"....this mutt's no good, he runs from them"
Posted on 10/23/2016 7:03:10 AM PDT by Silentgypsy
NEW YORK (AP) — Multitudes of feral cats roam New York City's concrete jungle, and some now have a practical purpose: They're helping curb the city's rat population.
A group of volunteers trained by the NYC Feral Cat Initiative traps wild cat colonies that have become a nuisance or been threatened by construction, then spays or neuters and vaccinates them. The goal is to return them to their home territory, but some end up in areas rife with rats.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Ping.
This is for real?? It definitely falls into the “what could go wrong” category.
It sounds like a win/win for Chinese Restaurants.
Some of those Norwegian wharf rats are larger than cats.
Wow,cats chase rats.
Who knew?/s
.
The rats have no chance.
Cats certainly stopped the ravages of the plague in Europe.
Trap/neuter/release is certainly a far more humane option than catch and kill and is gaining popularity around the country. Plus, cats serve a vital function in reducing the rodent population.
In NYC, there is undoubtedly a tremendous need for cats to keep the rats under control. Unfortunately, many of the rats in NYC are too large for the cats to handle...although those big rats are so corrupt that their mere presence would probably make the cats sick.
The cats are there to deal with the 4-legged rats.
This approach to controlling feral cats is proven effective. Sterilizing dominant male cats slows population growth. Simply removing tom cats has no effect since others will replace them. The rat thing is not nearly as effective as feral snakes.
> Bubonic plague comes to mind....
Had it in 1970 in Viet Nam. Spent 24 days in the hospital. Lost 65 pounds.
Ant to think, fifty five years ago the citizens of NYC were complaining of rats! So the city offered a bounty on each tail brought in. They got none as those complaining did not want to dirty their hands making money killing rats.
***Cats certainly stopped the ravages of the plague in Europe.***
In England back in the 1600s, cats and dogs were thought to be spreading the plague so they were killed. The rat population exploded! People were still dying of the plague when the Great Fire destroyed much of London, killing the rats.
This is one of those “seemed like a good idea at the time” schemes.
NY rats are huge. And cats are loners whereas rats can do teamwork.
"....this mutt's no good, he runs from them"
When I was a kid, our family was inoculated for Bubonic Plague, and I remember we all got sick as dogs (all six of of us kids) and spent a day or two in bed, lights out and shades drawn. I recall our arms hurt for days after. I have heard it said that in some vaccinations, you are given a less virulent, non-communicable case of the disease...if so, I want no part of the whole enchilada.
This is animal abuse! NYC doesn’t have rats! NYC has ROUSs! Those cats are toast!
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