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Feeding local wildlife (lemmy.world)
submitted 11 months ago by to c/whitepeopletwitter@sh.itjust.works
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Screenshot of a tweet by Mike Primavera (@primawesome). It reads, "My neighbor told me coyotes keep eating his outdoor cats so I asked how many cats he has and he said he just goes to the shelter and gets a new cat afterwards so I said it sounds like he's just feeding shelter cats to coyotes and then his daughter started crying."
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[–] 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (43 children)

Can places still keep them for pest control? What's wrong with an outdoor cat?

EDIT: It's so weird getting downvoted for a genuine question. See y'all in the next thread about why isn't Lemmy more popular.

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  • [–] 50 points 11 months ago (34 children)

    They kill a lot of wildlife, which in many settings is not desirable.

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  • [–] 22 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    Even if they don't kill, say, a bird, a cat's mouth and teeth are loaded with bacteria. It generally doesn't harm humans that much, but birds and small mammals stand a good chance of dying from infection if they're bitten or scratched up by a cat.

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  • [+] -36 points 11 months ago* (30 children)

    If there’s a setting where cats can survive and kill “wildlife”, I would push back against the use of the term “wildlife”, because in order for this to be true humans have eliminated most predator species in the “biome”. All I hear when people in a city say they don’t want feral cats is they want cute birds at their feeders.

    In an area rural enough to have coyotes…feral cats can be a positive addition to the biome so you don’t get overrun by rodents. Birds don’t have to worry because the cats need to stay close to cover due to various predators.

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  • [+] 25 points 11 months ago* (3 children)
    [removed by mod]
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  • [+] -25 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    You didn’t say anything.

    Feel free to engage with my reply.

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  • [–] 9 points 11 months ago

    Someone pointing out logical fallacies is most definitely them saying something.

    Unfortunately, often the willfully ignorant and those who live lifes free of logic cannot understand these words and decide they are meaningless.

    They also tend to think people smart than them are dumber than them, but that's often a defense mechanism over a paper thin ego.

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  • [–] 9 points 11 months ago* (12 children)

    Cats have no natural predators most likely wherever you are, so no. If you live in Turkey, or around there, fine. That's where they (rather, their ancestors) are native. They do have natural predators. If you live anywhere else then this excuse is bullshit just to make yourself feel better for being a shitty pet owner. It's bad for their health and for the environment. You aren't doing them or anything else any favors by not doing your job as a caretaker.

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  • [–] 6 points 11 months ago (6 children)

    large owls will happily predate on cats. They're like flying cats that are even more Murder Hobo-ish.

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  • [+] -9 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    Owls are badass.

    That’s something these anti cat people can’t reconcile…they live in a city that’s become a pretty finch paradise because they drove all the owls out when they paved their nests. Owls would have a smorgasbord…kill far more pretty birds than cats…if they could nest in parks.

    I’m not really pro cat…I’m actually anti people. I just think it’s dumb for people to think cats are a serious problem because they watched some doc sponsored by a bird watchers society.

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  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    You know cats are here because of people, right? They, along with our cities, are issues we crested.

    I'm not anti-cat. I'm anti-destruction-of-the-environment. Cats are our responsibility, and fault, as much as the destruction our cities and roads are.

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  • [–] -4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    If you feel that way then maybe you’ll understand that cats are really low on the list of how we’re being harmful. Top of the list is stop being a materialist. Solve that problem, and the 1000th problem on the list, cats, will solve itself.

    The message a lot of the anti-cat people propagate is: have indoor cats. Terrible idea. All the nonsense you buy for your indoor cats is also going to destroy the environment…but it won’t be some cute bird at the feeder so you don’t care. The literary “you”.

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  • [–] 5 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    God, what a shitty opinion. You people always go with the "what about" argument to justify shitty behavior. "Littering isn't bad because burning coal for electricity is worse!" Such a lazy and bullshit argument. Something else bad happening does not justify other bad actions. This is shit you're supposed to be taught as a child, but I guess some of you never learned that lesson.

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  • [+] -16 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    You’re projecting.

    I live in a rural area where there are no outdoor cats or dogs because they’re instantly killed by predators.

    I don’t live in a city that has an artificial environment with no predators created by the presence of humans. People who live in cities who are opposed to outdoor cats just can’t stomach having predators in their midst, to put it bluntly. A good chunk of the birds and rodents they kill are also imported species. Comparing any of these interactions to something happens in the wild is naive.

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  • [–] 5 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    Where the hell do you live that dogs are getting killed by predators instantly? Do you mean like small dogs? I could see that.

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  • [–] -4 points 11 months ago* (12 children)

    Seriously. People are claiming to be worried about biomes in the middle of a city where the only lawns allowed are grass and pavement and the town is bombed with bug killers every year and mice are dealt with by having them killed indiscriminately by pest control. It’s actually illegal in my city to plant edible plants on our forested parts because of some bullshit about drawing homeless populations.

    But yeah the outdoor cats are the issue. That shit ain’t even close to the top on my triage.

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  • [–] 3 points 11 months ago* (11 children)

    But yeah the outdoor cats are the issue.

    The issue is people thinking there is just an issue. When will you children learn that one bad thing does not justify another? All that you said is an issue, yes. I can also point out much worse issues, so we shouldn't worry about those, right? Of course that isn't correct! More than one thing can be bad at the same time, and we can also work on more than one thing at a time. Work on bringing back native plants and animals to suburbia and reduce how many evasive species we release into the environment. This isn't an exclusive or situation. We can work on all of it.

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  • [–] -2 points 11 months ago (10 children)

    When we start actually giving a shit about the local biome then I’ll consider giving my cat the shittiest life possible. Until then? Y’all can go fuck yourselves.

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  • [–] 3 points 11 months ago (9 children)

    Indoor cats live longer healthier lives on average.

    Anyway, you're a shitty person. No one would ever improve anything if everything else had to be fixed first. You can always come up with some excuse for something else that needs to be improved before you hold yourself accountable for your own actions. No, this is all a lame bullshit excuse because you don't want to do the right thing. It isn't about other people. It's about you being a lazy selfish asshole.

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  • [–] 0 points 11 months ago (6 children)

    Also “you’re a shitty person because you’re okay with cats being allowed outdoors” is an insane take.

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  • [–] 1 point 11 months ago (5 children)

    No more than "you’re a shitty person because you’re okay with throwing trash on the ground outdoors." Actually, it's worse than that be cause it's also bad for the health of the cat and the environment.

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  • [–] 0 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    See I would argue that it’s cruel to keep an animal that wants to be outside trapped in a house for the entirety of their lives.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    I guess you also think it's cruel to not let children run in the road when they want to, right?

    If you're not providing the right stimulation for your pet, in a safe and healthy environment where they don't cause issues for others, then that's on you as a pet owner. Either don't keep a pet or do your fucking job. They don't get to make the decisions. You do.

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  • [–] 0 points 11 months ago (2 children)

    lol this is such a moronic example of false equivalency that I don’t even know what to say to you.

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  • [–] 22 points 11 months ago (3 children)

    I think I've read that they can really hurt the local wildlife as they're excellent hunters. Also they poop in sandboxes and you can get really sick from it.

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  • [–] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

    It's cruel to the cat. There is no shortage of outdoor hazards that can injure them or make them sick. It's also very bad for biodiversity. Domestic cats alone are responsible for the endangerment and extinction of hundreds of species. There are other, better, more targeted ways to deal with pests. Do not keep your pets outside.

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  • [–] 1 point 11 months ago*

    Your question suffered in part because another person was in the comments arguing that cats aren't a problem. Sometimes, someone who is just asking questions appears alongside someone who is "Just Asking Questions" and being a total asshole about it.

    100%, this would have happened on Reddit, too.

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