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‘Kittycam’ study finds cats are virtual killing machines
Yahoo! News ^ | August 07, 2012 | Eric Pfeiffer,

Posted on 08/07/2012 8:19:10 PM PDT by george76

Cast aside all fantasies of your house cat frolicking through flower-filled fields in the afternoon sun. When kitty scratches at the door begging to go outside, it's the killing hour.

...

cats ate about 30 percent of their kills, brought home another 25 percent and left 49 percent of their prey to simply decay.

So what are cats killing?

Lizards, snakes and frogs (41 percent); chipmunks and vols (25 percent); insects and worms (20 percent) and, of course, birds (12 percent).

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Humor; Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: captainobvious; cats; kittycam; kittyping
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To: george76
First, I'm skeptical of a study that has no rabbit tally. In the early spring our Kitty takes several a day for weeks. Now, about raccoons... yes, raccoons.

This is a true story.

I was posting on FR around 3 AM in my basement lair two years ago, waiting for the cat to come in so I could lock the back door. I herd a thump in the upstairs landing and thought, "Great, Kitty just came in." Then I heard two frantic screech-growls and thought, "Oh. Not so good, he's chased another cat into the house, and they're fighting in the landing."

Imagine my surprise when I opened the basement door and gazed upon a whirling cartoon-ball of fur, claws and screaming noise consisting of our cat, another cat, and a raccoon. As soon as the two cats saw me they skyrocketed out of the room, leaving me to face a very angry, but fortunately somewhat dazed raccoon in my pajamas.

What happened next involved the raccoon jumping on top of our china cabinet (and subsequently pushing it over, destroying most of my wife's dishes) as I frantically broomed the critter into the garage, where, cornered, she managed to destroy most of our Christmas decorations and a set of curtains before I got the garage door open, forcing her out. Since most of the skunks in our area are rabid -- and 'coons have a similar reputation -- I was none-too-pleased to be wearing my natural feet instead of steel-toed boots throughout the process.

During the entire fracas none of my three children or wife heard a peep.

The next day my wife told me that Kitty had been treeing a pregnant raccoon routinely for about a week, and evidently the 'coon had gotten between the cat and the house with nowhere to go but inside.

I have never seen him run from anything but a very large (HUGE, in fact: 350 pounds by the look of him) black bear who strayed into our cookout at dusk on Memorial Day 2012. Lucky thing, I'm not sure what my wife would've done if the cat had attacked the bear, and my shotgun was upstairs in the cabinet.

41 posted on 08/07/2012 11:20:55 PM PDT by FredZarguna (But it's God's part... to bring ourselves to such a pass. Our natural business lies in escaping.)
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To: Taylor42

Exactly. And with 4 cats I’ve got 4 boxes to clean and after so many years I’m getting sick. of. it.

Plus they leave little piles of throw-up and hairballs and scratch up our carpet till it’s threadbare and claw at the door trim....

Other than that I love kitty cats:)


42 posted on 08/07/2012 11:25:24 PM PDT by kelly4c (http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=2900389%2C41#help)
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To: martin_fierro; Slings and Arrows; Glenn; republicangel; Beaker; BADROTOFINGER; etabeta; ...


43 posted on 08/08/2012 12:04:42 AM PDT by Slings and Arrows (You can't have IngSoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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To: kelly4c

http://www.littermaid.com/


44 posted on 08/08/2012 12:40:07 AM PDT by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: FredZarguna

“leaving me to face a very angry, but fortunately somewhat dazed raccoon in my pajamas.”

What was a raccoon doing in your pajamas? :-)


45 posted on 08/08/2012 1:02:01 AM PDT by Duck Fan
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To: Pontiac

I had a ‘mutt’ that killed at least 43 woodchucks one summer. The dog was always with me while I worked in the apple orchards near home.
They (dogs) can make good hunters. While managing an apple picking crew, there was one man who always brought his dalmatian, that dog was a good ‘mouser’ - 20-50 mice a day.


46 posted on 08/08/2012 1:35:19 AM PDT by PastorJimCM (truth matters)
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To: PastorJimCM

Did the woodchucks ever manage to get a piece of your dog?

With their teeth and claws they have been known to take a chunk out of a dog.


47 posted on 08/08/2012 1:49:01 AM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: FredZarguna
a whirling cartoon-ball of fur, claws and screaming noise consisting of our cat, another cat, and a raccoon.

That’s unusual. You don’t typically have two cats forming alliances to take on a larger animal.

So what happened to the strange cat?

48 posted on 08/08/2012 1:54:33 AM PDT by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
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To: george76

My Ham ate the face off a baby rabbit the other day. He likes to bring things into the house for us. Sometimes alive, sometimes defaced or debacked or beheaded. It’s just in them no matter how well they are fed.


49 posted on 08/08/2012 2:30:21 AM PDT by beaversmom
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To: george76

I hate cats.
Seriously.

And I am sure one of their mindless flunkies will report that to their feline overlords.
Again, seriously.


50 posted on 08/08/2012 3:14:02 AM PDT by djf (The barbarian hordes will ALWAYS outnumber the clean-shaven. And they vote.)
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To: george76

Who was so dumb they needed to study this???


51 posted on 08/08/2012 3:21:35 AM PDT by siamesecats (God closes one door, and opens another, to protect us.)
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To: george76

No kidding. Our neighbor’s cat is the nicest animal we ever met. But sure enough, every couple of weeks, he trots by with a tail (of varying sizes) sticking out of his mouth (sideways) - and we don’t see him that much. I guess he gets tired of Tender Bittles after a while.


52 posted on 08/08/2012 3:55:45 AM PDT by BobL (Cruz'd to Victory - July 31, 2012)
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To: george76

God bless those furry little hunter. I hope that cats can evolve to be more effective against squirrels.


53 posted on 08/08/2012 4:09:37 AM PDT by anton
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To: VietVet

“My current cat, Smokey, must have a non-aggresion pact with the household mouse.”

We had a cat who “cut a deal” with the mouse on the patio. They used to sit there, almost nose-to-nose, just hanging out. Other mice, though, were prey.


54 posted on 08/08/2012 4:24:40 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam
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To: Pontiac; Slings and Arrows

Just because they’re young, doesn’t mean that they’re not nasty.

A couple of years ago, we had a mama groundhog and her piglets in our back yard. The largest baby, about 7-8” long, started to wander toward the front of our property and the road.

My Hubby stomped toward it and growled, trying to keep it near its mother and prevent its becoming road kill.

That tiny, little baby reared up, and then charged squeaking at Hubby, about 300 times its size! Hubby jumped back! It was one of the funnies things I’ve ever seen.

Mama called, and the baby ran off to her.

Hubby and I have been laughing at that little fellow’s fierce bravery ever since.

We’re very no-kill here. Anybody can live in our yard in no danger from us.

Until TSHTF, they they’re dinner. ;-)

Thanks for all the pings, Slings!


55 posted on 08/08/2012 4:42:04 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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To: anton; humblegunner
God bless those furry little hunter. I hope that cats can evolve to be more effective against squirrels.

You mean like this?


This is a very serious cat.

56 posted on 08/08/2012 4:47:02 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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To: george76

They needed a study to find this out? Heck they should have pocketed the money and just interviewed a bunch of cat owners.


57 posted on 08/08/2012 5:03:53 AM PDT by commish (Freedom tastes sweetest to those who have fought to preserve it.)
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To: goodnesswins

We had a cat who would beg for pets, but when he was done, he would bite and scratch.

I cured him of doing it to me by walking away from him each time he reacted that way.

Cats love attention, and depriving them of it after bad behavior is a humane way to direct/alter them to be polite.

Eventually he would sleep on my lap, and he never scratched or bit me again.


58 posted on 08/08/2012 5:28:28 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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To: Duck Fan

Early morning... Groggily drinking coffee. Thanks very much for a good laugh!


59 posted on 08/08/2012 5:34:56 AM PDT by Clara Lou
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To: kelly4c

We had four cats until recently (three now), and we use a cement mixing tray for their litter box. It’s about 2-1/2 by 3’, and it holds plenty of litter. It’s easy to scoop, and it can accommodate four cats easily.

Available at your local hardware store, and very, very cheap in comparison to the litter boxes you will find at the pet store.


60 posted on 08/08/2012 5:37:25 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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