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Post by Psamathe on Feb 13, 2021 11:45:13 GMT
An interesting report about some research that may have identified easy non-invasive ways to at least reduce the amount of wildlife domestic pet cats kill. I've been surprised/disappointed seeing the amount of wildlife local pet cats kill. On occasions it can be "helpful" (e.g. to control something of a damaging explosion of rabbit populations) but generally it must be denuding the environment of prey for other wild species.
Ian
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Post by ianr on Feb 14, 2021 8:07:20 GMT
I read that. The trouble with the majority of cat owners 'I use the term loosely' is they just open the door and off they go. Other people feed them they roam around seize anything that moves kill it and leave it so their not hungry. Instinct it may be but devastating to wild life it most certainly is. I see them up the trees here in the woods checking out the crevices and holes for nesting birds, we've all seen them waiting in ambush near our feeders. People who keep dogs have to register them and keep them under control and mainly it works you don't see dogs roaming the streets as they used to when we were kids. Bloody nuisance they were on your paper round  Cats should be kept indoors and put out in secure runs for exercise, after all when was the last time you saw a proper pedigree cat digging your plants up. No it's just the mongrel moggies let loose by idle owners. If you think I may have it in for cats, well maybe it dates back to when I was around 8 or 9 and some big old ginger tom had my pet rabbit away. I found it a few days later crippled half skinned but still dragging itself around by it's front legs just inside the woods. That was the first animal I put out of it's misery ian |
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Post by rowanberry on Feb 14, 2021 10:10:19 GMT
Sorry you had to deal with that at such a young age, Ian.  That sort of experience stays with you for life. I had to put a pigeon out of its misery in our garden not long ago due to a cat only half-finishing the job, and I get so cross seeing them on our trailcam all night long.... it's just one cat after another, coming to try and hunt around the pond for frogs. They've learned not to come around during the day... not with me on patrol.  One spring morning several years ago I picked up over twenty dead frogs and after that I put a wide wire mesh all around the pond, (wide enough gaps for the frogs to still get through) else they'd kill them all. It's a bit of an eye-sore, but the frogs and newts are safe once they're in the pond... getting there is still a bit of a challenge. What a cat did to our male blackbird two summers ago made me so angry... bless his heart, there he was left with a near-useless right leg but still feeding his fledglings. All so someone else's pet can roam about 'beCauSe it's tHeir nAtuRe' grrrrr!!! (Don't get me started on how it's their nature to use my front garden as a litter tray... arrrgggghhh!!) A pet dog's nature might be to kill sheep, but that would certainly be dealt with in a hurry! I just wish the RSPB had our backs on this- they tiptoe around the issue because they are too worried about annoying their moggie-owning members. Here's a photo of Mr. Bea by way of homage... that bird was such a trooper!  Blackbird Mealworms by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr |
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Post by rowanberry on Feb 14, 2021 11:12:28 GMT
I just had a quick look at last-night's trailcam footage, and here are the miscreants who put in an appearance. The first cat is a new one- his tail seems to be permanently curled up over his back. The black cat came twice, (it's up by the birdbath) as did the black and white spotted one. This was actually a quiet night! There's also a ginger tom and two tabbies who usually appear as well. That is six apex predators who all live within a stone's throw of each other... all well-fed and in good health, and who can go indoors and get warm and rested whenever they like via their cat-flaps. In the wild, they would not be intruding on one another's territory like this. How can wildlife struggling to cope 24/7 with extreme freezing cold, hunger, and exhaustion be expected to stand a chance against this sort of non-stop predation???  01 Cat Feb 2021 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr  02 Cat Feb 2021 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr  03 Cat Feb 2021 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr |
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Post by accipiter on Feb 16, 2021 16:22:11 GMT
But why did it take a team of “experts” to find something that has remained obvious to me for many years, namely diet and play can influence animal behaviour.
However, whilst on the subject of food I don’t appreciate GARLIC, and if you have ever been in the cheddar gorge show caves with someone who’s admitting gas from both ends of their anatomy you would know why.
Alan
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Post by Psamathe on Feb 17, 2021 12:32:45 GMT
But why did it take a team of “experts” to find something that has remained obvious to me for many years, namely diet and play can influence animal behaviour. .... I'm not a "cat person" but I wonder if the difficult aspect is which way such influence might work. e.g. feed more meat might encourage the drive for more increasing hunting as the cat gains a taste for the stuff. Similarly, play simulating hunting might give the cat a taste for the hunt but and the real buzz comes from dong the real things so it could encourage. Or food/play might satisfy the drive. Thinking in terms of dogs (so same might not apply) you do need to think carefully about training e.g. train your dog to paw your backdoor when s/he needs to go out sounds good until you get home from the shops to find your backdoor scratched to destruction as your pet has spent the last 2 hrs pawing the door wondering why "it's not working" (i.e. pawing should mean s/he gets to go outside ...). Ian |
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Post by Psamathe on Mar 28, 2021 10:16:10 GMT
Just seen a BBC Radio 4 program next Tues (30 March) at 15:30 "Killer Kitties" (28 mins long). Part of their "Costing the Earth" series (in my podcast list and the series has just resumed after a break since last nov). Should be available as a downloadable podcast after broadcast on www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006r4wn/episodes/downloads and I assume on the BBC iPlayer (or whatever they use these days). www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tlbjBBC's description of the program Ian |
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Post by rowanberry on Mar 28, 2021 18:01:28 GMT
Will definitely listen in on this one, Ian- thanks! |
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That sort of experience stays with you for life.
