Paddy Gower's Issue With Feral Cats

Forums › Off topic › Paddy Gower's Issue With Feral Cats

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

383 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#3100873 7-Jul-2023 09:52

Paul1977:

If you get rid of the cats, what's the plan to stop the rodent population exploding?

https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/predator-free-2050

We could certainly discuss funding levels, but there are a number of plans in place for this that don't involve the general public deploying vigilante cats, a la The Purge.

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Paul1977

4981 posts

Uber Geek

#3100894 7-Jul-2023 11:04

MikeAqua:

I grew up on a farm that is adjacent to large forest park. Consequently, we had an ongoing incursion of feral cats (*and possum, stoats etc etc).

In the little valley we lived in, there wer Kakapo juts dow the road and we were all on bird recovery mission. We all used to catch the feral cats in cage traps. A couple a month was the average run rate. Viscous little things and very distinctive. Quite small cats with black fur - much coarser than you'd expect on a cat. Short tails and big teeth. They all got the lead disprin.

Between bait stations for possums, cat traps, and stoat traps and spotlighting .... sometimes I used to feel like we were in the pest control business not the deer framing business. Worth it though.

Most of the ones they showed in this story looked the same as domestic tabbies to me. Maybe the difference between 3rd gen feral and 10th gen feral?

Gurezaemon

~HONYAKKER!~
1334 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3100904 7-Jul-2023 11:38

The emotional connection that people have with cats obviously makes this a controversial point, but when the same argument is posited as regards dogs, people seem to have a different opinion.

No one (bar the full-on PETA crowd) seem to have any problem thinking that domestic pet dogs and wild dogs roaming the countryside killing livestock and kiwis should be treated separately, and cats are no different.

To my mind, the problem is not complicated. If a cat is a pet or farm cat, then it should be chipped and/or have a collar. If it doesn't have a chip and/or collar, then it is stray or feral, and should be put in the same category as possums, stoats, and rats.

Get your business seen overseas - Nexus Translations

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3100906 7-Jul-2023 11:39

sir1963:
Cats are the most destructive pest that has ever been introduced into any country.

Except for possums, rats, stoats, weasels, ...

It'd be interesting to see how many rats and other pests cats deal with vs. how many beneficial species they catch, particularly given that their primary hunting times overlap with rat activity times rather than bird activity times. In fact I'd propose that as a litmus test of how serious the debate is, if it's just "ALL KATZ MUZZT DIE BECAUSE I SAY SO!!!!!!!!!" then they're not really credible.

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3100907 7-Jul-2023 11:42

Paul1977:
eracode:

@paul1977 You mean Paddy Gower. For a while I was wondering who Patty Gower is - having never heard of her.

Quite right. @freitasm could you please correct the title for me?

You can do it yourself when you edit the first post.

mkissin

383 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#3100914 7-Jul-2023 12:05

neb:
sir1963:

Cats are the most destructive pest that has ever been introduced into any country.

Except for possums, rats, stoats, weasels, ... It'd be interesting to see how many rats and other pests cats deal with vs. how many beneficial species they catch, particularly given that their primary hunting times overlap with rat activity times rather than bird activity times. In fact I'd propose that as a litmus test of how serious the debate is, if it's just "ALL KATZ MUZZT DIE BECAUSE I SAY SO!!!!!!!!!" then they're not really credible.

It's not just birds though, it's pretty much anything that moves. Bugs, lizards, birds, the lot.

Cats also spread toxoplasmosis, which isn't great for wildlife either.

There's a bunch of interesting detail on the wikipedia entry for this exact issue - Cats in New Zealand - Wikipedia

Disclosure: I have a cat, and it will be my last cat.

tdgeek

29557 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3100923 7-Jul-2023 12:30

Paul1977:

I don't necessarily disagree. My main objection is the entirely one-sided and sensationalized way it was presented. Whose mind do you change with a statement like that?

Yep. Ridiculous media. If you cherry pick you can massage 100% support for any topic.

MikeAqua

7767 posts

Uber Geek

#3100928 7-Jul-2023 12:44

Paul1977:

Most of the ones they showed in this story looked the same as domestic tabbies to me. Maybe the difference between 3rd gen feral and 10th gen feral?

These were migrating down from the adjacent Mamaku Forest Park, where there is/was a long-established feral population and I guess some inbreeding or founder effect has occurred.

We got the odd domestic looking feral too. A pet cat is easy to tell. It has a collar, and/or it mewls to get out of the cage. A feral cat is openly aggressive: Hissing, yowling, back arched, teeth out etc.

The former gets released. The latter gets a bullet.

Mike

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
78947 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#3100935 7-Jul-2023 13:11

@neb:
Paul1977:

Quite right. @freitasm could you please correct the title for me?

You can do it yourself when you edit the first post.

But only within a window of time.

My technology disclosure

tweake

2236 posts

Uber Geek

#3100937 7-Jul-2023 13:11

a few of the farms i used to hunt on had a kill cats, dogs, stoats etc on sight policy.

one of them used to breed birds and was forever catching cats, almost daily at one point. i used to live out of town, just far enough for people to drive out and dump cats, dogs, pigs etc. so even if it looked domestic they where shot on sight. we had cats ourselves, it was just a risk of having them as pets. even when ours died it didn't take long before another turned up on the doorstep.

neb

11294 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3100955 7-Jul-2023 13:20

MikeAqua:
We got the odd domestic looking feral too. A pet cat is easy to tell. It has a collar, and/or it mewls to get out of the cage. A feral cat is openly aggressive: Hissing, yowling, back arched, teeth out etc.

Good point, behaviour near humans is a dead giveaway. Slightly less reliable is that ferals are typically pretty unkempt and shaggy while most domestics will have perfectly groomed smooth fur, because that's about all they have to deal with between feeding times.

Another way to tell is the bird test, if the cat can have a bird sitting a metre away from it on the deck and it's looking at you in a puzzled way and not quite sure what it's supposed to be doing, it's a domestic.

Paul1977

4981 posts

Uber Geek

#3100965 7-Jul-2023 13:47

Gurezaemon:

The emotional connection that people have with cats obviously makes this a controversial point, but when the same argument is posited as regards dogs, people seem to have a different opinion.

No one (bar the full-on PETA crowd) seem to have any problem thinking that domestic pet dogs and wild dogs roaming the countryside killing livestock and kiwis should be treated separately, and cats are no different.

To my mind, the problem is not complicated. If a cat is a pet or farm cat, then it should be chipped and/or have a collar. If it doesn't have a chip and/or collar, then it is stray or feral, and should be put in the same category as possums, stoats, and rats.

I agree that all pet cats should be microchipped and fixed, in fact I think that should be law. But for a policy like that to appease a cat lover, wouldn't there also need to be a law that you must scan for a microchip before dispatching the animal? Thant's where it gets a little more complicated. I like the idea in theory but, I'm not sure if it's practical (and I'm the one who would argue for every possible measure to safeguard pet cats).

Fun fact, (unless things have changed since last I checked) if a dead cat is reported to the Christchurch Council they'll collect it and dispose of it WITHOUT checking for a microchip, so the owner will never know. Off topic I know, but that's why our cat always has a collar with contact details in addition to a microchip.

Wombat1

586 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#3100977 7-Jul-2023 14:17

Just make it law for cat owners in NZ to keep their cats indoors like here in QLD. You must prevent your cat from wandering and causing a nuisance to neighbours. Its not right anyway that people in NZ think that because they have a cat their cat has a right to roam, and poop in neighbors property. Those cats go off at night and make other baby cats. They just doing what cats do.

Before anybody judges me as a cat hater - I have two cats as well as a dog. There is no need for them to go roaming.

Paul1977

4981 posts

Uber Geek

#3100987 7-Jul-2023 14:36

Wombat1:

Just make it law for cat owners in NZ to keep their cats indoors like here in QLD. You must prevent your cat from wandering and causing a nuisance to neighbours. Its not right anyway that people in NZ think that because they have a cat their cat has a right to roam, and poop in neighbors property. Those cats go off at night and make other baby cats. They just doing what cats do.

Before anybody judges me as a cat hater - I have two cats as well as a dog. There is no need for them to go roaming.

I think pet cats should be spayed/neutered. I'm not in support of having to keep cats indoors though.

cddt

1419 posts

Uber Geek

#3100993 7-Jul-2023 15:00

Wombat1:

and poop in neighbors property

On a related note, I'm looking at solutions to deter this. We have a chronic pooper in the neighbourhood.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7