h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Probably.

Shorn, maybe you could use it as an authoritive quote?

We're sick of the claptrap surrounding desexing of companion animals - 'They should be allowed to have at least one litter', 'Oh, but birth is so beautiful', and so on. B******s. It's time to stop all this. We do not have a God-given right to own or use an animal for whatever we want. Responsibility for our actions needs to be high on the human agenda, and that means looking after what we create, problems and all.
- Rosemary Williams
Director of the Wellington, New Zealand, SPCA

Ha! I see the quote has been moderated. The tone's a bit aggressive but if I can find a way to fit it into the piece (perhaps under the conclusion heading) in a way that doesn't seem to be beating people over the head, I'll do it. If it's ever considered fit for editing for the guide, the eds can always strip it out if they think it's too much.

The reason I wrote this entry was because I wanted, specifically, to appeal to cat owners to make an effort to modify their cats' killing behaviour and improve the survival chances of birds. I hadn't really set out to discuss all the issues of personal responsibility. I've done that in rl with friends who have cats and found that it all just ends in bitterness and accusations and friendships hanging on by a thread. On the other hand, I've recently persuaded one of my friends to try feeding the birds from pole-mounted feeders, situated where the cat can't reach. She was very doubtful but took home one of my nut feeders, filled with peanuts and tried it. She was astonished that her very efficient hunter was completely banjaxed by the thing and during the 3-4 weeks it's been there, it's been used by countless birds and the cat hasn't caught a single one. Now she, her family and her neighbours spend lots of time bird watching through their back windows. If I'd just thumped the table and preached personal responsibility at her, she would have been angry and upset and wouldn't have done a thing about changing the situation. I'm working on another friend now. He's going to be harder to convince but I'll probably manage it if I take it easy and don't push too hard.

I agree with some of what you said about legislation Frogbit. I think some legislation takes a while to sink in when, as you say, everybody does it. A lot of people were unwilling to wear seat belts in Britain to start with but now, years after the law was introduced, just about everyone complies with the law. Same with crash helmets. There was a time when many dog owners thought it was fine to allow their dogs to foul the pavements and parks where children play. Now it's frowned on, there are big fines for not complying and now responsible dog owners clear up their dogs' mess. I think the same thing would happen if there was legislation to control the behaviour of cats. It's just a matter of changing attitudes. In any case, there won't be any such law. Politicians wouldn't consider it a vote winner.

It doesn't seem to me that neutering a cat affects its hunting habits. A neutered (male) cat of mine was a merciless and skillful hunter, and it was obvious he preferred to hunt rather than be fed, no matter what he was offered.

But, not only did he kill birds but he killed rats, mice, cockroaches, our lizards (also killed by birds), you name it. I live on the Caribbean island of Barbados and although I sympathise with the birds, I also appreciate that our ample cat population does contribute to the control vermin. Only wish we could train them to catch mosquitoes.

Considering the amount of "wild" cats we have, I feel that neutering can be necessary at times.

Oh, tried bells but it didn't appear to be very affective.

I would second that, my parents neuteured cat is still quite high on the bird and other small animal kill list. And he does have a bell on his collar. He is just exceptinally fast and has a good hide outs where he waits to pounce in the area.

That's why there's nothing in the entry about neutering. I think it would be a good thing if the cat population was controlled by neutering but the immediate concern of this piece is to change cat owners' minds about what is possible and acceptable with regard to controlling the behaviour of their pets, to give birds a better chance of survival.

All the cat owners I know take for granted that cats absolutely *must* have complete freedom to follow their natures in a way that, dog owners, for example, don't. Dogs also have instincts that would cause problems if they were turfed out of their home every day and left to their own devices. They would meet up with their mates, form packs and hunt sheep (and cats probably). Farmers would shoot them (so would cat owners probably). It would be helpful for our endangered, indigenous species if cat owners could accept that cats really can be controlled. Controlling their behaviour is no more unnatural than having a pet in the first place.

The thing about bells is that they cut down the kill rate by upto 50% according to research. It must be difficult to gauge your cat's hunting success unless s/he brings every victim home for counting and inspection.

Our cat does!!!

Well that just goes to show how crafty the cats are and how gullible we are. How do you know your cat doesn't bring back every other kill or just the big ones s/he's most proud of or just the ones s/he didn't fancy eating straight away? Ah?

I've altered the conclusion now - put in your angry and aggressive paragraph, Loonytunes.

Would any cat owners reading this have a read of the article and let me know whether that quote under the conclusion heading, is likely to cheese you off and make you feel inclined to ignore the whole thing, or help to persuade you to take the suggested action, please.

Ah but he tends to just play with his catches. Which means that most of the time they arrive alive, but are too far gone to actually save. Its a real shame. Of course most of the kills arrive first thing in the morning or during the night and we have to clear up the kitchen or utility room as a result.

Hi, bit new at this so claws retracted please.

It doesn't seem to me that neutering a cat affects its hunting habits. A neutered (male) cat of mine was a merciless and skillful hunter, and it was obvious he preferred to hunt rather than be fed, no matter what he was offered.

But, not only did he kill birds but he killed rats, mice, cockroaches, our lovely lizards (also killed by birds), you name it. In case you are wondering about my environment, I live on the Caribbean island of Barbados and although I sympathise with the birds, I also appreciate that our ample cat population does contribute to the control of vermin (which is another subject altogether, I think). Only wish we could train cats to kill mosquitoes (yet another topic).

Considering the amount of "wild" cats we have on this island, I feel that neutering is necessary at times. Even so, nowadays I have very mixed feelings about this, and I refer to the male cat in particular, because my cat died and the vet said his death was caused by a blockage to the urethra/bladder called FUS (Feline Urinary Syndrome - or something like that). This is not uncommon in male cats and especially so in neutered ones. Do I digress?

I do not know what you can do to stop hunting. Keeping them locked up all the time seems unnatural to me and cruel(hate zoos), okay if you can catch them to keep them in during certain times of the day (cats can be pretty ellusive if you ask me), bells seemed ineffective (as Tiggy frequently turned up with victim and bell at jaw level.

I look forward to reading the solution with interest. Has anyone ever seen a muzzled cat?

I think the point of neutering is not to prevent the neutered cat from hunting, but to prevent it from reproducing and breeding dozens of other (often unwanted) birdie killers.

I thought bells were ineffective too, but the entry doesn't say it prevents any successful hunting, just that the research shows it cuts the success rate by half. I think that's worth something and I will be quoting this to my cat owning friends.

As regards neutering I think the argument is that in cutting down the cat population it reduces the hunting. How many cat owners have more cats than they really ever intended after being talked into accepting unwanted kittens? Honestly I think more neutering is in many cats interests. There are a lot of latchkey/catflap cats out there. Maybe that aspect is a way of softening the quote for cat lovers?

Didn't see your post il viaggiatore, took too long writing mine and had to go pay the paperboy in the middle of it.

Oops, sorry, it's the novice again. Sent off the first, (doing this in interludes at work), - didn't seem to have gone. So saved the words, pasted them in later, altered, and sent off again. Didn't know about the delay. Bit like talking long distance on the phone.

Anyway, where was I, oh, I think the argument about not controlling cats but keeping dogs under control etc etc rather weakens the case for controlling cats. I have read many articles about dogs attacking humans, killing or maiming. If we are talking domestic cats rather than lions and tigers, I think you should keep off that track of thought. A cat scratched me once... is hardly newsworthy. When I am walking along the road here and someone has a pitbull on a leash, it does not inspire me with confidence when the owner is burning rubber from their trainers as the dog drags them along... Get my drift. Never jump for cover when I see a cat...

Wazu, you got that right. I ended up with Tiggy in the first place because his owners had to leave the island, and him. Then Tiggy though neutered had a girlfriend "dogging" him around (should that be "catting"). Anyway, the unfaithful creature ended up pregnant by another cat (obviously not neutered) and Tiggy died the week she gave birth. Now I have two kittens and their mum. Help. Waiting on the kittens to be old enough for their operation. Sorry kitties but there is a limit...

That's a thought Waz. If anyone says they find the quote a bit on the harsh side, I could try to soften it up. Perhaps years of having friends who are mad about cats has left with an exaggerated idea of their sensitivity and none the h2g2 cat people will mind it, after all.

I guess it's worth bearing in mind that we're in different countries Val de T. I wasn't going to put any such arguments in the article by the way - just making a point for the purposes of this discussion. I know there are lots of feral dogs in some countries and the laws relating to dog control are weak, don't exist or don't get enforced. However, there's some control here so, if anything, your argument strengthens mine. Pit bull terriers were dramatically banned here after some horrendous attacks a few years back. Dogs have to be kept under control. If people allow their dogs to wander (as people allow their cats to wander), they'll be rounded up by the local dog warden and the dog owner will have to pay to get them out if they want them back. There are, of course, irresponsible dog owners but they get a lot of stick if they don't control their dogs. If the dog is dangerous, it gets destroyed and the owner gets fined.

Not suggesting this was the cat's fault, but my one experience of animal attack was as a child when a cat almost had my eye out. My parents had to rush me off to hospital to get all my stuffing shoved back in and stitched up. My fault though. I was one of those annoying brats who just loved animals so much they all had to be charged up to and hugged. Wouldn't have mattered if it was a skunk or a polar bear. Scared my poor mother half to death. Anyway. Didn't put me off cats. Just a little anecdote to while away the time

In breaking news, here in New Zealand, a country that had no mammels until the arrival of man 800 years ago, (OK there were a couple of species of bat), it has been announced the biggest danger to our native birds comes from the introduced Australian bird, the magpie

Maybe we should get Kiwi cats to specilise on killing magpies?

I'm a cat owner, and I found your entry very reasonable. I hadn't realised it was actually considered a good idea to feed birds in a cat's garden - I might try it next winter. I think most cat lovers would agree that the neutering recommendation is a good idea - a population of stray or feral cats can be quite a reservoir of disease, and domestic cats are often beaten up by tough strays, so many fond cat owners are wary of the scruffier strays.

In some areas, though, cats can be quite important in keeping down mice and even rats - I assume the bell would protect a mouse just as much as a thrush!

As far as harm to people is concerned, cats can be a problem in spreading toxoplasmosis. I know someone whose child ended up seriously ill in hospital because she picked up an infection from the waste from a neighbour's cats visiting their garden. This is a public health problem which is often underestimated (but it doesn't belong in your article, so I'll leave the subject now.)

Azara

Cats may well be responsible for keeping down the populations of mice and rats - but I read some research that stated that the population of rats is the same for humans (in the UK), and that you are never more than a few yards from a rat in your lifetime. I don't know about anyone else, but I find that quite disturbing. Not that you are never more than a few yards away from a rat during your lifetime - but that the populations were the same. . .I mean, statistically that means you are never more than a few yards from a *human* in your lifetime. I happen to think that *environmentally* rats are a lot more friendly than humans.

Thanks Azara (nice name). Remember to mount the feeders on long poles so the little chap can't reach them. I've just put a page of links to bird feed/feeder/accessory suppliers on my home page. There are quite a few of them. Some sell nuts cheaper, some sell sunflower seeds cheaper, some sell feeders cheaper. Anyway, I just popped over to get its address to paste into this post but couldn't because the moderators have "referred" and temporarily hidden it. I imagine it will reappear during the course of the next couple of days. When it comes back from the cleaners, I'll let you know. I don't know whether a bell on your cat would help the mice and rats as much as it helps the birds (or even flightless birds for that matter). The advantage our garden birds have is that they can take to the air, and once they're spooked, most are able to get air-borne very blooming quickly. Rats and mice can only scurry away so once the cat has started its pounce the poor little rodents' number is pretty well up, I imagine. The toxoplasmosis thing's interesting and worrying, but, as you say, not really right for this article. I read an article from The Scotsman back in February about a study at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where they reckoned they'd found that some cats carry a parasite that humans can pick up from them. They were looking into the possibility that people who suffered from schizophrenia, manic depression and even permanent physical brain damage might have got the parasite from their mothers while still in the womb and that the mother got the parasite from the family cat. That's not going in the article either :-) Frogbit, if you like rats (doesn't everybody?), you'll love this conversation about giggling rats hanging off an article on how to discourage them: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F51651?thread=96155 On being *statistically* close to rats and humans, it's a good thing we're not evenly spaced ;-)