Cats - is all the murder acceptable?

[maomao]

Fuck the wildlife, the little bastards shouldn't be allowed to dig up my garden.

 

[bellaozzydog]

The main problem with dogs is chasing after ground nesting birds like skylarks, some of the populations have been decimated

We can’t move for ground nesting larks around here

 

[tim]

It’s not just cats... I know an old lady who is even worse

I don't know why...?

 

[seeformiles]

Our two are well respected in the neighbourhood for their mousing skills. One neighbour even brought us a bottle of wine after seeing Vic making short work of a family of rats in her garden. Vic does kill the odd bird but it’s 9/1 in favour of rodents. Lil’ Bob is much beloved by Mrs SFM for his spider hunting/eating skills and his skilful takedown of bluebottles.

 

[1927]

We've tried putting collars on my cat but she just takes them off.

Collars aren’t a hood uses if the cat goes out and about as they can get hung up on obstacles and literally strangle the cat.

 

[MickiQ]

Middle Q's cat apparently likes to catch mice alive, bring them in and release in the kitchen where is no way out bar the door and torment them before killing them. She picks the killing machine up and Paddy tries to shoo the mouse out of the back door whilst all the while the cat is yowling in a bad tempered manner at having his fun spoiled. I'm not certain why she seems to like cats so much, We've never owned a cat but the neighbours used to have one that she made a fuss of.
When she was a teenager, she was sunbathing in the garden in a bikini when the cat came and dropped a headless rodent on her bare stomach in a show of affection. From the screaming I thought someone was trying to abduct her and came running outside.
Cats are semi-intelligent predators it's what evolution has made them and unlike dogs we haven't managed to alter their nature they don't give a shit what we think and have a far more equal relationship with us than dogs.

 

[D'wards]

Middle Q's cat apparently likes to catch mice alive, bring them in and release in the kitchen where is no way out bar the door and torment them before killing them. She picks the killing machine up and Paddy tries to shoo the mouse out of the back door whilst all the while the cat is yowling in a bad tempered manner at having his fun spoiled. I'm not certain why she seems to like cats so much, We've never owned a cat but the neighbours used to have one that she made a fuss of.
When she was a teenager, she was sunbathing in the garden in a bikini when the cat came and dropped a headless rodent on her bare stomach in a show of affection. From the screaming I thought someone was trying to abduct her and came running outside.
Cats are semi-intelligent predators it's what evolution has made them and unlike dogs we haven't managed to alter their nature they don't give a shit what we think and have a far more equal relationship with us than dogs.

I recall Frank Skinner on his radio show discussing the phrase "be the person your dog thinks you are".
He mused that no one says "be the person your cat thinks you are". Left a pause for thought and said "vermin".

 

[Thora]

Collars aren’t a hood uses if the cat goes out and about as they can get hung up on obstacles and literally strangle the cat.

They have quick release clasps so that doesn't happen. That's also how she keeps taking them off though.

 

[A380]

I'd be fully in favour of wolves being introduced - they're beautiful.

Not when they are going through the bins of Kennington Fried Chicken…

 

[maomao]

Bring back bears to control the wolves and bring back dragons to control the bears.

 

[moose]

Bring back crocodiles to control the humans who get the cats.

 

[platinumsage]

Just give squirrels more powers.

 

[story]

 

[Sasaferrato]

The RSPB did some research which showed that with birds, the cats mainly get the old and the ill.

 

[The39thStep]

Didn’t the Italians once out animals on trial in court ?

 

[DotCommunist]

Didn’t the Italians once out animals on trial in court ?

I think medieval england did also. This was before the doctrine of souls iirc so it was still debated wether women and animals had souls. Weird times anyway

then there was francis of Assisi who preached to the animals, presumably on the basis he thought they had souls to be saved from hell by the truth etc etc

 

[story]

I think medieval england did also. This was before the doctrine of souls iirc so it was still debated wether women and animals had souls. Weird times anyway

Yeah, it happened all over the place.

Animal trial - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Medieval Animal Trials

Why were animals put on trial - for murder or for eating crops - in the Middle Ages?

www.medievalists.net

Even as late as 1916, a lynch mob in Tennessee strung up an elephant who’d turned on their handler. Turns out the elephant had an infected tusk and the handler had poked the infection. Anyone who’s had a tooth infection will understand why the elephant went into attack mode when the infected tusk was poked. Not sure this counts as an animal trial though. Because it was a lynch mob. No trial. Careful googling this one, there are photos of the elephant being hanged.

 

[The39thStep]

Yeah, it happened all over the place.

Animal trial - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Medieval Animal Trials

Why were animals put on trial - for murder or for eating crops - in the Middle Ages?

www.medievalists.net

Even as late as 1916, a lynch mob in Tennessee strung up an elephant who’d turned on their handler. Turns out the elephant had an infected tusk and the handler had poked the infection. Anyone who’s had a tooth infection will understand why the elephant went into attack mode when the infected tusk was poked. Not sure this counts as an animal trial though. Because it was a lynch mob. No trial. Careful googling this one, there are photos of the elephant being hanged.

Was there anyone trained in defending animals in court or did they just get the duty solicitor?

 

[The39thStep]

I think medieval england did also. This was before the doctrine of souls iirc so it was still debated wether women and animals had souls. Weird times anyway

then there was francis of Assisi who preached to the animals, presumably on the basis he thought they had souls to be saved from hell by the truth etc etc

also Doctor Doolittle

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

My cat has so far only caught flies. So he's cool.

 

[Chz]

The RSPB did some research which showed that with birds, the cats mainly get the old and the ill.

And the babies, if they can get to them. Birds are dumb and build nests in accessible places sometimes.

There are some master ninja cats out there who can catch healthy, adult birds. But most don't stand a chance against something that fast that can fly. Even the fat, dozy wood pigeons around here seem proof against cat attack. So the birds are mostly safe, and I don't give a toss about the rodents. Obvs a bit different in a place like Australia, but cats have been around Eurasia long enough by now that they're part of the ecosystem.

 

[krtek a houby]

And the babies, if they can get to them. Birds are dumb and build nests in accessible places sometimes.

There are some master ninja cats out there who can catch healthy, adult birds. But most don't stand a chance against something that fast that can fly. Even the fat, dozy wood pigeons around here seem proof against cat attack. So the birds are mostly safe, and I don't give a toss about the rodents. Obvs a bit different in a place like Australia, but cats have been around Eurasia long enough by now that they're part of the ecosystem.

Wouldn't agree that birds are dumb. Corvids are quite intelligent and problem solvers.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Many species of birds have been disappearing at an alarming rate in the last few decades. None of this is down to cats, though. It's down to agricultural practices combined with climate change.

The following lists percentage declines of some bird species recorded in the Common Bird Census between 1970 and 1999:

• Tree sparrow -95 per cent
• Corn bunting -88 per cent
• Willow tit -78 per cent
• Spotted flycatcher -77 per cent
• Woodcock -74 per cent
• Starling -71 per cent
• Turtle dove -71 per cent
• Song thrush -56 per cent
• Bullfinch -53 per cent
• Skylark -52 per cent
• Cuckoo -33 per cent

And they make this point that the decline in the countryside is causally linked to declines in urban areas.

Many people don’t think this would be the reason for the decline of birds in suburban and urban areas. However, as 80 per cent of this country is farmland, what happens there will affect birds in all habitats. This is especially true of urban populations, since in most cases, the urban and suburban populations are an overspill from the better habitats in the countryside.

UK Bird Population | Is The Number of Birds in Decline? - The RSPB

 

[Chz]

Wouldn't agree that birds are dumb. Corvids are quite intelligent and problem solvers.

Most corvids are perfectly capable of keeping a housecat away from their nests, even if they were in a stupid place. My cat regrets the day it picked a fight with the magpies out back.

 

[D'wards]

Wouldn't agree that birds are dumb. Corvids are quite intelligent and problem solvers.

They throw their nuts in the road on pelican crossings so cars crack them then wait until people cross so the traffic stops and retrieve them

 

[D'wards]

Many species of birds have been disappearing at an alarming rate in the last few decades. None of this is down to cats, though. It's down to agricultural practices combined with climate change.



And they make this point that the decline in the countryside is causally linked to declines in urban areas.



UK Bird Population | Is The Number of Birds in Decline? - The RSPB

I think that those beautiful gits the ring necked parakeets are guilty of evicting some species from London- I've not seen a cock sparrow for years up here but see loads in Dorset when I visit my old man

 

[krtek a houby]

They throw their nuts in the road on pelican crossings so cars crack them then wait until people cross so the traffic stops and retrieve them

Have seen a group of them play football with a tennis ball!

 

[littlebabyjesus]

I think that those beautiful gits the ring necked parakeets are guilty of evicting some species from London- I've not seen a cock sparrow for years up here but see loads in Dorset when I visit my old man

Yep. They're probably responsible for a decline in blackbirds and a few other species.

 

[kittyP]

Tbf I've seen crows go at a parakeet nest and destroy all the eggs. No united front against the cats, that's why they lose.

Also saw a Magpie torment the shit out of a cat though tbf. Then a fox ate it.

Yeah the magpies are the main threat to the baby/young bird population around my parents garden.
They decimate the nests and you can hear very distressed adult birds when they are at it

There are loads of cats round their garden, always coming in and out but the bird population is really healthy too.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

When I was growing up, we always had a cat and we always had loads of birds in the garden. Cat would sit there driving the birds nuts sometimes, but they were still there.

Cats appear to be a total irrelevance regarding overall wildlife numbers. It's stuff like agriculture changes, climate change and invasive species such as parakeets that are the real culprits.