Posted on 10/28/2018 9:37:50 AM PDT by hiho hiho
Invasive species can be ruthless. Surprisingly, they can also be adorable.
When non-native plants, animals, and pathogens are introduced into a favorable new environment, they can sweep through the ecosystem and threaten the survival of the native flora and fauna. They also wreak havoc on the economy. From Burmese python to Asian carp, efforts to eradicate or control invasive species cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $138 billion per year.
But in one notable case, humans have been happy to make an invasive species feel at home. We're talking about cats: one of the most prolific invasive species in history.
The National Wildlife Federation defines invasive species as any kind of living organism — an animal, plant, seeds, even bacteria or fungus — that is not native to an ecosystem and causes harm. It turns out that domesticated cats have no native range. Originally bred from wild cats and introduced to North America by European colonists, domesticated cats are now listed as one of the top 100 invasive species worldwide by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Domestic cats are directly responsible for the extinction of a number of animal species around the world, including 33 bird species. In the U.S., the popular pet is estimated to kill over 1 billion birds and over 6 billion other small animals every year. While the biggest threat are currently posed by feral cats — domesticated breeds that don't have an owner and aren't socialized to humans — even common house cats that are well cared for and fed will hunt and kill if let outside.
Cats also transmit diseases. In 2014, of the domestic animals that contracted rabies, which can then be spread to the local wildlife and humans, roughly 60 percent of them were cats.
Like nearly all invasive species, cats also have rapid rates of reproduction. Females can start breeding at just 6 months old and can breed every 4 months, producing up to 12 kittens every year. In just the last 40 years, the number of domestic cats across America has tripled. While it's difficult to get an accurate count of feral cats, estimates suggest that today there are at least 30 million of them roaming our streets and neighborhoods. An additional 40 million pet cats have regular access to the outdoors.
There are some simple and effective solutions to help minimize the harm domesticated cats pose to local wildlife. Spaying or neutering the pets helps keep the cat population under control. Keeping cats indoors will prevent them from preying on birds and other small animals in the area.
Ironically, one of the hazards some cats face in the wild comes from another invasive species. In Florida, non-native Burmese pythons, bred as exotic pets, got loose and multiplied in the Everglades; their population grew rapidly in the wake of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Today, they number in the tens or even hundreds of thousands, and Burmese pythons are encroaching into suburban areas — where domesticated cats make easy prey.
> People used to understand this. That’s why it was no big deal to drown sacks of kittens <
And their reward was more rats, and the Black Death.
https://owlcation.com/humanities/Cats-and-the-Black-Plague
Did PETA write this article?
I have seen it many times. Get rid of the feral cats and the rat population goes into overdrive. The product of static thinking.
Well thanks for sharing that heart melting kitten loving post.............
“The numbers seem unbelievable , but what would it be like if 1 billion birds and 6 billions small animals were not killed each year?”
About the number of birds that die from flying into skyscrapers every year..
Something can be done to protect the birds there as well but the government won’t pass a law requiring special reflective materials that would warn the birds before they strike the glass.
My mostly indoors housecat killed at least 4 birds that I know of this year.
Ours was napping with me on the couch this morning. I let her out a little bit ago to go on a homicide spree........
Know what I call a stray cat in my backyard? Target practice.
That’s not funny. What is WRONG with you!?!
Cats don't demand welfare, free education, or free health care.
Cats killing birds and eating them : BAD
Windmills and solar panels killing birds and leaving them to rot : GOOD
I was thinking more specifically of America in the fairly recent past, especially farmers. They would have a certain number of barn cats they would keep around for pest control. Anything more then what they needed would be killed. The reason?
I speculated that if the cats were allowed to reproduce with no controls they would soon spread out and eat all the small animals or the small animals would be driven away. No small animals means no small predators. No small predators and no small animals means no large predators. No large predators means deer reproduce. Too much deer reproduction leads to crop devastation.
We don’t have any cats of our own.
A few years ago we did our back yard to make it nearly maintenance free (removed lawn) put in a couple of trees and a few bird feeders.
Got lots of birds visiting our yard. The bird seed attracted mice. The mice attracted cats. Since the cats began visiting our yard have not seen any mice.
I will take cats over mice any day.
“What is WRONG with you!?!”
How much time you got?
“So what’s the problem? “
Lets try this again !!
Domestic cats are directly responsible for the extinction of a number of animal species around the world, including 33 bird species. In the U.S., the popular pet is estimated to kill over 1 billion birds .......
I thought smoking cigarettes killed them off.
> I was thinking more specifically of America in the fairly recent past, especially farmers. <
I see. And it’s funny you should bring that up. Because just the other day I was talking about farm cats with an older relative of mine. She has spent most of her life on a farm, and lives on one now.
I asked her about cats. She said her family did nothing to regulate the number of feral cats on the property. When the number of rats increased, the number of cats also increased. And when the rat population dropped, most of the cats drifted away.
The balance of nature, I suppose.
I am a night security guard at a marina that hosts many yachts and a number of fishing boats and shrimpers. There are, of course, many feral and semi feral cats in residence. One young tom followed me around on the docks every night, grabbing my leg with claws sheathed and fake biting, walking in front of me in an S path while slowing down and pouncing on my feet. I determined that it must be one that had been “dropped” by an owner and it was obviously telling me and other targets of its attentions to take him home, get him out of there. Someone eventually did. The other cats’ communication efforts are limited to “feed me!”
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