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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[–] 45 points 11 months ago (15 children)

Meme or whatever, but fuckwits that keep cats outdoors (and cat hoarders) are the main reason why my charitable donations to animal groups focus on spay/neuter programs rather than shelters. I know the animals in shelters need help too, but reducing the inflow of animals into the shelters helps them as well.

And reduces hazards to wildlife from cats, whether they be outdoor pets, strays, abandoned, or feral.

And reduces demand for meat-based cat foods.

It's the most efficient way to help that I can think of.

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  • [–] 17 points 11 months ago (7 children)

    my environmental science teacher spent an hour talking about what apex predators cats are and how terrible outdoor cats are….
    they pretty much kill for fun, all day….
    if you declaw your cat (which is evil) and put a bell on it, then the last thing the bird will hear is a bell ringing while being batted to death.
    they just decimate the local wildlife.

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  • [–] -5 points 11 months ago* (6 children)

    Cars kill 1000000x more than cats. If you care about wildlife, that's where you'll put your dent.

    I have 3 outdoor cats. The older 2 take out 1 mole, 1 mouse and 0.3 birds a week. Combined.

    The younger is a terror tho. 2 birds, 2 moles, 2 mice, a week.

    Rural

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

    a: not even kinda true.
    b: one thing being bad for wildlife doesn’t make another thing that’s bad for wildlife stop also being bad.
    c: they take out way more than that, they just bring back a mole as a tip for you. Scientists have tracked and followed cats and they kill for fun, all day.
    e: check out Toxoplasma Gondii, the cat-rat brain parasite that infects human brains too… the reason pregnant women aren’t supposed to change litter boxes…
    i love cats and grew up with outdoor cats and i love seeing them enjoy it and go on little adventures. However, it’s terrible for your local wildlife. With farms and pesticides everywhere, humans’ yards have become a lot more important.

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  • [–] -5 points 11 months ago (4 children)

    Actually it's true, about the death thing.

    And your argument seems to be more "letting your cats out is bad". I disagree.

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

    no, it’s letting your cats out is bad for wildlife

    reality is real whether or not you feel like agreeing with it.

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

    And bad for the cats (pesticides) and pregnant women (toxoplasmosis). Right?

    But ya, they hunt for fun. As for how much success they meet, it depends.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 months ago

    toxoplasmosis is a particular syndrome. In pregnant women toxoplasma gondii it will completely destroy the fetus’s brain (no immune system yet).

    in healthy people it does all sorts of weird things to your personality… some links to schizophrenia but the jury is out on that.

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

    Dude. Its obviously in a rural setting. Those cats are all oitdoor cats. Its how you keep the mouse population down. These aren't sit in the house all day cats. Farm cats are working cats.

    I mean thsoe cats seem to be feed cats but that's beside the point.

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  • [–] 8 points 11 months ago

    Barn cats are actually pretty important. rodents can be terrible, and spread disease due to the conditions they often live in. Cats help with snakes and certain bugs as well (larger bugs they can swat at. Usually just kill them and play with them, but I've seen cats eat them too)

    But is still absolutely essential to spay/neuter barn cats, and provide them with safe places to get away from coyotes. Spay/neuter is to prevent them from making more cats, which can quickly get out of hand. For getting away from coyotes, raised areas they can quickly climb to are good. Yes coyotes can jump, but I've never seen a coyote climb. Their front legs just dont bend the right way to let them grab the tree

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

    Curious why you responding to my comment specifically rather than the dozen or so other comments similarly condemning outdoor cats.

    Is it because I chose to put my money where my mouth is?

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