM · #21
Judging by the scratch I have down the right side of my face at the moment, yup, I agree, felines can be harmful. However I have no problem with them being kept in a responsible household...ie, desexed, wormed, vaccinated, micropchipped and kept indoors where possible. I have experienced first hand dumped animals turned feral in a farming situation. To the point where we were held captive by a feral cat turned manic. Two lots of poisoned meats did not kill him. I DO NOT agree with dumping of any form.
 01/31/2013 08:41:53 AM · #22
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
And why do these cats end up feral? Because @$$holes get tired of them and drop them off on country roads and at farms where they're left to fend for themselves. For some odd reason, people will euthanize or adopt out a dog, but cats just get dumped. I've had cats for years, and I didn't let them become killers because I fed them and kept after them.

Assign blame where it belongs.....


Feral dogs are as much or more of a problem. They'll form packs and attack wildlife, sheep and cattle and in Detroit and Flint they've been known to attack humans. They're typically abandoned pets. Many farmers have a shoot, shovel and shush policy when it comes to dogs.

Also, as one of the links pointed out, the camera studies of cats showed that despite being well fed pets, the cats still killed prey.
 01/31/2013 09:05:00 AM · #23
Cats - Natural Hunters

It's natural for a cat to hunt and kill, something that has been known since the dawn of man.
I don't understand how people are surprised/shocked that they do it.

01/31/2013 12:22:55 PM · #24
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
...At least a lot of dumped cats have already been fixed and cannot breed.


Shouldn't it be called "broken" not "fixed"?
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