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Feeding local wildlife (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 month ago by Lemminary@lemmy.world to c/whitepeopletwitter@sh.itjust.works

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[–] village604@adultswim.fan 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

House cats have literally been responsible for the extinction of several species. Their roaming territory can be a several mile radius.

They are absolutely a major threat to local wildlife regardless of human changes to the area.

[–] tabarnaski@sh.itjust.works -2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'd really like to see where you get these facts. I am not awa of any species that went extinct because of cats specifically, and I never saw a cat with a territory of more than a few hundred meters radius.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_predation_on_wildlife

In Australia, hunting by feral cats helped to drive at least 20 native mammals to extinction,[11] and continues to threaten at least 124 more.

In a global 2023 assessment, cats were found to prey on 2,084 different species, of which 347 (or 16.5%) were of conservation concern

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cat

The home ranges of male feral cats, which are generally two or three times larger than those of female cats, are on average under 10 ha (25 acres), but can vary from almost 300 ha (740 acres) to under 1 ha (2.5 acres).

I've personally witnessed one of my cats well over a mile from home back when they were allowed outside.

[+] MyMindIsLikeAnOcean@piefed.world -6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Cats haven’t made anything go extinct, don’t be silly. You’re likely talking about that one cat on that tiny island.

Cats don’t live near wildlife…or they’d get killed by predators.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I like how confidently incorrect you are.

[–] MyMindIsLikeAnOcean@piefed.world -3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Hm? I’m perfectly correct. Figuratively :)

I don’t give a shit about cats…insofar as they’re only useful if they can survive long enough to kill mice for me.

My interest in this topic is fleeting…I think it’s amusing that some city people believe that cats are on any list that’s important. Be an anti materialist…you’ll save a lot more “wildlife”.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_predation_on_wildlife

They have been implicated in the extinction of several species and local extinctions, such as the hutias from the Caribbean, the Guadalupe storm petrel from the Pacific coast of Mexico, and the Lyall's wren from New Zealand. In a statistical study, they were a significant cause for the extinction of 40% of the species studied.[15] Moors and Atkinson wrote, in 1984, "no other alien predator has had such a universally damaging effect".[14]

In a global 2023 assessment, cats were found to prey on 2,084 different species, of which 347 (or 16.5%) were of conservation concern.

House cats are an invasive species. They reproduce quickly and are very effective hunters. They are absolutely a recognized threat to local ecosystems.

[–] MyMindIsLikeAnOcean@piefed.world -1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This isn’t some zero sum thought exponent where you “win” if you can find me some edge cases. What else do you think was involved with these extinctions? Do you think maybe it was a bunch of people showing up with a bunch of bullshit and destroying everything, perhaps? Yeah…we’ve destroyed things 10000 different ways…I’m sure cats were high in that list once or twice.

You’re kind of skipping the elephant in the room if you make cats the bad guy instead of human nature. All you’re doing is treating a symptom and you’ll save approximate 0% of the environment (rounded the the closest %) of you go on an anti-cat crusade.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 3 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Man, you really enjoy being confidently incorrect, don't you.

You're right about one thing, though, this isn't some zero sum issue. You can definitely acknowledge cats are an ecological threat without taking away from the fact that humans are also an ecological threat.