8 ms·

I know you specifically asked about rats but domestic cats are killing machines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23360987/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2336

I know you specifically asked about rats but domestic cats are killing machines. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23360987/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23360987/ We estimate that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.4-3.7 billion birds and 6.9-20.7 billion mammals annually.

FirmwareBurner 3y ago
They don't make 'em like they used to.
connicpu 3y ago
Yeah, there's a HUGE difference in behavior between a house cat that gets all of its meals every day at home, and one that has to go out hunting for at least some of its food. The laziness of an indoor cat is a learned behavior.
b112 3y ago
And thabk god they do, or we'd have our grain silos eaten bare in weeks. No, I'm not joking. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-57698822 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-57698822
agloe_dreams 3y ago
This. Domestic cats are some of the most specialized killing machines in nature. Everything is raw murder machine. Massive muscle to weight ratio, optimized for extreme agility. 30mph top speed blows the doors off nearly anything it may encounter in nature. Tail allows for balance while running. Able to jump multiple times its own height. Able to fall a multiple of it's jump height. 20 built-in claws also act as tools to assist in movement and extreme climbing ability. Bite force enables additional attack vectors. Night vision. Ability to track small objects. Insane paw-eye coordination. Cats (big and small) are best predator. All to sleep on your lap. Edit: Also did I mention their incredible sense of smell and their built-in instinct to hide their tracks? Every. Single. Detail. Murder.
- tomjen3 3y ago
  >Cats (big and small) are best predator. And yet it is illegal for humans to hunt lions, but not for lions to hunt human (though unwise in the extreme).
  - nick-of-time 3y ago
    You're welcome to explain the concept of a legal system to a lion, if you think it would work.
- pb7 3y ago
  Also absurdly fast reaction time means even a snake is not a threat.
  - jwells89 3y ago
    I’ve read that they also attack reptiles in a way that exploits a reptilian weakness, which is their greatly reduced (relative to mammals) capacity for dealing with lactic acid buildup. They goad snakes, etc into repeated dramatic movements which causes their muscles to quickly saturate with lactic acid, greatly reducing their mobility.
- jojojaf 3y ago
  I think the fact that they are generally well fed and well cared for compared to wild animals makes a big difference as well
  - nullc 3y ago
    The fact that we feed them breaks their equilibrium with their prey. Normally a predator starts running out of food as it wipes out its prey, but not domestic cats. And not just pets, we also feed the ferals.
- tamimio 3y ago
  Except the chonky ones, who would only stares back at you.
twic 3y ago
You missed a crucial bit of the abstract (my emphasis): > We estimate that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.4-3.7 billion birds and 6.9-20.7 billion mammals annually. Un-owned cats, as opposed to owned pets, cause the majority of this mortality. From the text of the paper, "majority" means 69% for birds and 89% for mammals. Feral cats kill a lot of animals, because that's what they eat. Pet cats do not. "Domestic cat" here means F. catus, not cats that live in homes. Also, i wouldn't attach complete confidence to this paper. Firstly, it was written by bird conservationists, who have a dog in this fight (as it were). Secondly, it contains some dubious numbers (eg bird return rate per owned cat per year of 4.2 - 18.3 in US and Europe studies - and yet my mum's cats all brought in 0 - 1 per year). I'm not saying ignore it, but don't treat it as gospel - and it would be great to see responses to it, and other work on this subject.
- jboy55 3y ago
  The last cat I had that was allowed to go outside was a fearsome mouser, delighted in toying with them and was quite the biology teacher, showing off their inner anatomy to us kids. However, birds mercilessly teased him as he had no clue how to catch one, surrounding him while he lay on the grass, chirping, then flying just far enough away when he'd move towards them.
  - wilburTheDog 3y ago
    A neighbors cat was being harassed by a bird once. It would dive bomb the cat then fly away quickly. It did this multiple times while I watched. The cat got tired of it after a while and stood perfectly still. The bird swooped down toward it and, just as it was close enough, the cat leapt in the air twisting its body upside down mid leap and grabbed the bird from the air. It was the first time I saw how a normal cat could be such an effective natural killer.
    - cevn 3y ago
      Isn’t this more of an example of “suicide by cat”? My cat gets dive bombed by crows occasionally but I think they are mostly playing on both sides…
Perz1val 3y ago
A wild cat would have parasites, a few still healing wounds, one eye and one of it's legs has bones did not heal quite straight. This is a cat that "naturally" hunts mice and birds. Compare that to a suburbian cat which is healthy, well fed and it's biggest health risk is obesity
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- RosanaAnaDana 3y ago
  That's my porch cat, Sable. She just showed up one day and made herself at home. Real sweet cat. I've taken her to the vet a few times for bad wounds. Was on the porch the other night and saw her take a 15 foot dump out of a tree with a rat ( big one too). She landed on top and made short work of the rat. She's an excellent ratter.
  - olnluis 3y ago
    I hope you meant jump.
    - RosanaAnaDana 3y ago
      I mean. It was not elegant.
euroderf 3y ago
In most urban environs I'd assume they're mostly killing off vermin (big win) and urban birds like pigeons and seagulls, so it's like: What, Me Worry?
appwiz 3y ago
Obligatory Oatmeal comic: https://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill https://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill

FirmwareBurner 3y ago

They don't make 'em like they used to.

connicpu 3y ago

Yeah, there's a HUGE difference in behavior between a house cat that gets all of its meals every day at home, and one that has to go out hunting for at least some of its food. The laziness of an indoor cat is a learned behavior.

b112 3y ago

And thabk god they do, or we'd have our grain silos eaten bare in weeks. No, I'm not joking. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-57698822 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-57698822

agloe_dreams 3y ago

This. Domestic cats are some of the most specialized killing machines in nature. Everything is raw murder machine. Massive muscle to weight ratio, optimized for extreme agility. 30mph top speed blows the doors off nearly anything it may encounter in nature. Tail allows for balance while running. Able to jump multiple times its own height. Able to fall a multiple of it's jump height. 20 built-in claws also act as tools to assist in movement and extreme climbing ability. Bite force enables additional attack vectors. Night vision. Ability to track small objects. Insane paw-eye coordination. Cats (big and small) are best predator. All to sleep on your lap. Edit: Also did I mention their incredible sense of smell and their built-in instinct to hide their tracks? Every. Single. Detail. Murder.

tomjen3 3y ago
>Cats (big and small) are best predator. And yet it is illegal for humans to hunt lions, but not for lions to hunt human (though unwise in the extreme).
- nick-of-time 3y ago
  You're welcome to explain the concept of a legal system to a lion, if you think it would work.
pb7 3y ago
Also absurdly fast reaction time means even a snake is not a threat.
- jwells89 3y ago
  I’ve read that they also attack reptiles in a way that exploits a reptilian weakness, which is their greatly reduced (relative to mammals) capacity for dealing with lactic acid buildup. They goad snakes, etc into repeated dramatic movements which causes their muscles to quickly saturate with lactic acid, greatly reducing their mobility.
jojojaf 3y ago
I think the fact that they are generally well fed and well cared for compared to wild animals makes a big difference as well
- nullc 3y ago
  The fact that we feed them breaks their equilibrium with their prey. Normally a predator starts running out of food as it wipes out its prey, but not domestic cats. And not just pets, we also feed the ferals.
tamimio 3y ago
Except the chonky ones, who would only stares back at you.

twic 3y ago

You missed a crucial bit of the abstract (my emphasis): > We estimate that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.4-3.7 billion birds and 6.9-20.7 billion mammals annually. Un-owned cats, as opposed to owned pets, cause the majority of this mortality. From the text of the paper, "majority" means 69% for birds and 89% for mammals. Feral cats kill a lot of animals, because that's what they eat. Pet cats do not. "Domestic cat" here means F. catus, not cats that live in homes. Also, i wouldn't attach complete confidence to this paper. Firstly, it was written by bird conservationists, who have a dog in this fight (as it were). Secondly, it contains some dubious numbers (eg bird return rate per owned cat per year of 4.2 - 18.3 in US and Europe studies - and yet my mum's cats all brought in 0 - 1 per year). I'm not saying ignore it, but don't treat it as gospel - and it would be great to see responses to it, and other work on this subject.

jboy55 3y ago
The last cat I had that was allowed to go outside was a fearsome mouser, delighted in toying with them and was quite the biology teacher, showing off their inner anatomy to us kids. However, birds mercilessly teased him as he had no clue how to catch one, surrounding him while he lay on the grass, chirping, then flying just far enough away when he'd move towards them.
- wilburTheDog 3y ago
  A neighbors cat was being harassed by a bird once. It would dive bomb the cat then fly away quickly. It did this multiple times while I watched. The cat got tired of it after a while and stood perfectly still. The bird swooped down toward it and, just as it was close enough, the cat leapt in the air twisting its body upside down mid leap and grabbed the bird from the air. It was the first time I saw how a normal cat could be such an effective natural killer.
  - cevn 3y ago
    Isn’t this more of an example of “suicide by cat”? My cat gets dive bombed by crows occasionally but I think they are mostly playing on both sides…

Perz1val 3y ago

A wild cat would have parasites, a few still healing wounds, one eye and one of it's legs has bones did not heal quite straight. This is a cat that "naturally" hunts mice and birds. Compare that to a suburbian cat which is healthy, well fed and it's biggest health risk is obesity

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
RosanaAnaDana 3y ago
That's my porch cat, Sable. She just showed up one day and made herself at home. Real sweet cat. I've taken her to the vet a few times for bad wounds. Was on the porch the other night and saw her take a 15 foot dump out of a tree with a rat ( big one too). She landed on top and made short work of the rat. She's an excellent ratter.
- olnluis 3y ago
  I hope you meant jump.
  - RosanaAnaDana 3y ago
    I mean. It was not elegant.

euroderf 3y ago

In most urban environs I'd assume they're mostly killing off vermin (big win) and urban birds like pigeons and seagulls, so it's like: What, Me Worry?

appwiz 3y ago

Obligatory Oatmeal comic: https://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill https://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill