Posted on 08/08/2017 9:48:20 AM PDT by Olog-hai
To honor cats on the International Cat Day, DW encourages their human companions to protect the planet we all share. From carbon pawprint to waste to wildlife, it is in our hands to take up better practices.
Your cat’s sweet purring and loving, contented looks won’t change the fact that it’s guilty for the planet’s suffering — just like we are.
A recent study confirms that pets’ meat-based diet has a fatal impact on the climate, due mainly to high carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, our loyal friends are big resource consumers and waste creators. The situation is particularly worrisome considering the paradigm shift in the human-pet relationship in emerging economies such as China. Moreover, cats that go or live outdoors eat urban wildlife, particularly newborn chicks. Environmental groups are calling for an to end this vicious cycle. So is it possible to love and respect your pet, while still protecting the planet? […]
“Cats tend to kill weak and sickly birds, so it is not clear whether cat predation replaces other forms of death, or is in addition to natural death,” Sarah Elliott, central veterinary officer with Cats Protection, said in a press release. […]
Reducing the CO2 emissions is more of a challenge. A vegetarian diet is not an option for a cat. Owners can, however, switch to organic feed —which supports biodiversity and reduces pollution since it avoids pesticides —and more environmentally friendly packaging. They can also avoid using hot water for cleaning the litterbox —and above all, buy compostable cat litter. …
(Excerpt) Read more at dw.com ...
I have two big dogs who do the same for me.
The smaller, half AST (American Staffordshire Terrier, aka Pit Bull) and the rest mostly retriever, weighs 90 lb. The other’s a 122 lb. Great Dane. Yes, I rape Gaia every day and am proud of it.
Indeed. There has been a big push towards four-stroke diesels thanks to “emissions controls” to alleviate so-called “global warming”, thermodynamics of more complex engines and the cost thereof be damned.
I’ve noticed that some Peterbilt trucks are using their own PACCAR (Pacific Car and Foundry) diesels in addition to Cummins.
“I need to remind the husband of who is in charge when he asks of the cat, “Why are you in my chair?”. As far as the cat is concerned, it’s kitty’s chair, and he allows my husband to sit in it when he wants a warm lap.”
My situation is worse. My Great Dane has long ago established exclusive, prescriptive dog rights to what was my couch. My AST/retriever cross regularly negotiates with me over how much of the bed each of us will occupy.
and they can even digest a certain amount of bone.
±+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
They can digest a LOT of bone. I had an older cat who wasn’t a very big cat, at all. Her litter grew up, and she decided my children were her babies. She brought back a rabbit larger than herself. When I tried to put the “meal gift” outside several times, she decided to show me what we were supposed to do with it. She removed the head and feet, and began to eat the thing from the neck down like spaghetti. I couldn’t believe she could eat like that, and it almost seemed like she was a snake with removable hinge jaws. But she consumed every inch of that rabbit!
She would bring in food geared for the size and abilities of her kittens when she had them. Teeny baby mice damaged so they couldn’t get away, graduating to packrats as the kittens gained experience and bigger appetites..some completely uninjured to teach them to catch their food.
This cat wasn’t a domesticated housecat. She was a wild house cat who took a liking to my family, and the safety of our house. I gave her only water as she preferred to hunt, and wouldn’t eat cat food. Therefore I never had the added expenses of cat ownership except for one occasion. She became pregnant and couldn’t deliver the kittens on her own. I took her to the vet who gave me all the medicines needed to help her along.
She stayed with us for several years until she mysteriously and quietly disappeared..just as she came to us. She was the best cat I ever owned, and I am not fond of cats at all. But I deeply respected her, and she loved me. She loved to curl up on my lap as I sat beside the wood stove. Otherwise, she wasn’t affectionate. She showed her appreciation by trying to teach my children how to hunt, as she did her own.
This is why i am a dog person.
Dogs just want to fetch a stick.
While cats want to destroy the planet!
The solution is to buy over-priced products?
How exactly does that help?
Oh wait, they’re lying.
Well, the “study” by the UCLA geography professor this article cites also goes after dogs and their supposed “environmental impact”.
I’ll bet you are paying a lot of money to the bank each month for the privilege of living in that dog house, huh?
"CATS 1/2 OFF"...........LOL!
My dogs’ house is paid for. But then there’s the dog food, vet bills, claims for the small children who keep disappearing near the house, bribes for the police, etc. . .
My past cat squeek would prove your claim invalid. She was strictly a back deck cat who would not venture off the bottom step of the deck. On several occasions I observed her as she leaped thru the bars of the railing to grab a gold finch on a cone flower just off the deck in the garden then bring it back into the house and release it.
She also used the deck to spy into the garden and nabbed several baby rabbits and brought them into the house as they were squeeling. One died and the other survived after I let it go in the yard.
She would constantly catch voles off the deck and bring them into the house and release them for me..........LOL!
Yeah, the general consensus seems to be that turning greenies into cat food and feeding them to cats would be cruel and unusual punishment for the cats.
Any grabbing of baby birds out of their nests?
Nope, just the healthy adults...........
It's the deer you have to worry about if you're talking about nests......
http://io9.gizmodo.com/field-cameras-catch-deer-eating-birds-wait-why-do-deer-1689440870
:)
Wow, what a cat!
LOL! Agreed. Cats are members of our families.
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