'Lady Godiva,' a Minnesota cat who survived outside for a decade, seeks new home

[basquebromance]

cats are a good thing! my bros make fun of me, because at night when a cat is yelling out, i tell my bros: "let's go help the cat"...i'm a softie that way

'Lady Godiva,' a Minnesota cat who survived outside for a decade, seeks new home

Lady Godiva, a senior cat with an impressive survival story who spent nearly her entire life outdoors, will be available soon for adoption into a loving home in Minnesota.

www.foxnews.com

 

[hjmick]

Domestic cats are an invasive species. They have a huge impact on wildlife and ecosystems. In the US alone, free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds every year. Mammals have it worse with 6.3–22.3 billion of them killed annually.

In 1894, a cat traveled with her owner to an untouched island south of New Zealand. This island was the home for the Stephen Island wren, a small flightless bird only found there. The cat single-handedly caused the extinction of this wren. Feral cats cause 65% of mortality for woylies, a rare marsupial. They also leave their scents outdoors which discourages wild species from either raising their young or seeking food in an area. This ceases the ecological benefits that the wild animals bring, like spreading seed, controlling insect populations, pollinating plants, as well as serving as food sources for other wild species.

If all that is not enough, cats also spread diseases like toxoplasmosis, rabies or feline leukaemia to wild animals.

The policy of "trap, neuter, release" practiced in some ares is bullshit. Not enough cats are captured and neutered to have any positive effect. Any domestic cat living outside of a house should be eliminated in anyway possible. I suppose rehabilitating them and bringing them indoors is one way...

 

[basquebromance]

Haters gon' hate!

 

[Dekster]

We have a cat that 3 different houses, including mine, feed, but nobody has ever touched it. He hangs out with my cats some lounging in the sun and will sit and stare in the door but he absolutely won't let a human get within 5 feet of him. As long as he is healthy and not a problem, we have become whatever about him. Think he is probably about 7 or so. He came out of a feral litter that one of my cats came out of. He just won't socialize with humans. Not sure why. His sister walked her butt inside the back door and has been the queen of my house ever since.

 

[Silent Warrior]

An old pheasant hunter's adage: "If you see a feral cat in the field while hunting, shoot it. There will be 10 pheasants in it's place next year."

 

[hjmick]

Disagree all you want, Bob Blaylock , your willful ignorance doesn't make my post any less true. Feel free to do your own research on the topic. Here, I'll even give you a helping hand...

Pets as Invasive Species: Cats

Cute but deadly. Author's cat, Hazel, poses in the sun. It’s not often an invasive species is crowned as ruler of the internet. That title goes to cats. From chatrooms with “Meowspeak,” to I Can Haz Cheezeburger, to Grumpy Cat (R.I.P), it’s funny to imagine fire ants or zebra mussels ever...

biodiversity.utexas.edu

https://wildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FactSheet-FeralCats_FINAL-1.pdf

The Environmental Danger of Outdoor Cats - JSTOR Daily

Outdoor cats are an environmental disaster.

daily.jstor.org

The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States - Nature Communications

Free-ranging domestic cats cause wildlife extinctions on islands, but their impact on wildlife in mainland areas is unclear. This study presents an estimate of mortality caused by cats in the United States, suggesting that 1.4–3.7 billion birds and 6.9–20.7 billion mammals are killed annually.

www.nature.com

Opinion | We need to start addressing the problems caused by cats

The designation, while unwelcome by some feline lovers, is needed to address the problems caused by cats.

www.nbcnews.com

Cats | Invasives

Free-roaming cats are the number-one, human-caused threat to birds. Although they are often beloved pets, they are also instinctive killers.

abcbirds.org

Domestic cats an invasive species? The last biodiversity lecture of spring 2020 examines the issue

www2.stetson.edu

Is Fluffy, Mittens, and Every Other Domestic Cat an Invasive Species?

A polish scientist added Fluffy and Mittens to a list of invasive species, and now cat-lovers are in an uproar over it.

www.fieldandstream.com

Don't mistake my post(s) as being indicative of a dislike of cats, nothing could be further from the truth.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Last April, a cat that had been a semi-stray around our apartment complex, starting hanging out with my wife and me, spending several hours each day with us in our apartment. By June, he was with us almost full time, as he is to this day. He does still insist on being let out for a few hours each day, usually late at night or early morning. I think he has other humans that he visits, in other apartments. But he's with us the rest of the time. We call him Buddy. We know of others who call him Red. We do not know by how many other names he is known, to how many other people.