Some scientists say cats are an 'invasive alien species'

Discussion in 'General Science & Technology' started by wegs, Jul 29, 2022.

  1. geordief Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,118
    They seem to cope.I prefer to observe rather than smother.
     
  2. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  3. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    I find this, like many modern challenges, a relative question. That sum would be considerably less impactful, or, at least, emotionally affective, had we not destroyed enough habitat to make the feline bird harvest seem relevant, or helped boost the heat to the point that birds are falling out of the sky. It's like in Seattle, where they made a decision to stop extending natural gas infrastructure to certain new housing, and I'm sorry, but compared to energy production and conservation questions, as well as issues of mobility, transit, and traffic, I find it a ridiculous trade: Glasstop ranges and even worse water heaters, but we need our freakin' four hundred fifty-four horsepower for single-occupancy commuting. Not running gas lines to new single-family development, as the idea goes, is whatever it is, but it's a petty measure blithely intended to forestall actually useful reductions in carbon-heavy energy distribution.

    That is to say, I would be far less worried about the feline birdkill except we humans are not going to stop destroying the birds, ourselves. It's like when old men wax nostalgic about murmurations so rarely seen these days, no, I'm not blaming cats.
     
    sideshowbob and wegs like this.
  4. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  5. billvon Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    21,635
    You could make a similar argument about forcing them to eat cat food, shipping them via air and/or neutering them.

    If the treatment of animals required to keep them as pets is cruelty, then the answer there is to prohibit pets. So I would be hesitant to make that argument.
    Well, I don't see too much CO2 in the air, either, or too much plastic in the ocean. But they are still problems even if they're not immediately visible.
    Rabbits in Australia? Definitely. They have decimated the environment there.

    Raccoons if here in the US we bred them by the tens of millions, fed them then kept them outside? Also definitely.

    Raccoons if they were imported into Japan? Also definitely. They've done a huge amount of damage.

    Raccoons if we left them alone? Then no problem. They have a niche here, and availability of food keeps them in check in their natural state.

    Whenever we mess with the environment without knowing what we are doing we leave disaster in our wake.
     
    sideshowbob likes this.
  6. Google AdSense Guest Advertisement



    to hide all adverts.
  7. Seattle Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,857
    Agree. Let's just keep cats as pets.
     
    wegs likes this.
  8. candy Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    1,074
    I think it is more of an issue with the feral cat population.
    Last year when the feral mother was killed by a fisher I adopted 3 feral kittens with the help of my senior (16) indoor cat. Had them neutered. 2 listen to the senior and stay indoors. The tiniest one (only 6 pounds) got out and has refused to come back in the house she has reverted to feral.
     
  9. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    7,057
    If he can be psychotic, I suppose he can psychoanalyze too.
     
  10. geordief Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,118
    I like the sound of it."A dead psychoanalyst bounce "
     
  11. Beaconator Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    1,486
    It might pass the snell test but that’s only because no cats are there.
     
  12. (Q) Encephaloid Martini Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    20,855
    I toss a couple ice cubes into our cats water dish... he's mesmerized until the ice melts.
     
  13. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    9,253
    Aw, as long as you monitor him, so he doesn't attempt to bite the cubes, they can double for a wonderful, free play toy. lol My cat enjoys swatting at them when I accidentally drop a few on the floor.
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2022
  14. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    More than cats, I want to know what's up with people.

    Not long ago, our cat got out and hid under a neighbor's back deck. It took two and a half days to get him out, and that was only after the neighbor remembered that he had left a board loose in order to access under the deck. Once we lifted that up, it took about five minutes to get the cat out.

    Afterward, the neighbor buttoned down his deck. The loose board is now fastened in place, and additional skirting has been cheaply tacked on, but an ingress point for animals was left open. The only difference, now, is that you simply can't see where the animal is at, and can do absolutely nothing to help it get out.

    What we now have to rely on is that a cat will do something counterintuitive, i.e., randomly decide to go thirty feet south in order to move two feet north.

    Apparently, the humans thought that leaving a gap for wildlife to get in while closing off every means of extracting it was some sort of solution.
     
    wegs likes this.
  15. Seattle Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    8,857
    The good news is that your neighbor helped you get your cat back. I'm sure your mom is happy about that. My cat would be running back to the door immediately after getting out.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2022
    wegs likes this.
  16. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    37,884
    This time around, we just pulled the fence.

    Toward buttoning down the deck, even when it's not our cat, pulling the fence is the solution for whatever wildlife doesn't feel like tracking thirty feet back out.

    That's actually kind of what he was doing. Normally, he doesn't bolt like that, but decided to have an overdue conversation with the neighbor cat hanging out behind the flowers under the sycamore, and when he finally realized he was under open sky, he was halfway around, and instinctively hewed to the building structure while seeking the nearest cover. The difference between thirty feet south or two feet north is that the two feet was the path to the back door.
     
  17. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    9,253
    That is odd human behavior. But, thankfully your cat was found and freed.

    The thought of my sweet, docile cat getting out into the wild, oof - I’m not sure he’d know how to defend himself. “They” say domesticated animals will remember what to do when in danger - that it’s instinctive. I’m sure there’s truth in that but, I don’t know.
     
  18. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    7,057
     
    wegs likes this.
  19. candy Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    1,074
    Update on the escaped kitty. Her flea protection expired so she came back indoors.
    Cruel of us humans to force the cat population to live with out fleas.
     
  20. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,077
    Couple of days before due to come home from Bali I was taking breakfast out to the outdoor covered area of the hotel room and I noticed girlfriend putting what I thought was a mouse in a box

    Learnt early not to ask girlfriend questions about odd doings

    Turns out was a squirrel and well on the way to recovery

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!



    As she has 2 dogs now I am hoping she soon sets it free or it escapes

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
  21. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

    Messages:
    39,397
    Is that a squirrel? How did squirrels wind up in Bali?
     
  22. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    13,077
    Sorry no idea

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!



    EDIT

    Intrigued I asked girlfriend

    Are you sure the little thing you took home from Bali Kuta Resort is a squirrel?

    Her reply

    yes and I kept him for some time, and then there was my friend who liked my squirrel, then I gave my squirrel to her pet girl

    For completeness I Googled "Are there squirrels in Bali" and got

    https://coconuts.co/bali/news/squirrel-smuggler-australian-tourist-caught-brisbane-airport-live-bali-squirrels/#:~:text=A pair of live squirrels,home from Bali, reports Kompas.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!


    A pair of live squirrels from Bali was seized by Australian Biosecurity and Border Force (ABF) at Brisbane Airport earlier this month.

    The animals were allegedly sneaked in by a holiday-maker who had just returned home from Bali, reports Kompas


    Bit more EDIT

    https://jacquelineiphotos.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/the-bali-squirrel/

    These gorgeous little fellows are just about everywhere in Bali. They are very curios and can be quite friendly, even touchable at times. They are not known to carry the Rabies virus (which is good to know) They are very quick and can be hard to get a good photo of, if you don’t have the patients.

    (Above is copy/paste so not my spelling

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

    )

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2022
  23. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

    Messages:
    39,397
    Interesting. I had no idea that Bali has indigenous squirrels.
     

Share This Page