Quick, somebody start a fight!

[s1m0n]

...and we're also caring for a colony of feral cats!

Bad news for birds and local wildlife. Supporting colonies of a lethal invasive species is pretty irresponsible, ecologically speaking.

[Dan A.]

...and we're also caring for a colony of feral cats!

Bad news for birds and local wildlife. Supporting colonies of a lethal invasive species is pretty irresponsible, ecologically speaking.

Consider the following three points:

1. The neighborhood I live in was developed in the 1920s. Most of the local wildlife seems to be long gone. The feral cats, having a source of food provided to them, don't seem to be terribly inclined to go after any bird or rodent that crosses their path. (Or they're good at getting any remains out of my sight.)
2. Part of the care we provide them includes spay and neuter services. Yes, there are quite a few of them, but every one we can get spayed or neutered helps in the long run.
3. Representatives from animal welfare groups have told us, in person, that what we are doing is appreciated.

Doesn't seem all that irresponsible to me...

[Nanohedron]

It's not a cat fight you want anyway. it's a dogfight. So I'll start. "Did you touch my pint?"

https://photos-4.dropbox.com/t/2/AAA83U ... ize_mode=3

(Oops, think I've stuffed up the photo element)

Apparently I have to sign up. Got anything else?

In my opinion, people who aren't fond of cats haven't met enough of them.

But they're authoritative enough. I've had people sagely lecture me on how cats are reliably this or that - as if after a lifetime of it I were still green and in need of guidance - when a few well-placed questions revealed they only knew strictly from dogs, or at the far extreme, they'd never even had a pet - not one - of any kind in all their lives! Where do they get this stuff? Facebook?

[s1m0n]

1. The neighborhood I live in was developed in the 1920s. Most of the local wildlife seems to be long gone. The feral cats, having a source of food provided to them, don't seem to be terribly inclined to go after any bird or rodent that crosses their path. (Or they're good at getting any remains out of my sight.)

That's the thing about birds. They're mobile.

3. Representatives from animal welfare groups have told us, in person, that what we are doing is appreciated.

If their interest is cats, sure, they'll give you a cookie. But you won't get the same validation from biologists. Ornithologist curse efforts like this.

[kkrell]

Just let me say that I'm not the only one to apply it to the pettier of squabbles

What's a "pettier" - a French cat owner?

[Nanohedron]

1. The neighborhood I live in was developed in the 1920s. Most of the local wildlife seems to be long gone. The feral cats, having a source of food provided to them, don't seem to be terribly inclined to go after any bird or rodent that crosses their path. (Or they're good at getting any remains out of my sight.)

That's the thing about birds. They're mobile.

Not after they're dead, they're not. Did you even read what Dan wrote? Try again, and see if you can grab an inkling of Dan's irony. Domestic cats are not known for sweeping up the evidence. And that is because frankly, they can't be arsed.

[kkrell]

...and we're also caring for a colony of feral cats!

The new term is "community cats"

Bad news for birds and local wildlife. Supporting colonies of a lethal invasive species is pretty irresponsible, ecologically speaking.

Now we're fighting!

Rebuttal:
http://www.saveacat.org/cats-birds-and-predation.html

http://www.saveacat.org/predation.html

[s1m0n]

Domestic cats are not known for sweeping up the evidence. And that is because frankly, they can't be arsed.

They're likely hunting farther afield. A housecat will bring prey home, because while they still have the hunting instinct, they've learned that food comes from a can. To a housecat, prey animals are toys, not food. A cat that grew up feral will eat what they catch, even if they're also getting supplementary food from Dan. Cats might show off their toys, but they eat or cache their food. Dan isn't likely to see much sign either way. Cats kill 1 - 4 billion songbirds in the continental US each year.

You can't keep housecats from killing, even when they're getting all their nutrition at home. There is zero likelihood that Dan has managed to turn his colony of feral cats into buddhists by feeding them kibble.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cat ... n_wildlife

[s1m0n]

Rebuttal:
http://www.saveacat.org/cats-birds-and-predation.html

The fact that the URL is "save a cat" might show this to be a fairly partisan source, no? In any case, this is pretty much a non-denial denial. In fact, the link doesn't deny that feral cats kill wildlife at all. It's hard to tell what they're trying to claim; the piece just talks in circles and wails "not enough is known!" every paragraph or so. It does concede that all the studies it alludes to conclude that feral cats kill a lot of birds, but claims that all these studies are flawed, without ever saying why, let alone providing evidence of that contention.

If that's what you already want to believe, I suppose that's sufficient permission to go on believing it, but otherwise that link doesn't really say anything.

[benhall.1]

Predators are useful. Billions of birds killed? So what? There are still billions of birds. Besides, what Dan is doing is helping to control that colony of feral cats. It's got to be better than doing nothing. We don't have such programmes here in the UK (or if we do, they're not well known about), but my understanding is that control is one of the principal aims.

[DrPhill]

A possible solution?

[irishmuse]

Proper dogfight for a post-structural pub?



So like I said:"Did you touch my pint?"

[AaronFW]

There is zero likelihood that Dan has managed to turn his colony of feral cats into buddhists by feeding them kibble.

Pashaw.

Domestic cats are buddhists.

[s1m0n]

Yeah, but they're Burmese Buddhists, not Tibetan Buddhists. Ask the Rohingya how pacifistic the Buddhists in Myanmar are. Cats are like that.

[Dan A.]

Besides, what Dan is doing is helping to control that colony of feral cats. It's got to be better than doing nothing. We don't have such programmes here in the UK (or if we do, they're not well known about), but my understanding is that control is one of the principal aims.

We have TNR (trap, neuter, return) here in the States. As we're able to, we trap the feral cats, take them to be neutered or spayed, and release them. The cats also get other medical care.

Back in October, we trapped four cats we named Henry, Jimmy, Paulie, and Tommy. Paulie had to have some teeth extracted, and Henry (who is now named Henrietta) and Tommy got flea treatment. All of them are doing well.

I still see cardinals in my backyard...usually helping themselves to the cat food! And, though this is not possible with a feral cat, a pet cats will not kill wild birds if they are not allowed to venture outside.