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25 January 2012, 6.37am AEST

Jury still out on whether cats are killers, but prison is on the cards

In “The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson”, Mark Twain equated keeping a cat to domestic bliss: When there was room on the ledge outside of the pots and boxes for a cat, the cat was there – in sunny weather – stretched at full length, asleep and blissful, with her furry belly to the sun and a paw curved…

Authors

Disclosure Statement

Mike Calver receives funding from City of Melville, Western Australia.

Chris Dickman receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

Maggie Lilith received funding from Armadale City Council during her PhD on topic of pet cats..

Jacky Grayson does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.

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Rz4mnqfj-1327032667 — Pet cats are single-minded hunters, but are they wiping out native species? bolg/Flickr

In “The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson”, Mark Twain equated keeping a cat to domestic bliss:

When there was room on the ledge outside of the pots and boxes for a cat, the cat was there – in sunny weather – stretched at full length, asleep and blissful, with her furry belly to the sun and a paw curved over her nose. Then that house was complete, and its contentment and peace were made manifest to the world by this symbol, whose testimony is infallible. A home without a cat – and a well-fed, well-petted and properly revered cat – may be a perfect home, perhaps, but how can it prove title?

But not all pet cats sleep innocently in the sun all day. Many are accomplished hunters at some point in their lives. The cumulative effect of their occasional hunting is substantial wildlife mortality.

By bringing their prey home, cats make their hunting behaviour easier to research. Cult Gigolo/Flickr

Cats are renowned for bringing their prey home to their owners. Researchers have exploited this habit, using it to calculate predation mortality in local communities. By extrapolating the results, they calculated mortalities at a national level. These rough estimates suggest that pet cats kill 29.2 million birds and 57.4 million mammals annually in the UK, and 100 million birds annually in the USA.

In Australia, the type and number of prey taken vary with location. In warmer climates lizards are common prey, while elsewhere mammals and birds predominate. In large urban centres the prey are mainly introduced species such as house mice, starlings and sparrows, but rural cats or those with access to native bushland catch more native species.

Many people in the community are concerned and want to regulate cat ownership to reduce wildlife deaths. Others argue that mortality estimates are inflated or that pet cats take prey that would otherwise have died of other causes, deflecting attention from more serious causes of wildlife decline, especially habitat destruction.

In warmer climates, lizards are common prey. dsbnola/Flickr

Proponents of cat regulation point to the increasing importance of urban environments for wildlife conservation and the need to reduce mortality of the wildlife they contain. In the highly urbanised UK, for example, domestic gardens cover a greater area than the country’s wildlife reserves. They include around a quarter of all the trees outside woodlands.

In Australia, gardens and bushland reserves in built-up areas are important habitat for threatened species susceptible to cat predation; these include the legless lizard Delma impar, in suburban Canberra, and the eastern barred bandicoot in Hamilton, Victoria.

However, it is also true that pet cats generally take common vertebrates, and these persist in cities despite predation (although more serious problems may arise near remnant native vegetation and on urban fringes). Furthermore, studies attributing wildlife population declines to pet cats also identify larger mortalities from other factors such as road traffic, or acknowledge that cat predation may be removing animals that would otherwise perish from different causes. There is also the possibility that pet cats hold rodents in check, preventing them from preying on bird eggs and nestlings.

Cats may kill species that threaten other species. MotoWebMistress/Flickr

To further complicate interpretation, wildlife may respond differently to pet cats in different localities. For example, there is concern about declines in starlings in the UK because of heavy predation by pet cats, whereas in eastern Australia starlings thrive despite being common prey of pet cats.

Regardless of the controversy, owners who wish to reduce predation by their cats have plenty of options. Collar-worn predation deterrents may be the solution for free-roaming pet cats. They include the old staple of a bell on the collar, electronic devices that chime at short intervals or when a cat pounces, coloured ruffs around the collar that warn birds away and flaps of material called pounce protectors that interfere with paw-eye coordination when the cat pounces.

Despite scepticism from some owners, controlled experiments demonstrate that many of these devices work. They don’t always stop an individual cat from hunting altogether, but they often reduce the number of prey captured.

Pounce protectors may not stop a cat hunting, but they reduce its success. feverblue/Flickr

Confining cats at night reduces predation on nocturnal fauna, although birds and many lizards are vulnerable by day. Day-time curfews may be a solution for owners concerned about native birds and reptiles, especially if they live in areas where the only local small mammals are introduced ones like mice and rats.

Keeping cats confined at all times protects all fauna, but is unpopular with owners. Nevertheless, it protects cats from the serious risks of road accidents and fighting injuries that are major causes of cat illness and death.

We await definitive experiments that will tell us if predation by pet cats reduces wildlife populations. But we believe that the increasing importance of urban environments for wildlife conservation and the undeniable fact that many pet cats hunt warrants precautionary action. Owners can use predation deterrents or consider partial or total confinement of their cats.

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Comments (17)

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7

4 months ago

Bernie Masters

environmental consultant (logged in via email @iinet.net.au)

insightful unconstructive

To Upsilon Arts: thanks for the comment but, unless you live in the Notofagus forests of inland Tasmania or in a rainforest remnant of coastal Queensland, your reference to a 'deciduous tree' next door suggests that most of the birds around your house are, like the tree, exotic and hence unlikely to be of conservation significance. Conversely, the grasshoppers, cicadas and skinks (and maybe the cockroaches) are most likely to be native species and, while not of conservation significance, their consumption…

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To Upsilon Arts: thanks for the comment but, unless you live in the Notofagus forests of inland Tasmania or in a rainforest remnant of coastal Queensland, your reference to a 'deciduous tree' next door suggests that most of the birds around your house are, like the tree, exotic and hence unlikely to be of conservation significance. Conversely, the grasshoppers, cicadas and skinks (and maybe the cockroaches) are most likely to be native species and, while not of conservation significance, their consumption by your cats is unfortunate as it diminishes the natural environment of your part of Australia. If like me you lived in an urban bush setting, apart from the occasional mouse or rat or dove, anything else eaten by a cat in our front or back yard would be a native species and, in the case of a western ringtail possum, a threatened native species.
There is overwhelming evidence that domestic cats eat lots of native wildlife and, while such wildlife is not of conservation significance in most urban areas, the damage that cats do in non-urban areas is huge. For example, the WA Department of Environment and Conservation trapped some endangered bilbies on Barrow Island, bred up a few extras and released them in their former habitat in a desert section of inland WA. Most were killed and eaten by feral cats, hence the DEC's recent efforts to find a bait that feral cats will readily eat.
Unfortunately, as much as I also love cats, all feral cats started off as domestic cats and it is highly likely that there is a gene flow from domestic to feral cat populations in many parts of Australia. In other words, feral cats interbreed with domestic cats which provides them with useful traits to better survive in the Australian bush while also providing a more complex gene pool which over time is likely to create a 'better' feral cat.
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9

4 months ago

Albert Schmidt

Researcher (logged in via email @gmail.com)

insightful unconstructive

TNR-Advocates and their programs are making absolute fools out of each and every one of you that they con with their lies and highly deceptive nonsense -- while also violating all invasive-species laws in existence. (Cats being listed in the TOP 100 WORST invasive-species OF THE WORLD in the "Global Invasive-Species Database".)

If you do the research, as I did using data from the most "successful" TNR programs, you'll easily find that no TNR program has EVER trapped more than 0.4% of existing…

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TNR-Advocates and their programs are making absolute fools out of each and every one of you that they con with their lies and highly deceptive nonsense -- while also violating all invasive-species laws in existence. (Cats being listed in the TOP 100 WORST invasive-species OF THE WORLD in the "Global Invasive-Species Database".)

If you do the research, as I did using data from the most "successful" TNR programs, you'll easily find that no TNR program has EVER trapped more than 0.4% of existing cats in any one area for over a decade now. (Even Oregon's amazing 50,000 TNR'ed cats, at the end of this year will have only trapped 0.35% of them in Oregon.) They simply cannot trap them faster than they breed out of control, no matter what they do. And those cats that learn to evade traps go on to produce offspring that now also know how to evade any trapping method used. So not only are >99.6% still and ALWAYS breeding out of control, and spreading their diseases everywhere, and still destroying ALL wildlife (native prey becomes tortured play-toys, native predators starve to death from cats destroying their ONLY food), but TNR fools are also ensuring that any future generations of these devastating invasive-species won't even be able to be trapped. This is why, due to TNR-Advocates' insistence that they have "the answer", that their feral-cat population has now climbed to an ecologically-deadly 150 MILLION feral-cats across the USA. Soon to turn into 1.5 BILLION cats within the year if you apply cats' breeding rates to previous population numbers. (That's actually a low low estimate. The real number from calculations spit out by their reproduction rates is closer to 2.4 BILLION.)

Find whatever way that you can to destroy all feral and stray cats on-site. If you don't destroy stray-cats as well, the source of all feral-cats, then you'll never be rid of feral-cats either. Avoid using traps if at all possible because trapping is what slowed everything down to where cat populations have now sky-rocketed out of control. TNR advocates are at least right about one thing (and ONE THING ONLY); trap and kill doesn't work either because it is based on the very same flawed method that they use -- slow, random-chance, inefficient, easily outfoxed traps. There's a reason the phrase "hunted to extinction" is so well-known in all cultures across all lands. It is the *ONLY* method that is faster than a species can out-breed and out-adapt to. The following link (of a study done by the University of Nebraska) is some good documentation on the most humane ways to confront a feral-cat problem where you live; including the best firearms, air-rifles, and ammo required. Though avoid using their suggested slow and inefficient trapping methods that got us into the ecological disaster that we have now. http://deenawinter.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/ec1781.pdf

On advice of the local sheriff where I live I used a .22 equipped with a good illuminated-reticle scope and a laser-sight for use when they are most active, dusk to dawn; as well as to afford precision aim for a humane kill. I shot every last one of them on my property, hundreds of them, to restore all the native wildlife to proper balance. Mission accomplished! 100% total success! This is even a more humane method than terrorizing trapping and animal-shelter methods; and why it is the preferred feral-cat management policy in so many areas today. One moment the cats are happily stalking defenseless animals to cruelly torture again, the next they are dead and don't even know what happened, they don't even have time to make a sound. Making your land 100% cat-free is something that cat advocates haven't been able to solve nation-wide for 30-40 years. On my land only 1 person in only 2 seasons was able to accomplish what they couldn't attain in decades. Why is that? The cost per cat was also only 0.3 CENT, 3 cats PER PENNY, a ONE-TIME expense (5000 rounds on sale for only $15). All cats gone for the price of a few cups of coffee. And contrary to another famous TNR-Advocate's bald-faced "vacuum effect" LIE ... NO CATS REPLACED THEM. The NATIVE predators and their required NATIVE prey that WAS here and BELONGS here is what replaced their lousy invasive-species cats that had destroyed the entire native food-chain.

May you have as much success as I did, and so quickly and inexpensively too.
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  9
  
  In reply to Albert Schmidt, 4 months ago
  
  Redmond Fox
  
  Professional Feral Animal Control Manager (logged in via email @hotmail.com)
  
  insightful unconstructive
  
  I agree with you Albert, I fail to see how TNR is that effective in stopping a cat from choosing to kill native animals if it so desires, it may stop it from conceiving more cats but that's it. It can still live a long time during which it has ample opportunity to hunt all sorts of native species as it so desires.
  
  Cat owners need to face reality and do the right thing by all and build runs for their cats so they can be controlled and to reduce the incidents of these indecriminent kills whether…
  
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  I agree with you Albert, I fail to see how TNR is that effective in stopping a cat from choosing to kill native animals if it so desires, it may stop it from conceiving more cats but that's it. It can still live a long time during which it has ample opportunity to hunt all sorts of native species as it so desires.
  
  Cat owners need to face reality and do the right thing by all and build runs for their cats so they can be controlled and to reduce the incidents of these indecriminent kills whether it be for fun or food.
  
  I have issue often with neighbour's cats fighting at all hours of the day and night, climbing all over my car and scratching paint work etc, I've spoken to them several times about this problem they understand my concerns and I've also explained to them that if it continues I will trap their cats and remove them to the RSPCA or similar where they can then pay to get them back.
  
  It seems to have done the trick as I know longer have issues with their cats. Why people can't be more responsible for their pets is beyond me. I don't have dogs or cats as I know they can be a nuisance to those around me so I choose fish and birds as they have little to no impact on the environment or those who live around me.
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9

4 months ago

Albert Schmidt

Researcher (logged in via email @gmail.com)

insightful unconstructive

I found out another interesting aspect to this invasive-species-cat-predator and native-wildlife relationship that none were aware of. When some local wildlife LITERALLY came to my door in the middle of the day, dragging her two starving cubs to my door because she couldn't even make enough milk to feed her offspring (all her food supplies DESTROYED BY CATS), I started out on a venture to try to assist all the local native wildlife. In the hopes that if I increased the populations of the few remaining…

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I found out another interesting aspect to this invasive-species-cat-predator and native-wildlife relationship that none were aware of. When some local wildlife LITERALLY came to my door in the middle of the day, dragging her two starving cubs to my door because she couldn't even make enough milk to feed her offspring (all her food supplies DESTROYED BY CATS), I started out on a venture to try to assist all the local native wildlife. In the hopes that if I increased the populations of the few remaining predators that they would one day put "cat" on their natural menu. (FYI: That mother and her two cubs rebounded just fine with my assistance and went on to produce many healthy offspring.)

During this venture I found some surprising things.

1. Any time that a cat would enter the wildlife feeding area, all the wildlife would scatter. After 5 years of witnessing this I was truly disappointed. These were, after all, the army I was trying to raise to deal with the invasive-cat problem ecologically.

2. When I was advised by local law-enforcement to deal with the problem by shooting cats, then I thought maybe I could at least put that cat-meat from these useless and destructive waste-of-flesh cats to use and feed the wildlife their bodies. These cats had denied all the native-wildlife a food source all these years, perhaps in death they might be able to put back what they had taken. But no. Even when offered DEAD CATS the local wildlife would run from the wildlife feeding area.

Longer story short:

Due to the bold patterns bred into these INVASIVE-SPECIES cats, the NATIVE wildlife perceives them as having a hidden toxic or olfactory defense mechanism. A universal symbol throughout nature. That if an unknown animal is sporting bold patterns, then that animal must be dangerous or deadly -- to avoid it at all costs.

This is why you will read reports online of how someone's docile "Mr. Fluffy" scared that "nasty" coyote out of their yard. The cat's non-existent bravado had NOTHING to do with it. It was the cat's coloring pattern alone that scared that larger predator.

Conclusion: Native wildlife will only pick off the bland or no-pattern cats. And even then, only if starving to death as a last resort, taking the risk of overriding millennia of natural instinct to try to survive. So even if coyotes or other larger predator will take a cat or two, they'll leave all the bold-patterned ones alone. And the land will eventually be inundated with bold-patterned cats only. Back to square one.

NATURE IS NOT GOING TO SOLVE THIS HUMAN-MADE DISASTER FOR YOU.

This is why the phrase "hunted to extinction" is so well known across all cultures, across all lands. It is THE ONLY METHOD THAT IS FASTER THAN A SPECIES CAN OUT-BREED AND OUT-ADAPT TO. A painful fact of past human-behavior that we must now rely on to fix this worldwide ecological disaster. I too was surprised to come to this realization, that these human-caused disasters in the past are now providing a valid method upon which we need to rely to solve this 100% man-made problem.
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8

4 months ago

Mark Merritt

Company Director (logged in via email @hotmail.com)

insightful unconstructive

The problem of invasive species is a major issue in the Australian Bush.

Go to http://sn104w.snt104.mail.live.com/default.aspx#n=930528249&fid=7cdd5d41f6e84fcda338c4eb3b257a79&mid=6fb67585-46f1-11e1-bb0d-00215ad9a7a6&fv=1

As a member of the Feral Cat Extermination Brigades (FCEB), I have despatched hundreds of cats in the bush. I believe that cats make great pets, but cats without human carers should be dropped where they stand.

Many years ago NSW parks service trapped a feral cat near Moree weighing 14.1 kg. Don't ever stand between that cat and a bucket of KFC!

Too bad young Australians have been made to be afraid of guns, they are the best tool for controlling many feral species.
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  10
  
  In reply to Mark Merritt, 4 months ago
  
  Sandra Kwa
  
  student (logged in via email @exemail.com.au)
  
  insightful unconstructive
  
  There are many reasons to be "afraid of guns". A local "young Australian" in our community was shot dead by his friend in an accident whilst out shooting deer. Reduction in gun numbers generally correlate with reduction in gun-related violence, statistically, don't they?
  
  Unless a habitat is confined, like on an island where you can eradicate a whole population, aren't individual animals simply replaced by other individuals when they are "dropped where they stand"? The species occupies a niche…
  
  show full comment
  
  There are many reasons to be "afraid of guns". A local "young Australian" in our community was shot dead by his friend in an accident whilst out shooting deer. Reduction in gun numbers generally correlate with reduction in gun-related violence, statistically, don't they?
  
  Unless a habitat is confined, like on an island where you can eradicate a whole population, aren't individual animals simply replaced by other individuals when they are "dropped where they stand"? The species occupies a niche they have created within a particular environment. Picking off the odd one does nothing but provide fun for gun enthusiasts.
  
  I've heard horrendous tales of animal suffering when feral animals were not killed cleanly outright by the first bullet. How many "young Australians" are top-notch marksmen by the time they go out blasting the crap out of sentient beings?
  
  I agree feral animals are a serious problem. It is a shame to mix this issue up with guns by suggesting our healthy fear of the latter is the cause of the former.
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    7
    
    In reply to Sandra Kwa, 4 months ago
    
    Redmond Fox
    
    Professional Feral Animal Control Manager (logged in via email @hotmail.com)
    
    insightful unconstructive
    
    From my experience with feral animal control, I have definately seen a large increase in cat numbers whilst out controlling other feral animals. I now dispatch on average 1 or 2 each trip now, where as before it was 1 every now and again.
    
    There are a lot more young kittens etc being seen also so they are definately breeding in the areas that I work in.
    
    As for guns being dangerous - anything can be dangerous if used incorrectly, cars are a classic example that those who have an irrational fear…
    
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    From my experience with feral animal control, I have definately seen a large increase in cat numbers whilst out controlling other feral animals. I now dispatch on average 1 or 2 each trip now, where as before it was 1 every now and again.
    
    There are a lot more young kittens etc being seen also so they are definately breeding in the areas that I work in.
    
    As for guns being dangerous - anything can be dangerous if used incorrectly, cars are a classic example that those who have an irrational fear of firearms seem to overlook. I ask you this - Have you ever had a gun pointed at you, have you ever been shot at, now have you ever driven or been in a car that has had a accident or been close to having an accident? now which one really poses the most danger too you? you have way more chance of being injured or killed by driving a car than someone using a firearm, yet you all want to ban firearms? and yet you are happy to cart your children around in a car fully knowing that it really does pose a significant risk to you and your family health. I find that interesting.
    
    Now to get back to cats, I've seen a photo recently that had a cat which has been shot, the stomach contents were examined and there were around 27 lizzards of all types, 1 bird, and I think also a mouse. Now this was just one nights hunting by this particular cat (going by the conditions that the contents were in). I found that number to be staggering and makes me wonder if this is a common result for feral cats or if this was a one off. I will be conducting my own inspections when I shoot feral cats next and start to record my own findings. It will be interesting to see what the findings are.
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    8
    
    In reply to Sandra Kwa, 4 months ago
    
    Albert Schmidt
    
    Researcher (logged in via email @gmail.com)
    
    insightful unconstructive
    
    People have accidents with guns because they haven't been educated properly. Children with knives and not being educated in the proper use of them will also cut themselves.
    
    And to further remove your ignorance, by using a laser-sight and good illuminated-reticle scope with a large aperture (for use during dusk to dawn while cats are most active) this affords a precision and humane kill every time. Not ONE of the hundreds of cats that I was forced to shoot even had enough time to make a sound…
    
    show full comment
    
    People have accidents with guns because they haven't been educated properly. Children with knives and not being educated in the proper use of them will also cut themselves.
    
    And to further remove your ignorance, by using a laser-sight and good illuminated-reticle scope with a large aperture (for use during dusk to dawn while cats are most active) this affords a precision and humane kill every time. Not ONE of the hundreds of cats that I was forced to shoot even had enough time to make a sound, not even ONE bullet wasted. Making this method even more humane than animal shelter methods.
    
    Shooting is one of the most humane methods available. One moment the cats are intent on stalking some defenseless animal to cruelly rip apart again, the next moment they are dead and don't even know it. ALL the cats I shot didn't even have enough time to make a sound. That's how fast they die. This is FAR FAR kinder than trapping, terrorizing them with cages for days, being handled by humans, then being locked into a state of paralyzed torment with drugs until animal-shelter euthanizing methods finally take effect. They are suffering and in torment for DAYS using animal-shelter methods. Did you know that death by lethal-injection is also not humane? Many humans who faced death by lethal-injection survived to talk about how they were fully aware during the whole painful heart-attack experience but paralyzed and couldn't even scream. Lethal-injection is just like TNR, it only makes the practitioner feel good of how their animals die through a bliss of self-induced ignorance.
    
    And if you don't trust anyone to know how to use a firearm properly, then I am safe to presume you are doing all you can to disarm all your police and military forces as well -- lest you be a hypocrite. (I've not ran into one cat-lover yet that wasn't 100% hypocrite, why should you be any different?)
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4 months ago

Albert Schmidt

Researcher (logged in via email @gmail.com)

insightful unconstructive

Here's a little information to help you understand the behaviors of "cat-lovers" and their cats. Something I discovered when local "cat-lovers" (an oxymoron if there ever was one) were using cats to overtake my land and woods, eventually even by moving my property markers when using their cats had failed -- failed because I got the legal go-ahead to shoot them all on my land. (An expensive many $1000s lesson for these property-thieves, surveyors are not cheap.) I often wondered why they kept releasing…

show full comment

Here's a little information to help you understand the behaviors of "cat-lovers" and their cats. Something I discovered when local "cat-lovers" (an oxymoron if there ever was one) were using cats to overtake my land and woods, eventually even by moving my property markers when using their cats had failed -- failed because I got the legal go-ahead to shoot them all on my land. (An expensive many $1000s lesson for these property-thieves, surveyors are not cheap.) I often wondered why they kept releasing new cats onto my land even long AFTER they already knew that all their cats were being shot to death, they were told this is what was going to happen, and was happening. They didn't care about cats AT ALL! Clearly something else was motivating these people. How many so-called "cat-lovers" do you know that keep releasing cats and letting them roam free even after seeing many of them become road-kill, harmed by cat and animal attacks, die of diseases, die of environmental poisons, die of exposure, etc.? (Like every last TNR-advocate for starters.) They don't care about cats, not in the least!

Now you'll know exactly why cat-lovers do what they do. It really has nothing at all to do with their concern for cats, nor even the lives of anyone nor anything else, quite the opposite.

Human Territorial Behavior By Expendable Proxy

I have come to the inexorable conclusion that the vast majority of "cat-lovers" and cat-owners that let their destructive invasive-species roam free, and especially those that defend the rights of feral cats to overtake private and public property and wildlife areas, are only (cowardly) using cats as a proxy for their OWN territorial behavior. Not unlike uneducated inner-city youth that will disrespectfully and inconsiderately use loud music to stake-out a territory for themselves. Whether this behavior is done consciously or subconsciously, the underlying motive is the same. As long as they can have one of their cats defecate in another's yard or destroy their property, animals, and wildlife; and the land-owner not have any recourse; the cat-owner/caretaker owns that territory. It's time to put a stop to them using their "cute kitty" excuse for usurping and stealing others' property. If they want territory they can damn well buy it just like anyone else. Instead they're using underhanded, disrespectful, and manipulative means. By putting (and sacrificing) live animals in the path of their envy and greed. "Cat-lovers" only really want your yard, garden, or forest while making all others and all other animals suffer for what they can't have nor own. Bottom line--they want to control you and your property. That's _ALL_ that "cat-lovers" are really after. It's why they don't care at all if their cat nor any other animals, nor even other humans, get harmed by their goals and (lack of) values in life. (In fact, they secretly and even openly prefer that happens. How many death-threats have you seen from cat-lovers against those that remove their cats? Even politicians and law-makers regularly get death-threats from them.)

A tip for all property owners: Start charging "Cat-Recreation Land-Use Fees" to all cat-owners that use your land. I suggest a fee of $10,000 per day per cat. You have the right to charge any amount you want for someone using your land for any purpose of theirs. If they can't pay, then you get to legally own their property from debts incurred, just like they have stolen your property illegally with their cats all these years.

There's an interesting news report about a community in Florida where cat-advocates are trying to get a court to allow them to even use their local shopping-center as a place where they can keep their cats (to act as speed-bumps, car-accidents, and health-violation-lawsuits waiting to happen I presume). They are also doing this to a whole hotel chain. We can now add "Shopping Centers" and "Hotels" to the kinds of property that they want to steal from the owners and control. It never ends with them! Destroy all cats before they and their advocates can and WILL destroy you. They don't care about your life nor any other animals at all, not even their own cats. They only care about what they can accomplish for themselves with their cats. Proved time and time and time again and again. They only want to control and ruin your life with their cats.

They can't be stopped from their behavior. They psychotically believe they are doing "god's work" for themselves. So you must destroy their cats. It's the ONLY solution.
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4 months ago

Bernie Masters

environmental consultant (logged in via email @iinet.net.au)

insightful unconstructive

There are 25,900 hits when Google Scholar is used to search for articles on 'cat predation'. I'm unsure why the authors seem happy to ignore these thousands of scientific reports on the negative impacts of cats on wildlife when the jury is certainly not out but has returned a guilty verdict on so many occasions and over a long period of time.
Maybe the authors need to get away from their desks and computers and get out into the real world for a change. In particular, they should talk to any of the vets operating in the Busselton area and ask them what evidence they see of cats predating the southern brown bandicoot and the threatened western ring-tail possum, two species that are still surviving around the edges of urbanisation.
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4 months ago

Bernie Masters

environmental consultant (logged in via email @iinet.net.au)

insightful unconstructive

Sorry, Albert, I'm on Upsilon Arts' side in relation to the content of the comments that you've been making about this article. I think you need to see a professional who can work with you to moderate your tone so that you can better manage your strongly-held feelings. This will allow you to reply to people using moderation in your words and showing tolerance and respect for their views, even if do not agree with them.
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  In reply to Bernie Masters, 4 months ago
  
  Albert Schmidt
  
  Researcher (logged in via email @gmail.com)
  
  insightful unconstructive
  
  You can agree with IT as much as you want about anything you want. It's not going to solve your cat problem for you. Someone who releases an INVASIVE-SPECIES to destroy all the native wildlife and lets it destroy their neighbors' property and animals has already, unequivocally, shown that they have NO RESPECT WHATSOEVER FOR ANYTHING ANYWHERE.
  
  They deserve NO RESPECT IN RETURN.
  
  I solved the cat problem on my land. ALL native wildlife is now returning to normal. This was done by showing cat-lovers…
  
  show full comment
  
  You can agree with IT as much as you want about anything you want. It's not going to solve your cat problem for you. Someone who releases an INVASIVE-SPECIES to destroy all the native wildlife and lets it destroy their neighbors' property and animals has already, unequivocally, shown that they have NO RESPECT WHATSOEVER FOR ANYTHING ANYWHERE.
  
  They deserve NO RESPECT IN RETURN.
  
  I solved the cat problem on my land. ALL native wildlife is now returning to normal. This was done by showing cat-lovers ZERO RESPECT. This was done by giving their cats ZERO RESPECT.
  
  ALL cats are now gone from my land. How about yours?
  
  Is your tolerable tone and reasoned response making ANY headway with these useless piece-of-sh**s? I tried that FOR FIFTEEN YEARS and got NOWHERE with them. You too can use a tolerant tone with them for the NEXT FIFTEEN YEARS while all native wildlife on your land is destroyed by their cats and their inconsiderate, disrespectful, and criminally-irresponsible values. Enjoy being tolerant and respectful of things that have no respect for anyone nor anything on the whole planet. You'll still have cats.
  
  I suggest you re-read my previously posted "Moral of the Story" until you figure it out. This isn't just a cat and environment issue. You are dealing with a whole group of people who are literally psychotic in their beliefs about their cats. You can't fight that by trying to reason with them. You have to remove anything they say from the decision making process before you will even begin to solve the problem they created.
  
  May you wake up one day, and wake up soon.
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4 months ago

Upsilon Arts

(logged in via Facebook)

insightful unconstructive

I live in the centre of town and still there are a lot of birds around (owing to a beautiful deciduous tree in the next door neighbours yard). My cats have never caught a bird both are nearly 4 years old. They will catch grasshoppers, cicadas, skinks and on the odd occasion mice and cockroaches. The skinks I will relieve them of and let go if I can, but my girls wouldn't know what to do with a bird if they caught it. I think this is because my cats are trained and have only 'supervised' outside…

show full comment

I live in the centre of town and still there are a lot of birds around (owing to a beautiful deciduous tree in the next door neighbours yard). My cats have never caught a bird both are nearly 4 years old. They will catch grasshoppers, cicadas, skinks and on the odd occasion mice and cockroaches. The skinks I will relieve them of and let go if I can, but my girls wouldn't know what to do with a bird if they caught it. I think this is because my cats are trained and have only 'supervised' outside time. When I get home from work I let them out, sit outside with them for a while, do some housework and then anytime between 8pm and 10pm I'll sing out and they'll come inside, because they know they DON'T get fed until they come in. It doesn't always happen as easily as this, but using this they get outside time but never wander far and are less inclined to damage the natural balance in my area. It's not hard to minimise the impact of domestic cats, just poor ownership holds it back. Creating a routine is not hard, so perhaps the idea of regulation is not a bad thing, perhaps through educating owners and vilifying poor ownership, not the animal themselves is an answer. Yes they are predators, but well loved, trained, well fed animals are less inclined to want to kill for food or fun - I think anyway.
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  In reply to Upsilon Arts, 4 months ago
  
  Dustin Welbourne
  
  (PhD Candidate Evolutionary Ecology, Biogeography + Science Communicator at University of New South Wales)
  
  insightful unconstructive
  
  UpsilonArts, you certainly have not helped your position with the following contradictory statements:
  "my cats are trained and have only 'supervised' outside time" followed in the very next sentence by: "sit outside with them for a while, do some housework and then anytime between 8pm and 10pm I'll sing out and they'll come inside"
  
  Thus, your cats are not supervised outside, you have no idea what they are doing. All you can attest to is that you are not seeing them bring home animals. Speak…
  
  show full comment
  
  UpsilonArts, you certainly have not helped your position with the following contradictory statements:
  "my cats are trained and have only 'supervised' outside time" followed in the very next sentence by: "sit outside with them for a while, do some housework and then anytime between 8pm and 10pm I'll sing out and they'll come inside"
  
  Thus, your cats are not supervised outside, you have no idea what they are doing. All you can attest to is that you are not seeing them bring home animals. Speak to people that work in RSPCA wildcare or other wildlife rescue places and you will see very quickly how wrong you are. Example, Canberra RSPCA has roughly 9 injured lizards a day brought to them through the spring summer months due to cat attacks.
  
  Secondly "Yes they are predators, but well loved, trained, well fed animals are less inclined to want to kill for food or fun - I think anyway"
  It matters little what you 'think'. You are welcome to think, believe, wish, pray, whatever you like about your cats, the simple facts are that allowing cats to roam will result in the death of native animals and contribute to the broader problem of feral cats.
  
  Cats should not carry the full blame, it is humans that have caused and continue to cause the problems. It is the cat owner who allows their animal to roam which cause the problem. UpsilonArts, just like every parent or pet owner, "other cats and kids are the problem, but mine are little angels".
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  In reply to Upsilon Arts, 4 months ago
  
  Albert Schmidt
  
  Researcher (logged in via email @gmail.com)
  
  insightful unconstructive
  
  You have absolutely NO idea how many animals your cats have destroyed. And how many native animals that died of starvation from your cats eating their ONLY food sources. It is also WELL DOCUMENTED that a well-fed cat tortures to death MORE native wildlife than a starving one. A healthy cat is a hunting cat. They don't stop finding things to disembowel and rip the skins off of them just because they are no longer hungry.
  
  Why don't you just go to pet stores and buy hamsters and canaries and throw them at your cat so it can rip them to shreds for a play-toy? It would be no different than what you are doing by letting your cat outside to "play".
  
  Maybe then you can see up close and personal what your cat is doing when you're not looking.
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    In reply to Albert Schmidt, 4 months ago
    
    Upsilon Arts
    
    (logged in via Facebook)
    
    insightful unconstructive
    
    I have no problem with this discussion, in fact I'm finding it very interesting and am now looking into some sort of 'cat run' for my house as opposed to actual outside time. But what I do have a problem with is Albert Schmidts abusive and derogatory postings... If you will actually take the time to read my entire post you will see that I am in support of measures to reduce the numbers of cats that are 'unleashed' on the native fauna population. I was merely commenting that through a regime with…
    
    show full comment
    
    I have no problem with this discussion, in fact I'm finding it very interesting and am now looking into some sort of 'cat run' for my house as opposed to actual outside time. But what I do have a problem with is Albert Schmidts abusive and derogatory postings... If you will actually take the time to read my entire post you will see that I am in support of measures to reduce the numbers of cats that are 'unleashed' on the native fauna population. I was merely commenting that through a regime with my PERSONAL cats there is less of a problem due to feeding routines and regular play, plus having to cats means they stalk and attack each other. Now, I can understand your point of view Mr Schmidt and have full respect for it but you must understand that I am not your general irresponsible uneducated pet owner, so please show a little more respect and restraint before throwing out comments like: "Why don't you just go to pet stores and buy hamsters and canaries and throw them at your cat so it can rip them to shreds for a play-toy?"
    Thank you...
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      In reply to Upsilon Arts, 4 months ago
      
      Albert Schmidt
      
      Researcher (logged in via email @gmail.com)
      
      insightful unconstructive
      
      And you know what I have a problem with? Someone who CLEARLY is abusive and derogatory to all life on this planet because they are so criminally irresponsible as to let their human-engineered invasive-species cat destroy even ONE native insect.
      
      Rather than waste even more key-presses, here's my standard 1-click pasted reply for things like you.
      
      Moral of the Story:
      
      I wasted 15 YEARS of my life arguing with demented cat-lovers. During which time THEIR _INVASIVE_SPECIES_ CATS DESTROYED ALL…
      
      show full comment
      
      And you know what I have a problem with? Someone who CLEARLY is abusive and derogatory to all life on this planet because they are so criminally irresponsible as to let their human-engineered invasive-species cat destroy even ONE native insect.
      
      Rather than waste even more key-presses, here's my standard 1-click pasted reply for things like you.
      
      Moral of the Story:
      
      I wasted 15 YEARS of my life arguing with demented cat-lovers. During which time THEIR _INVASIVE_SPECIES_ CATS DESTROYED ALL NATIVE WILDLIFE ON MY LAND. All native prey became tortured cats' play-toys, all native predators STARVED TO DEATH. Those that became neither died of cats' diseases they spread everywhere (which not only includes the potentially deadly and mind-altering Toxoplasma gondii parasite, but rabies, hookworm, the plague, flea-borne typhus, and now tularemia; they are nothing but 4-legged bags of deadly infestation today).
      
      BEING "NICE" ABOUT THIS IS WHAT CAUSED THIS ECOLOGICAL DISASTER. THE TIME FOR BEING "NICE" TO CATS AND CAT-LOVERS IS OVER. DONE. FINISHED.
      
      This will never be solved by being "nice" to ANY of them. They and their cats have ABSOLUTELY ZERO RESPECT FOR ALL OTHER LIFE ON THIS PLANET AND DESERVE THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT OF RESPECT IN RETURN -- NONE.
      
      It wasn't until I STOPPED arguing and on advice of the sheriff finally did what needed to be done -- SHOOT ALL CATS -- that my land, all the wildlife on my land, and my life itself started to return to normal. I no longer have to go out twice a day on cat-patrol to shoot more cats nor waste more time and energy burying them to protect wildlife from the diseases they carry. Much to the chagrin of manipulative TNR LIARS that spew their psychotic "vacuum effect" bullsh**. NO CATS have replaced them. The native predators and all other native wildlife THAT BELONGS HERE replaced them!
      
      Learn from this. You can argue with the Toxoplasmosis parasites in the cat-lovers' brains until you are blue in the face and your whole planet is destroyed by their cats, but it'll never get rid of the cats that have destroyed your life and all wildlife.
      
      JUST DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE -- DESTROY THEM.
      
      Cats listed in The TOP 100 WORST INVASIVE-SPECIES OF THE WORLD in the "Global Invasive-Species Database":
      http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=24&fr=1&sts=sss
      
      Cats are _NOT_ exempt from invasive-species laws!
      
      IT IS YOUR CIVIC AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY TO DESTROY ANY INVASIVE-SPECIES WHEN FOUND AWAY FROM SAFE CONFINEMENT IN A NON-NATIVE HABITAT.
      
      In fact, it is against the law to NOT destroy an invasive-species on-sight. Since cats are genetically engineered through selective-breeding and no longer have ANY native habitat ANYWHERE on earth these laws include cats. Much to the dismay of all criminally irresponsible and psychotic cat-lovers who are desperately trying to raise them to some absurd level of "Community Cats". If they do that then just raise "Community Pet Piranha" and release them in all your lakes and pools, or "Community Pet Black-Mambas" and release them in all your backyards and parks, then claim the exact same protections for them as cat-advocates want for THEIR INVASIVE-SPECIES CATS. It'd only be fair! (Are you starting to see just how absurd and ludicrous these cat-people are yet?)
      
      Only later, AFTER your land and life are 100% free of these invasive-species cats, can you have fun trying to educate the ineducable. Use the time you got back from their invasive-species taking over your life to share the best ways to destroy all cats -- without harming any other wildlife or humans. Then if you want, make YOUR life THEIR problem. Just as they made THEIR cats YOUR problem for all these many years. It's only fair! Because that's what it's really all about, isn't it. It's not about cats at all. They only want to control your life with their cats. You can put a stop to that immediately by destroying their cats. And there's NOT ONE THING they can do about it if you do it right. They'll no longer have any part of your life.

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Bernie Masters

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Redmond Fox

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