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Cat predation studies



 
 
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  #41  
Old February 3rd 04, 12:38 AM
Cheryl
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Phil P wrote in k.net
on 02 Feb 2004:

This information is courtesy of Alley Cat Allies (ACA). Many thanks to
them!


So much good info in this article but regretably, I had to snip all but
a little I wanted to comment on. Thanks for taking the time to post
this.

Many zoologists have observed that feral cats are mostly scavengers,
hanging out next to dumpsters to wait for a hand out. Peter Neville, a
pet behaviorist and author of many books on cats, worked in England
for two decades with feral colonies. Neville states, "a deliberate
strategy of scavenging has enabled many feral cats almost to give up
hunting altogether. They may learn instead to lie around waste bins of
hotels for fresh supplies or to cadge from well-meaning human
providers in urban areas."


With just a small number of feral cats to observe here, I've noticed
that the behavior of scavenging and/or waiting for handouts is mainly
the way they find food. Only one here I'd noticed hunted, and he only
hunted baby squirrels and mice/voles. My own feral Bonnie doesn't seem
to know how to hunt and is learning to simulate it through play. She
won't eat meat, won't eat any wet food at all and only eats dry cat food
since that was what I left out last winter when she was a small kitten
before I trapped her. One thing I've noticed with the stalking action
is that once they set their sites on their "prey" (toy in this case)
they are relentless at trying to capture it. The "game" can only end
once it has been caught or else I end up with panting, overtired
kitties. Sometimes it takes a while for the first pounce, but once it
begins, they will do backflips trying to get the toy. Fascinating to
watch and observe.


Double Standards

At this time in history when the human population causes so much
destruction to the earth, we need to remind ourselves of our species'
responsibility and consider our 'double standards'. We often excuse or
ignore the devastation done to the environment by humans and the
results of this destruction on our wildlife



So true. This statement, and the one that follows:


The main problem is mankind, not cats.


--
Cheryl

Trapped like rats. In a chia-pet.
MIB II
  #42  
Old February 4th 04, 09:21 PM
Alison
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Sharon Talbert" wrote in message
ashington.edu...

Thanks for the response, Alison. I will be watching for your study;

keep
us posted! Pity we can't communicate from my Campus Cats address,

but I
can't reach you directly and my psycho spam cop won't let you into

Campus
Cats.

Sharon Talbert


We need a go-between. BG
Alison



  #43  
Old February 4th 04, 09:21 PM
Alison
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Sharon Talbert" wrote in message
ashington.edu...

Thanks for the response, Alison. I will be watching for your study;

keep
us posted! Pity we can't communicate from my Campus Cats address,

but I
can't reach you directly and my psycho spam cop won't let you into

Campus
Cats.

Sharon Talbert


We need a go-between. BG
Alison



  #44  
Old February 4th 04, 09:42 PM
Alison
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Phil P" wrote in message
k.net...

"
By the time the truth finally gets out--- its too late.


That's depressing -


Here're a couple more from my files - I don't have the urls so I

posted the
entire articles because I think they're good -- Not many orgs in my

book
have more credibility than Alley Cat Allies'.


It seems to be "he who shouts the loudest gets heard " and there
seem to be powerful organisations in the US who are anti-cat and who
are shouting the loudest.
I wonder how much co-ordination there is between the pro -cat groups?
I have to review any data on cat predation on one species in an
essay of 1500 max words so it will be limited .I'll be doing sparrows
and the C&L, Mammal rSociety Report so this info and everyones
opinions will be a great help .
Alison







  #45  
Old February 4th 04, 09:42 PM
Alison
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Phil P" wrote in message
k.net...

"
By the time the truth finally gets out--- its too late.


That's depressing -


Here're a couple more from my files - I don't have the urls so I

posted the
entire articles because I think they're good -- Not many orgs in my

book
have more credibility than Alley Cat Allies'.


It seems to be "he who shouts the loudest gets heard " and there
seem to be powerful organisations in the US who are anti-cat and who
are shouting the loudest.
I wonder how much co-ordination there is between the pro -cat groups?
I have to review any data on cat predation on one species in an
essay of 1500 max words so it will be limited .I'll be doing sparrows
and the C&L, Mammal rSociety Report so this info and everyones
opinions will be a great help .
Alison







  #46  
Old February 4th 04, 10:07 PM
Alison
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Cheryl" wrote in message
...

With just a small number of feral cats to observe here, I've noticed
that the behavior of scavenging and/or waiting for handouts is

mainly
the way they find food. Only one here I'd noticed hunted, and he

only
hunted baby squirrels and mice/voles. My own feral Bonnie doesn't

seem
to know how to hunt and is learning to simulate it through play.

She
won't eat meat, won't eat any wet food at all and only eats dry cat

food
since that was what I left out last winter when she was a small

kitten
before I trapped her. One thing I've noticed with the stalking

action
is that once they set their sites on their "prey" (toy in this case)
they are relentless at trying to capture it. The "game" can only

end
once it has been caught or else I end up with panting, overtired
kitties. Sometimes it takes a while for the first pounce, but once

it
begins, they will do backflips trying to get the toy. Fascinating to
watch and observe.


Hi Cheryl,
Bonnie sounds a handful! Kim is more staid, though she does like to
play chase with the dog They're so graceful and agile cats. It still
surprises me what they can do .
It takes a cat about 10 to 15 attempts to make one successful catch .
If it misses first time , it loses the prey and moves on to another
place, so to catch one just victim takes a fair amount of time and
effort. It takes a lot of practise and skill to hunt , catch and
actually kill , some cats rarely or can't complete the sequence . The
more successful a cat is at hunting, the more he feels rewarded and
encouraged to carry on thus becoming more adept and so on. Perhaps
this is why some pet cats seem to be "killers" more than others.



The main problem is mankind, not cats.


Absolutely !
Alison




  #47  
Old February 4th 04, 10:07 PM
Alison
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Cheryl" wrote in message
...

With just a small number of feral cats to observe here, I've noticed
that the behavior of scavenging and/or waiting for handouts is

mainly
the way they find food. Only one here I'd noticed hunted, and he

only
hunted baby squirrels and mice/voles. My own feral Bonnie doesn't

seem
to know how to hunt and is learning to simulate it through play.

She
won't eat meat, won't eat any wet food at all and only eats dry cat

food
since that was what I left out last winter when she was a small

kitten
before I trapped her. One thing I've noticed with the stalking

action
is that once they set their sites on their "prey" (toy in this case)
they are relentless at trying to capture it. The "game" can only

end
once it has been caught or else I end up with panting, overtired
kitties. Sometimes it takes a while for the first pounce, but once

it
begins, they will do backflips trying to get the toy. Fascinating to
watch and observe.


Hi Cheryl,
Bonnie sounds a handful! Kim is more staid, though she does like to
play chase with the dog They're so graceful and agile cats. It still
surprises me what they can do .
It takes a cat about 10 to 15 attempts to make one successful catch .
If it misses first time , it loses the prey and moves on to another
place, so to catch one just victim takes a fair amount of time and
effort. It takes a lot of practise and skill to hunt , catch and
actually kill , some cats rarely or can't complete the sequence . The
more successful a cat is at hunting, the more he feels rewarded and
encouraged to carry on thus becoming more adept and so on. Perhaps
this is why some pet cats seem to be "killers" more than others.



The main problem is mankind, not cats.


Absolutely !
Alison




  #48  
Old February 5th 04, 04:17 AM
Cheryl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Alison wrote in on 04 Feb 2004:

Hi Cheryl,
Bonnie sounds a handful! Kim is more staid, though she does like to
play chase with the dog They're so graceful and agile cats. It still
surprises me what they can do .


She sure is! I've been trying pick her up lately, but she's so wiggly and
wiley it makes it hard to get my hands around her. But when successful,
she just crouches and stiffens up like she thinks I'm going to eat her.
lol It sure is taking a while with this one. Other than picking her up,
she's mostly ok and acts like a normal house cat. But she still has a very
feral side.

It takes a cat about 10 to 15 attempts to make one successful catch .
If it misses first time , it loses the prey and moves on to another
place, so to catch one just victim takes a fair amount of time and
effort. It takes a lot of practise and skill to hunt , catch and
actually kill , some cats rarely or can't complete the sequence . The
more successful a cat is at hunting, the more he feels rewarded and
encouraged to carry on thus becoming more adept and so on. Perhaps
this is why some pet cats seem to be "killers" more than others.


Interesting. I've heard some or one of the strays catching rodents at
night (mice or voles) and judging by the screams of the rodent, it seems
like the hunt for a single one goes on for a while. I guess it is better
not to actually see the hunt? While I feel bad for the prey, I'm more in
awe of the hunter. I may be a minority about this but I know there are
hunters and hunted. It is nature. While I won't step in and stop it, I try
not to encourage it. When strays are hanging out a lot like now, I don't
fill the bird feeder. If prey is captured and it isn't because of my making
it easier because I create a feeding station for birds while I know there
is a danger, I can't do anything about that. I'm still in awe of the
hunter. The thing that bugs me is that I can't stop birds from eating the
cat food I leave out, and during the winter I won't stop feeding everyone.

--
Cheryl

Trapped like rats. In a chia-pet.
MIB II
  #49  
Old February 5th 04, 04:17 AM
Cheryl
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Alison wrote in on 04 Feb 2004:

Hi Cheryl,
Bonnie sounds a handful! Kim is more staid, though she does like to
play chase with the dog They're so graceful and agile cats. It still
surprises me what they can do .


She sure is! I've been trying pick her up lately, but she's so wiggly and
wiley it makes it hard to get my hands around her. But when successful,
she just crouches and stiffens up like she thinks I'm going to eat her.
lol It sure is taking a while with this one. Other than picking her up,
she's mostly ok and acts like a normal house cat. But she still has a very
feral side.

It takes a cat about 10 to 15 attempts to make one successful catch .
If it misses first time , it loses the prey and moves on to another
place, so to catch one just victim takes a fair amount of time and
effort. It takes a lot of practise and skill to hunt , catch and
actually kill , some cats rarely or can't complete the sequence . The
more successful a cat is at hunting, the more he feels rewarded and
encouraged to carry on thus becoming more adept and so on. Perhaps
this is why some pet cats seem to be "killers" more than others.


Interesting. I've heard some or one of the strays catching rodents at
night (mice or voles) and judging by the screams of the rodent, it seems
like the hunt for a single one goes on for a while. I guess it is better
not to actually see the hunt? While I feel bad for the prey, I'm more in
awe of the hunter. I may be a minority about this but I know there are
hunters and hunted. It is nature. While I won't step in and stop it, I try
not to encourage it. When strays are hanging out a lot like now, I don't
fill the bird feeder. If prey is captured and it isn't because of my making
it easier because I create a feeding station for birds while I know there
is a danger, I can't do anything about that. I'm still in awe of the
hunter. The thing that bugs me is that I can't stop birds from eating the
cat food I leave out, and during the winter I won't stop feeding everyone.

--
Cheryl

Trapped like rats. In a chia-pet.
MIB II
 




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