4 ms·

The majority of cats in Europe is city cats that demolish the local bird and critter population. https://academic.oup.com/jel/article/32/3/391/5640440 https://

The majority of cats in Europe is city cats that demolish the local bird and critter population. https://academic.oup.com/jel/article/32/3/391/5640440 https://academic.oup.com/jel/article/32/3/391/5640440

pvaldes 5y ago
Still autochtonous (more or less) species. Old world birds evolved with them for thousands years and somehow they will not have problems to survive. We know to do more research about the cat effect on that fauna instead to just repeat one preliminary study. We need to know for example, if there is a percentage of those migrant birds allegedly chased by cats in US that just crashed against a window or were stunded by pesticides. The problem in that case is not the cat, is the glass pane, or the absence of trees. ............... Second point. Some scientists hypothesize that Toxoplasmosis remain in the body alive for years and is a chronic disease. We should however take in mind that this is not the main current of thinking. We know that parasites don't survive usually when end in the wrong host because immune response works "like this" and "like that" and because the temperature, organ structure or life cycle of the true host, matter for the parasite survival. I can't see why Toxoplasma should behave different that the other ten thousands of cases, or why the immune system should make an excepcion here.
- pvaldes 5y ago
  -> We need to do more research -> Were stunTed Sleepy day, yawn.
Nursie 5y ago
The RSPB in the UK don't seem to think that cat predation is a significant factor in bird species decline - https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/animal-deterrents/cats-and-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/ https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-... "Those bird species which have undergone the most serious population declines in the UK (such as skylarks, tree sparrows and corn buntings) rarely encounter cats, so cats cannot be causing their declines. Research shows that these declines are usually caused by habitat change or loss, particularly on farmland."
- Tiktaalik 5y ago
  Yeah cats have been around in europe so long that presumably at this point they've already killed all the native species that were gonna get killed.

pvaldes 5y ago

Still autochtonous (more or less) species. Old world birds evolved with them for thousands years and somehow they will not have problems to survive. We know to do more research about the cat effect on that fauna instead to just repeat one preliminary study. We need to know for example, if there is a percentage of those migrant birds allegedly chased by cats in US that just crashed against a window or were stunded by pesticides. The problem in that case is not the cat, is the glass pane, or the absence of trees. ............... Second point. Some scientists hypothesize that Toxoplasmosis remain in the body alive for years and is a chronic disease. We should however take in mind that this is not the main current of thinking. We know that parasites don't survive usually when end in the wrong host because immune response works "like this" and "like that" and because the temperature, organ structure or life cycle of the true host, matter for the parasite survival. I can't see why Toxoplasma should behave different that the other ten thousands of cases, or why the immune system should make an excepcion here.

pvaldes 5y ago
-> We need to do more research -> Were stunTed Sleepy day, yawn.

Nursie 5y ago

The RSPB in the UK don't seem to think that cat predation is a significant factor in bird species decline - https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/animal-deterrents/cats-and-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/ https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-... "Those bird species which have undergone the most serious population declines in the UK (such as skylarks, tree sparrows and corn buntings) rarely encounter cats, so cats cannot be causing their declines. Research shows that these declines are usually caused by habitat change or loss, particularly on farmland."

Tiktaalik 5y ago
Yeah cats have been around in europe so long that presumably at this point they've already killed all the native species that were gonna get killed.