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cats, anyone else love them this much...


David R

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I don't think there's anyone that can say their cat hasn't killed anything if it is not disabled in some way.

I don't think anyone has said that?

I know exactly what our cat catches as he kindly leaves them under the kitchen table for us, and yes he is a serial killer.

I wouldn't have a cat I we lived near native bush.

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They are more prolific and they are stupid. As a kid me and my friend caught 18 of them in long grass by hand... The point is really that our endemic birds are not set to deal with foreign predators full stop... Run them over will get you free points!

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All I know is I am sick of having to clean up cat turds all over my yard when I don't even own one, how is that fair.

It's not fair, at my old house we never had a cat yet were surrounded by cats and the lawn was littered with feline faeces. At the house with the cat, no turds on the lawn. PROTIP: Get a shovel and flick the turds over the neighbours with cats fence :thup:

Cats are killers--end of story. I have never met a cat that was a pacifist ,vegetarian or vegan.

Dogs are killers. Fish are killers. Orca whales are killers. Badgers are killers. Hyenas are killers. Hippos are killers. Your point is? The issue isn't that cats are killers, it's that the regulations around them are too loose.

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It's not fair, at my old house we never had a cat yet were surrounded by cats and the lawn was littered with feline faeces. At the house with the cat, no turds on the lawn. PROTIP: Get a shovel and flick the turds over the neighbours with cats fence

My point is I shouldn't even have to do that, I once made the crazy cat lady that lived in front of me come over and help me clean it all up one time, that was hilarious especially when she moved about 2 months later. I should invest in a slug gun.

Plus I prefer throwing it over the paedophiles fence who lives next door.

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I don't think anyone has said that?

I know exactly what our cat catches as he kindly leaves them under the kitchen table for us, and yes he is a serial killer.

I wouldn't have a cat I we lived near native bush.

A bunch of you have said that though? e.g samH, which is a colourful comparison to ignorance, or is it arrogance? displayed by those cat owners who seem to be under the impression that their cat brings them EVERYTHING they catch and are just little darlings.

My cats with bells bring in and torture (never for food) 2-3 birds a week and 3-4 skinks a day! Until today i had an entire terrarium devoted to saving the little buggers and releasing them again. I keep them both inside but i have 3 other flatmates who don't really care, so its incredibly hard to police their activities and it makes me feel incredibly guilty when its a native species and if your a kiwi it should make you feel the same way.

Yes we've done a lot of damage to this place, so why not, now, with the right understanding, make progressive steps towards righting the wrongs? I hate to think about all the amazing things we never got to see here.

and im not going to pretend like its all cats faults! but cats really are out of control. Registration and microchips are a must, and frankly it would be better if more were euthanised instead of adopted.

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What makes a cat more likely to catch a silver eye instead of a blackbird or sparrow? :dunno: You you have a link to any studies/research that prove this?

Joe. No link to any studies but 30 + years of observing birds. Silvereye are prolific and not that sharp.. Predators go for the easy prey.. It's not rocket science which bird would be the target...

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What makes a cat more likely to catch a silver eye instead of a blackbird or sparrow?

blackbirds and sparrows are aware of the danger coming from a cat, it's in their DNA, where they came from there were always cats, ferrets and other natural born killers around so they know, it's their instinct

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Joe. No link to any studies but 30 + years of observing birds. Silvereye are prolific and not that sharp.. Predators go for the easy prey.. It's not rocket science which bird would be the target...

Seems you are right - just watching Campbell Live right now and a guy who did a 17 year study on what his cat killed found that the majority of birds caught were silver eyes. It also stated on the show that they are of little conservation concern, probably due to the fact that they breed prolifically as you stated :)

Maybe the reason my cat doesn't kill many is because they aren't very common in this area?

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I think the number one cat related issue the country needs to address is our HUGE population of unowned/unwanted cats. If we set regulations such as manatory desexing (and have breeders apply for a permit) and microchipping/rego then it would definatley be a step in the right direction.

You could also look into breeds. The number one breed of cat in NZ is the domestic shorthair - a sturdy breed that is usually left to its own devices to breed when unowned - survive of the fittest and all that you could say these cats were bred to survive and are well adept at hunting.

Breeds of cats that are intentionally bred as solely companion animals such as for example a ragdoll, are far more likely to lounge around the home and enjoy being doted upon. I've certainly never met a ragdoll who feels the need to hunt and I have met a huge amount.

With such regulations as mandatory desexing unless a regod breeder then you would see over the years a decline in the standard domestic shorthair and prehaps and increase in more thoughtful and responcible ownership - someone wouldn't be able to allow their moggy to have kittens and then pass them out to family members and friends who probably dont really have the time to take care of such an animal.

Same goes for dogs really - the money the country spends on animal control and feeding/providing for animals in shelters could be used to inforce regulations.

That's just my 2c on the topic :roll:

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It won't stop them from killing birds blueether, but it might make a lot more people consider the implications of owning a natural born killer before they do. It might also help by making people think about keeping the animal inside and not roaming instead of just feeding it and letting it do what it wants. Your argument could work just the same with dogs, how does chipping them make them any less likely to attack someone/thing, it doesn't, it just makes more owners take more care of them and not let them roam free.

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