5 ms·

It would be irresponsible for a pet owner... but you have to understand the context is New York rats, which exist in immense numbers, massively beyond every oth

It would be irresponsible for a pet owner... but you have to understand the context is New York rats, which exist in immense numbers, massively beyond every other major US city, because of a century of just leaving trash piled up on the sidewalk (https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-11-27/new-york-city-generates-44-million-pounds-of-garbage-a-day-the-city-has-a-plan-to-contain-the-mess https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-11-27/new-yo...). Bodega cats aren't pets, they're a cheap and low-impact way to keep rats from moving into the bodega en masse. If one gets run over by a car, that's just an unfortunate cost of business for a bodega owner who needs an option that works better than putting glue traps every five feet or fumigating the entire place every week.

3eb7988a1663 6mo ago
Chicago had a ten-year streak as rattiest city[0]. Recently lost the crown to Los Angeles. [0] https://www.orkin.com/press-room/worst-cities-for-rats-los-angeles https://www.orkin.com/press-room/worst-cities-for-rats-los-a...
- jayd16 6mo ago
  This is Orkin's view, correct? I wonder if its just a matter of controlling more of the market. I can't say I've seen a Western Exterminator guy-with-hammer vs rat adornment in quite some years.
timschmidt 6mo ago
> low-impact As one of the 10% of humanity who has a severe allergy to cats which causes me to be unable to breathe, break out in hives, and weep incredible amounts from every exposed mucus membrane, I had to laugh at this. And cry a little. Y'all have no idea how high impact cats are. Fel D proteins seem to trigger immune responses across a broad range of mammals. They are homologs of slow loris venom which also causes intense immune responses. Hypothesis is that they evolved in part by inducing an intense allergic response when the cat is eaten. Which obviously helps the survival of the next cat that predator encounters. It seems to be sheer accident that 90% of humanity isn't bothered by it. Even so, cat allergies are the single most common allergy among humans. Cats shed Fel D 1 everywhere. Being in the same room with one is enough to wreck me for hours to a week. Some folks can control it with medication, but I can't take enough to be in the same room with one. Rat traps are less expensive, more effective, less prone to killing things other than rats, sanitary, don't have to be fed, don't need a litter box, don't cause allergies, don't need shots, medications, or vet visits, and don't have kittens. Far lower impact and much less work than a cat. Killing rats is just an excuse people use to keep an emotional support critter around. And is unfortunately inconsiderate of 1 in every 10 people in public spaces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy_to_cats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy_to_cats
- kulahan 6mo ago
  Right but cats are awesome
  - timschmidt 6mo ago
    What a privilege it must be to think so. Sadly, I cannot relate. To me they're poison or a visit to the ER. Like if most of the people in the world thought diamondback rattlesnakes or boomslangs made adorable pets to let roam free. If you can imagine drowning in your own fluids, unable to breathe, while your whole body swells painfully and itches, your nose runs uncontrollably and eyes swell shut, you've got the picture. Y'all don't have to ask ahead of time before you go anywhere new if there will be a cat there. And you don't have to cancel if they say yes.
    - kulahan 6mo ago
      This is an incredible amount of drama over one of the most common animals on the planet.
      - timschmidt 6mo ago
        It's an incredible amount of privilege thinking that about the most common allergen affecting humans. Only someone who's not affected could think it. For those of us who are, it's literally the foundation bedrock of every choice I make during the day. My work is cat-free. My family don't own cats. My persistent friends are the folks who don't own cats that I can visit regularly. My world is a lot smaller than yours. Less opportunity. People with severe food allergies have to plan and limit themselves similarly. Because people who don't understand can't be trusted to help limit exposure. Sensible precautions are seen as unnecessary drama by those who don't need them. Anyone with a severe allergy can share a dozen stories about the times someone who didn't understand almost got them killed. Standing up for ourselves in the face of folks trying to downplay our conditions is the reason any of us are still alive.
        6mo ago
sandworm101 6mo ago
New york's rats arent just anout trash. NYC also has an oldschool combined sewer system, the type where stormwater and sewage share one pipe. Those big air-filled tunnels are the rat/ningaturtle transport infrastructure. Newer cities with separated sewer and stormwater systems dont have nearly as much a problem. https://www.nyc.gov/site/dep/water/combined-sewer-overflows.page https://www.nyc.gov/site/dep/water/combined-sewer-overflows....
deepnet 6mo ago
Predators discourage most rats and kill some. Pray spends less time at a location if there are predators. The prey is skittish. Glue traps kill Rats, new rats fill the niche. Some rats learn to avoid them. Wolves harry deer and kill some but the deer don’t eat all the baby saplings because fear means they move on more often. Rats have the numbers, killing some of them isn’t the best solution. Cats are smart when the rats change behaviour so does the cat. Older cats teach younger cats. Glue traps are a completely different solution. They also kill a lot of spiders so you get more flies. Nurturing predators is a way better solution. An NY bodega is an ecosystem.

3eb7988a1663 6mo ago

Chicago had a ten-year streak as rattiest city[0]. Recently lost the crown to Los Angeles. [0] https://www.orkin.com/press-room/worst-cities-for-rats-los-angeles https://www.orkin.com/press-room/worst-cities-for-rats-los-a...

jayd16 6mo ago
This is Orkin's view, correct? I wonder if its just a matter of controlling more of the market. I can't say I've seen a Western Exterminator guy-with-hammer vs rat adornment in quite some years.

timschmidt 6mo ago

> low-impact As one of the 10% of humanity who has a severe allergy to cats which causes me to be unable to breathe, break out in hives, and weep incredible amounts from every exposed mucus membrane, I had to laugh at this. And cry a little. Y'all have no idea how high impact cats are. Fel D proteins seem to trigger immune responses across a broad range of mammals. They are homologs of slow loris venom which also causes intense immune responses. Hypothesis is that they evolved in part by inducing an intense allergic response when the cat is eaten. Which obviously helps the survival of the next cat that predator encounters. It seems to be sheer accident that 90% of humanity isn't bothered by it. Even so, cat allergies are the single most common allergy among humans. Cats shed Fel D 1 everywhere. Being in the same room with one is enough to wreck me for hours to a week. Some folks can control it with medication, but I can't take enough to be in the same room with one. Rat traps are less expensive, more effective, less prone to killing things other than rats, sanitary, don't have to be fed, don't need a litter box, don't cause allergies, don't need shots, medications, or vet visits, and don't have kittens. Far lower impact and much less work than a cat. Killing rats is just an excuse people use to keep an emotional support critter around. And is unfortunately inconsiderate of 1 in every 10 people in public spaces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy_to_cats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy_to_cats

kulahan 6mo ago
Right but cats are awesome
- timschmidt 6mo ago
  What a privilege it must be to think so. Sadly, I cannot relate. To me they're poison or a visit to the ER. Like if most of the people in the world thought diamondback rattlesnakes or boomslangs made adorable pets to let roam free. If you can imagine drowning in your own fluids, unable to breathe, while your whole body swells painfully and itches, your nose runs uncontrollably and eyes swell shut, you've got the picture. Y'all don't have to ask ahead of time before you go anywhere new if there will be a cat there. And you don't have to cancel if they say yes.
  - kulahan 6mo ago
    This is an incredible amount of drama over one of the most common animals on the planet.
    - timschmidt 6mo ago
      It's an incredible amount of privilege thinking that about the most common allergen affecting humans. Only someone who's not affected could think it. For those of us who are, it's literally the foundation bedrock of every choice I make during the day. My work is cat-free. My family don't own cats. My persistent friends are the folks who don't own cats that I can visit regularly. My world is a lot smaller than yours. Less opportunity. People with severe food allergies have to plan and limit themselves similarly. Because people who don't understand can't be trusted to help limit exposure. Sensible precautions are seen as unnecessary drama by those who don't need them. Anyone with a severe allergy can share a dozen stories about the times someone who didn't understand almost got them killed. Standing up for ourselves in the face of folks trying to downplay our conditions is the reason any of us are still alive.
      - 6mo ago

sandworm101 6mo ago

New york's rats arent just anout trash. NYC also has an oldschool combined sewer system, the type where stormwater and sewage share one pipe. Those big air-filled tunnels are the rat/ningaturtle transport infrastructure. Newer cities with separated sewer and stormwater systems dont have nearly as much a problem. https://www.nyc.gov/site/dep/water/combined-sewer-overflows.page https://www.nyc.gov/site/dep/water/combined-sewer-overflows....

deepnet 6mo ago

Predators discourage most rats and kill some. Pray spends less time at a location if there are predators. The prey is skittish. Glue traps kill Rats, new rats fill the niche. Some rats learn to avoid them. Wolves harry deer and kill some but the deer don’t eat all the baby saplings because fear means they move on more often. Rats have the numbers, killing some of them isn’t the best solution. Cats are smart when the rats change behaviour so does the cat. Older cats teach younger cats. Glue traps are a completely different solution. They also kill a lot of spiders so you get more flies. Nurturing predators is a way better solution. An NY bodega is an ecosystem.