A series of pictures and a slow rant . Yes cats .

There are a lot of cat lovers on ATS , and i am fine with that , i have no problem with them If they keep their cats under control .So for you cat lovers here is a pic .

Now for those cat lovers that might have neglected their cats i have another pic . Granted it may not be your cat , but it certainly was someones or at least the descendants thereof .

Now because of cats amongst other things my kids may never see one of these in the wild .

Or this .

Cats are a problem in Australia , our animals are small relatively speaking . When a cat takes down a bison maybe you might take notice , or whatever large animals there are left in Europe etc . But i am in Australia .

‘[They] eat falcons and cockatoos, bats, centipedes, scorpions. I imagine that they would have a hard time pulling down a saltwater crocodile, I imagine that cassowaries would be pretty safe, but virtually every lizard, every snake, every frog, every bat, just about every bird in Australia and any mammal smaller than a large kangaroo, at least when they are joeys, are all susceptible to cat predation.’

I see it now , scorpions and centipedes , nothing to see here , but they are taking down everything they can . With the exception of cane toads . If they ate cane toads i would soften quite a bit . But they dont , nor do they attack these .

Now this is kind of a slow rant . And i get it , it is not all the cats fault . In fact it is us , yes we , humans that have done the real damage . I picked on cats , i dont like them . But we brought them here . Because of us we will never see one of these .

NEVER .Not today , not tomorrow , never .

So now that i have upset every cat lover out there , and i get that if you look after your cats you might be upset . But , are cats that important that we might not see this .

Just a thought

Australia is being swept by a second wave of post-settlement extinctions, and the culprit is the feral cat. Cats are estimated to eat 75 million native animals every night and the future for Australian fauna looks bleak.

75 MILLION .

Please keep your cats under control .

Ever attempted to keep a Cat under control?.
Sorry we don't own cats they just reside with us as long as they want.
Oh and my cat does a great job in the UK rats, mice, woodpeckers , baby rabbits all brought back as a gift.
Oh and they may look cute but I consider rats and stuff vermin...my cat is doing his job.

The genie is so far out of the bottle it's too late really. Humans have pretty much faffed about with every ecosystem we inhabit. We used to have a cat, my daughters were desperate for it. We kept it well fed and close to home and desexed so it wouldn't go wandering and causing mischief as we do have some very endangered little struggling Aussie battlers here.

It got ripped apart by a fox.

Told the kids he must have been abducted by a family who were too poor to buy a cat for themselves. Terrible lie to tell the kids really, but they were a bit young at that time. We put up posters for our missing cat... Wow, I feel so bad about it now. But to be fair, I was faced with a horrific scene and clean up so I was pretty shaken at the time too.

Out of all the species to cause destruction and death to our native animals I guess we have to be right up there with cats, with our endless logging, building, roads, farming, pollution etc. Cats while a massive contributor tend to get the most blame, but foxes, cane toads and us are the apex destructors.

Edit, forgot the rabbits....

a reply to: Qumulys

I totally agree . Foxes , rabbits , cane toads , humans , even starlings . Imagine the wildlife 200 years ago . I feel we have let this country down . Badly so . Imagine going to Tasmania and seeing a thylacine . What were they thinking .

a reply to: hutch622

Oh, don't get me started on the Minor birds! In the last ten years I've noticed a sickening trend of gangs of these birds killing magpies, mudlarks, honey-eaters, etc. on the side of the roads. It's horrid to watch a bid getting pecked to death struggling on it's back. I never saw anything like that as a kid here, no idea when they started turning so vicious. Maybe we can train the cats to only eat them?

a reply to: Qumulys

don't get me started on the Minor birds!

Sadly it seems that mostly everything that has been brought to Australia becomes an Apex species . Lets throw carp in there as well .

My cats live exclusively indoors. Any rodents they take down had it coming.

Animals have been around for quite a while believe it or not...

What makes us humans think we can dictate and control their behavior because it doesn't suit us?

Shall we also destroy all the lions that kill, crocs, gaters, wolves? Shame on them for displaying natural behavior!

The arrogance of mankind messed up again.

a reply to: Qumulys

Maybe we can train the cats to only eat them?

That is a difficult undertaking.
I wish anyone luck if they try.

a reply to: butcherguy

I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK WHERE YOU WAS LOL.

Oops caps lock.

a reply to: boymonkey74

I was making breakfast.
No cat on the menu today though.

A bit off topic but every time I see that picture of the last Thylacine/ Tassie Tiger I get really sad, I wonder if it knew and if it did what it thought

I also like cats so very depressing thread all round due to the truth of it all.

Maybe we can release a few hundred thousand feral dogs to catch and eat all the feral cats, I cant see how that could possibly go wrong

I always kept my cats indoors. Anyone who has an outdoor cat, should put a bell on its collar. At least birds and little animals would stand a chance.

a reply to: Night Star

Nah just makes them better more efficient killers.
we attempted it and my cat either came back with the whole collar gone or came back with more animals.
I watched him hunt with his bell on and he knew what it was for and just made sure he went slowly for the kill.
In my experience the more we feed him the less he comes back with gory messes.

a reply to: hutch622

Every pet I have ever had or have now I made sure to get them neutered or spayed so they never went around procreating little pups and kittens doomed for the shelters or euthanization.

When I was a little kid I had a cat that was indoor outdoor the cat had found and adopted me so there is no way to make one like that an indoor cat only. I know this because try as you might they are great at bolting when a chance arises I found that out with another cat which we tried to keep as an indoor cat but about once a month he wanted to explore I guess and was slick about it. A day or two later he would be back tired thinner and with no intention of leaving the comforts of the house anytime soon. The other cats we have had didn't want out. They like the creature comforts.


The only way to dent the problem is have people spay or neuter their pets so you don't wind up with a feral population. That is what you should focus on. The city here has been trapping the ferals and fixing them it has really helped.

Ever seen "The Lion King" ? It's the circle of life man.

a reply to: boymonkey74

This was going to be the point I was going to make. We adopt abandoned cats - never more than three at our home at a time - but most of them have been outside cats, and there is no way to keep them inside. Summer time comes, they will tear the screens out of the windows to get out. They hide nearby waiting for the second you open that door. You can not keep a cat under control - they see you as their pet, not the other way around. They adopt you and allow you to live in their space. Just my experience anyway.

a reply to: Grimpachi

It seems that the members that have replied are at the very least trying to be responsible cat owners , but as some have pointed out , if the cat wants out it usually gets out .

The only way to dent the problem is have people spay or neuter their pets so you don't wind up with a feral population.

Agreed , lets not add any more cats to the problem . Unfortunately the horse has bolted , or the cat in this case . Its very hard to get a fixed number on the feral cat population . Numbers vary from 15 to 25 million , however 18 million is often quoted . That is 18 million plus one to many . Sadly I don't have any answers to the problem .

a reply to: Mister_Bit

Shall we also destroy all the lions that kill, crocs, gaters, wolves? Shame on them for displaying natural behavior!

All of the above are still in their natural habitat . I have no problem with a lion munching on a wildebeest for instance . If they become feral in Australia i am sure we will do something about it .

a reply to: IkNOwSTuff

A bit off topic but every time I see that picture of the last Thylacine/ Tassie Tiger I get really sad

A little piece of me hopes that in Tasmania's vast wilderness there are pockets of these animals . Surely in country like this below some may have survived .

I try not to get my hopes up though .