Submitted 1 week ago by atro_city@fedia.io to [deleted]
I'm at a friend's place and the cat keeps bringing in dead (or half-dead) animals into the house. It's my understanding that cats think we are big, helpless kittens that don't know how to hunt. Hence, they think they are doing us a favour.
It seems like a few mice actually escaped and found refuge in some walls in the house, so these "presents" are actually more than just annoying.
Cats are anarcho-communist and just share food with their colony. Proving you don’t need it will not stop the cat from letting you have some. They bring home extra not just for the young, but also for pregnant mothers, the sick, the elderly, and whoever might have had a bad hunt that day. They typically eat their fill in the field first before taking one to go, too.
Also there’s the prestige of it. If your cat is a prolific hunter it will bring you back the freshest game as a way of putting on airs. Do you not see what a successful hunter this cat is?
Cats are anarcho-communist
I knew that cats doing this were bringing back excess food for the colony (in their point of view, anyway) but this is the funniest way I have ever seen someone put it and I’m stealing it.
Play with it more often and don’t let it outside, that’s really the only way.
My friend insists on letting it out because animals aren't supposed to be kept in captivity. And it's not easy to play with cats if you're gone 10 hours a day
Let your friend know that most experts agree:
Outdoor cats are devastating to the local ecosystem, and have a significantly shorter lifespan than indoor cats.
Cats are apex predators, and your friend is subsidizing their pet far past what the local bird population can support. (Plus indoor cats live longer.)
Unless you’re on an actual working farm, household cats belong indoors.
Well, this is the consequence of letting it outside unfortunately- on top of risk of injury and death but I’m sure y’all know that already. There’s not really an effective way to train them against this behaviour the way you might a dog.
So long as there’s critters outside the cat is going to hunt them. Maybe you could try to give the kitty a snag safe cat collar with a bell? It might alert the wildlife so they have time to avoid being caught.
Did the cat choose of it’s own free will to come live with your friend?
If not, your friend is already responsible for a domestic animal they chose to acquire. That comes with responsibility. Domestic cats aren’t compatible with the outside environment and cause ecological damage.
If they don’t think animals should be kept in captivity, they shouldn’t keep a pet. Pets are, by definition, captive animals. If I befriended a pigeon by feeding it, it wouldn’t become my pet; it only would if I captured it.
Your friend is a bad pet owner.
My family used to have the view that keeping cats indoors was cruel until one of our indoor/outdoor cats came back after being attacked by some unknown animal in what seemed like a safe suburban area. He was fully vaccinated and recovered mostly without incident, but he had to have a surgery and spend extensive time in the Cone of Shame with limited movement so he could recover.
And once we started keeping the cats indoors? It was unbelievable how much nature outside recovered. It was more than just songbirds everywhere (though we did have plenty of those). We saw hawks and owls. Woodchucks and deer would wander in (yards weren’t really fenced at this area… it was more on the rural side of suburban). Foxes and rabbits and wild turkeys. I once saw pawprints in the snow that I think were from a stoat. We could not believe how visible a difference just keeping the cats inside made.
And honestly, the cats didn’t really miss being outside after a week or so adjustment period. Once, a year or so in, Mom accidentally left the door to the outside open, and one of our cats just got this resigned look like “oh, I guess I have to go patrol the area, huh.”
Now, this was a two-story house with like five bedrooms and a basement, so it was more territory than, say, an apartment, which can make a difference. We also had two cats to keep each other company, so the house being empty during the work/school day wasn’t as big a deal. Space concerns are a bit tougher to address (though I will recommend catification, catios, and leash training for cats to do supervised outdoor walks), but if the concern is a cat getting lonely during the work day, then I’m just saying that two cats are not appreciably harder to take care of than one and after the introduction period they can do wonders for keeping each other entertained.
stop letting them out to eat the wildlife.
it’ll be healthier for the animal and ecosystem.
The cat's a member of the household and believes they're contributing. They aren't, but cats are cats and are gonna do what they want anyways.
The cat may actually belong to the Mafia, but he’s not strong enough to bring a horses head to you.
You should watch your back regardless.
I’ll give him an offer he can’t meow at…
You come to me in my house on the day that my daughter is to puke in the clean laundry, and ask me not to do murder?
Imagine how frustrating it’d be trying send an intimidating message with all the dead animals but the intended recipient just thinks you’re trying be helpful in a misguided way
Catch mice yourself, basically just turn the tables
Actually, afaik thst had been disproven. They just bring food to snack it in safety.
Make the house unsafe for cats. Got it.
I’m afraid you’ve already lost that battle. It’s their home.
Turnabout is fair play. Start dropping dead animals in the cat’s bed and see how long the behavior lasts.
Sumbuddy loves you!
Guitar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
It’s not so much that they think you’re incapable of hunting. It’s moreso that they just like you and bring gifts. However, like others have said in here, cats absolutely should not be let outside and there is a ton of research that backs that up. The best solution is to educate your friend on how damaging their behavior is to the environment as well as how it puts their cat in danger as well. I know many people in the veterinary field and they all agree that cats should not be let outside unless they are on a harness.
PragmaticOne@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Well the information you are being provided with is very wrong.
Here in the UK they’re still classified as wild animals and many people let them out. They also work on farms and perform vermin deterrence. But they’re mostly pets and it will be a very very rare thing for someone to use a harness.
I can walk up my street and see one or two sat outside sunning themselves or watching the world pass by and many just want petting. But not usually when I have my four legged boy with me.
Guitar@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Nefara@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Cats outside are an aggressive invasive species in every continent except Africa. I love them but they need to be kept inside, and neutered/spayed. Just because other people don’t care about their local ecosystem doesn’t make their behavior worth emulating.
edible_funk@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
Look up lifespans of indoor and outdoor cats. It’s pretty dramatic.
T156@lemmy.world 1 week ago
It’s also their way of contributing. You keep getting them food, and contributing to the colony, so they’re also getting food and contributing to the colony, to make sure you don’t go hungry, and the colony is fed.