The discussion revolves around raising a kitten named Sprinkles, focusing on her behavior, training methods, and the challenges faced by a new pet owner. Participants explore various aspects of kitten behavior, including play aggression, stimulation needs, and the impact of early separation from her mother.
Participants express a range of opinions on Sprinkles' behavior and training methods, with no clear consensus on the best approach. Some agree on the need to monitor her aggression, while others emphasize the importance of play and stimulation.
There are unresolved concerns regarding Sprinkles' neck injuries and their impact on her behavior and training. Participants also highlight the complexity of kitten behavior and the challenges of socializing a young animal.
New pet owners, particularly those with kittens, as well as individuals interested in animal behavior and training techniques.
No one seems to be doing that though, see above.DaveC426913 said:As with dogs: don't blame the pet, blame the owner.
Can we have some? We currently have 12 million cats killing 270 wild animals per year.Averagesupernova said:Where I come from in the US hawks, bald eagles, coyotes, etc prey on the cats
You really did miss the point of my post. What do you suppose the coyotes, etc will eat when the cats are gone? Right now the cats survive on the rodents. Eagles and hawks do too, as well as a cat now and then. Coyotes and fox mostly survive on rabbits, gophers, etc and now and then a cat. With the cats gone we can expect the rodent population to explode which will draw the fox and coyotes in closer since rodents (not all of them) reside closer to buildings. I don't need nor want those critters up close to where I reside.pinball1970 said:Can we have some? We currently have 12 million cats killing 270 wild animals per year.
We send over some Patterdale terriers in return.
I did not. I made a reference to domestic cats killing birds and small mammals, they also kill reptiles and fish in the UK. They are not particularly efficient at killing rats and when a problem arises with rats and other rodents in premises including factories, warehousing and farms we do not go out and buy a cat to solve the problem. That is not the efficient or humane way to do it.Averagesupernova said:You really did miss the point of my post
As I often say, you do you and I'll do me. Maybe that's not a familiar thing across the pond. I can tell you this much: Our cats generally have no problem with rats. And I fail to see the concern of a humane way to deal with rats or mice. The preferred method (not mine) to deal with mice in the US seems to be sticky traps. I can't think of a less humane way to take care of mice but I don't really care. It's just an observation. I question the validity of the 2 billion birds per year. A quick Google tells me 3.12 million square miles on the Continental US. That amounts 1 kill per acre per year. Google also tells me there are between 75 and 90 million cats in the US. That's over 23,000 birds per cat per year. Even if the numbers are off 10:1 that means each cat kill 2300 birds per year. 6 birds per day per cat. Sorry, not buying it.pinball1970 said:I did not. I made a reference to domestic cats killing birds and small mammals, they also kill reptiles and fish in the UK. They are not particularly efficient at killing rats and when a problem arises with rats and other rodents in premises including factories, warehousing and farms we do not go out and buy a cat to solve the problem. That is not the efficient or humane way to do it.
I never mentioned wild/feral cats.
I am not aware of your finely balanced eco system relying on cats, I just pointed out domestic cats kill about 2 billion birds in the US every year.
It's kind of similar as how cats are with rats. Happens, but not too often - the disparity is not big enough, and an adult cat can do some really ugly work on the front parts of a fox, so an experienced fox will rather think twice...Averagesupernova said:I've read that fox will take a cat but I can't say from experience.
These issues are lot more complicated than just those numbers. If you have ten thousand small birds then around fifty thousand of them (!) needs to die yearly to maintain a stable population. And the only thing happens when there is not enough dying is that some plague or famine will take the excess a bit later (happens regularly with tits, for example - feeding and population increase made the 10+ yearly recurring avian pox kind of ever-present here...)pinball1970 said:We currently have 12 million cats killing 270 wild animals per year.
Agreed, except the rat part. I've seen a cat take rats out quite easily. That's not to say half grown cats will not exercise caution. Full grown cats in my experience have no trouble.Rive said:It's kind of similar as how cats are with rats. Happens, but not too often - the disparity is not big enough, and an adult cat can do some really ugly work on the front parts of a fox, so an experienced fox will rather think twice...