4 ms·

Cats are native fauna in some places. If it’s not suitable for a cat to go outdoors where you live, maybe just don’t get a cat in the first place. Same for dogs

Cats are native fauna in some places. If it’s not suitable for a cat to go outdoors where you live, maybe just don’t get a cat in the first place. Same for dogs, children, horses etc.

Extasia785 3y ago
While cats are native in some places, evolutionary mechanisms stop working when a predator has an unlimited supply of food supplied by humans. The problem of cats nowadays isn't their existence, but that the amount of cats per square meter is more than the ecosystem can support. Usually this would easily balance out by the predator dying. But with humans feeding cats, they can rampage the ecosystem until it's destroyed without checks and balances. Feeding a predator and letting it outside is never suitable.
ivraatiems 3y ago
...what places? Cats (and dogs, and horses) are domesticated animals. They aren't "native" anywhere the same way a wild species is, they were bred by humans.
- JamesMcMinn 3y ago
  The UK, Scotland in particular, as a starter for 10. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_wildcat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_wildcat
  - FridayNightTV 3y ago
    Amusingly, Scottish Wildcats are rare, going extinct because they are interbreeding with feral domestic cats. Your very post (and Wikipedia link) undermines the argument you are tying to make.
    - JamesMcMinn 3y ago
      What point do you think I am trying to make, exactly? Native fauna is defined as animals which historically have naturally occurred in the local area [1], and wild cats are by definition native fauna in Scotland, and across much of Europe. You are letting your very obvious personal bias determine your interpretation of what is an objective fact. [1] https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/native-fauna#:~:text=Native%20fauna%20means%20native%20animals,occurred%20in%20the%20local%20area https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/native-fauna#:~:text=N....
      - ivraatiems 3y ago
        It's a faulty comparison, though. Domestic cats are by definition not the same as any native cat. They are domesticated animals, more equivalent to dogs, cows, and chickens. So the discussion to have here is 'do we accept having domesticated animals in environments they didn't originate from'.
        JamesMcMinn 3y ago
        It is in no way a faulty comparison. We did not domesticate cats in the same way that we did dogs, cows or chickens [1]. Wild cats found human populations useful because they attracted rodents. Humans found cats useful because dealt with rodents. A mutually beneficial relationship lasting thousands of years during which time, cats essentially domesticated themselves. [1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/domesticated-cats-dna-genetics-pets-science https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/domestica...
        nerb 3y ago
        > domesticated themselves ... so they are domesticated and not native... ???
        JamesMcMinn 3y ago
        Whatever do you mean? Something being domesticated has no bearing on wether or not is it native to an area.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

Cats are native fauna in some places. If it’s not suitable for a cat to go outdoors where you live, maybe just don’t get a cat in the first place. Same for dogs, children, horses etc.

Extasia785 3y ago

While cats are native in some places, evolutionary mechanisms stop working when a predator has an unlimited supply of food supplied by humans. The problem of cats nowadays isn't their existence, but that the amount of cats per square meter is more than the ecosystem can support. Usually this would easily balance out by the predator dying. But with humans feeding cats, they can rampage the ecosystem until it's destroyed without checks and balances. Feeding a predator and letting it outside is never suitable.

ivraatiems 3y ago

...what places? Cats (and dogs, and horses) are domesticated animals. They aren't "native" anywhere the same way a wild species is, they were bred by humans.

JamesMcMinn 3y ago
The UK, Scotland in particular, as a starter for 10. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_wildcat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_wildcat
- FridayNightTV 3y ago
  Amusingly, Scottish Wildcats are rare, going extinct because they are interbreeding with feral domestic cats. Your very post (and Wikipedia link) undermines the argument you are tying to make.
  - JamesMcMinn 3y ago
    What point do you think I am trying to make, exactly? Native fauna is defined as animals which historically have naturally occurred in the local area [1], and wild cats are by definition native fauna in Scotland, and across much of Europe. You are letting your very obvious personal bias determine your interpretation of what is an objective fact. [1] https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/native-fauna#:~:text=Native%20fauna%20means%20native%20animals,occurred%20in%20the%20local%20area https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/native-fauna#:~:text=N....
    - ivraatiems 3y ago
      It's a faulty comparison, though. Domestic cats are by definition not the same as any native cat. They are domesticated animals, more equivalent to dogs, cows, and chickens. So the discussion to have here is 'do we accept having domesticated animals in environments they didn't originate from'.
      - JamesMcMinn 3y ago
        It is in no way a faulty comparison. We did not domesticate cats in the same way that we did dogs, cows or chickens [1]. Wild cats found human populations useful because they attracted rodents. Humans found cats useful because dealt with rodents. A mutually beneficial relationship lasting thousands of years during which time, cats essentially domesticated themselves. [1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/domesticated-cats-dna-genetics-pets-science https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/domestica...
        nerb 3y ago
        > domesticated themselves ... so they are domesticated and not native... ???
        JamesMcMinn 3y ago
        Whatever do you mean? Something being domesticated has no bearing on wether or not is it native to an area.
deleted 3y ago
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