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#41
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"CaptCook" wrote in message ... I have been told several times that feral cats are such a problem in the Dakotas that they are supposed to be destroyed if some specified distance from a building. They have caused great destruction in Hawaii according to conservationists. There is no danger of cats becoming endangered. And no excuse for allowing them outside. That being said, my pet of preference is a cat. A similar situation occurs on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. There were no real indiginous ground based predators on the island, which forms the breeding grounds for large numbers of seabirds many of which nest on open rocky beaches. The introduced cat population often decimates these colonies by killing large numbers of flightless chicks,often not even eating them. They also occasionally attack baby turtles as they hatch on the beaches, though this is less common (often due to people spectating). When I lived there for a time, people were allowed to own pet cats as long as they were spayed. Attempts to trap and humanely kill the feral population were also undertaken, but these were IMO rather ineffective (a large number of people were very opposed to shooting or poisoning). There was also another problem that occured as a side affect, and involved another human introduced species - rats. As the feral cat population reduced, the numbers of rats increased and these also preyed on the seabirds, particularly their eggs. AFAIK a suitable solution has not been found, and may not even be possible. -- Cal |
#42
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"CaptCook" wrote in message ... I have been told several times that feral cats are such a problem in the Dakotas that they are supposed to be destroyed if some specified distance from a building. They have caused great destruction in Hawaii according to conservationists. There is no danger of cats becoming endangered. And no excuse for allowing them outside. That being said, my pet of preference is a cat. A similar situation occurs on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. There were no real indiginous ground based predators on the island, which forms the breeding grounds for large numbers of seabirds many of which nest on open rocky beaches. The introduced cat population often decimates these colonies by killing large numbers of flightless chicks,often not even eating them. They also occasionally attack baby turtles as they hatch on the beaches, though this is less common (often due to people spectating). When I lived there for a time, people were allowed to own pet cats as long as they were spayed. Attempts to trap and humanely kill the feral population were also undertaken, but these were IMO rather ineffective (a large number of people were very opposed to shooting or poisoning). There was also another problem that occured as a side affect, and involved another human introduced species - rats. As the feral cat population reduced, the numbers of rats increased and these also preyed on the seabirds, particularly their eggs. AFAIK a suitable solution has not been found, and may not even be possible. -- Cal |
#43
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In rec.arts.sf.written Peter D. Tillman wrote:
: Could be worse. When my parents lived in Kenya, they had friends whose : dog slept at the foot of their bed. Until the night when a leopard came : through the (unscreened) bedroom window, grabbed the dog, jumped back : out. While the couple were in bed, watching in horror. That's the 'other way' a pet can protect the family: by being easier prey. : Cheers -- Pete Tillman -bertil- -- "It can be shown that for any nutty theory, beyond-the-fringe political view or strange religion there exists a proponent on the Net. The proof is left as an exercise for your kill-file." |
#44
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In rec.arts.sf.written Peter D. Tillman wrote:
: Could be worse. When my parents lived in Kenya, they had friends whose : dog slept at the foot of their bed. Until the night when a leopard came : through the (unscreened) bedroom window, grabbed the dog, jumped back : out. While the couple were in bed, watching in horror. That's the 'other way' a pet can protect the family: by being easier prey. : Cheers -- Pete Tillman -bertil- -- "It can be shown that for any nutty theory, beyond-the-fringe political view or strange religion there exists a proponent on the Net. The proof is left as an exercise for your kill-file." |
#45
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In article ,
Bertil Jonell wrote: In rec.arts.sf.written Peter D. Tillman wrote: : Could be worse. When my parents lived in Kenya, they had friends whose : dog slept at the foot of their bed. Until the night when a leopard came : through the (unscreened) bedroom window, grabbed the dog, jumped back : out. While the couple were in bed, watching in horror. That's the 'other way' a pet can protect the family: by being easier prey. True enough. Though adult humans are rather large prey for leopards. Infants or small children, now -- well, what are 'chow dogs' for? G,D &R Cheers -- Pete Tillman -- Q: What can you do with a leopard with three balls? A: Walk him and pitch to the antelope. |
#46
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In article ,
Bertil Jonell wrote: In rec.arts.sf.written Peter D. Tillman wrote: : Could be worse. When my parents lived in Kenya, they had friends whose : dog slept at the foot of their bed. Until the night when a leopard came : through the (unscreened) bedroom window, grabbed the dog, jumped back : out. While the couple were in bed, watching in horror. That's the 'other way' a pet can protect the family: by being easier prey. True enough. Though adult humans are rather large prey for leopards. Infants or small children, now -- well, what are 'chow dogs' for? G,D &R Cheers -- Pete Tillman -- Q: What can you do with a leopard with three balls? A: Walk him and pitch to the antelope. |
#47
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Bertil Jonell wrote:
In rec.arts.sf.written Peter D. Tillman wrote: : Could be worse. When my parents lived in Kenya, they had friends whose : dog slept at the foot of their bed. Until the night when a leopard came : through the (unscreened) bedroom window, grabbed the dog, jumped back : out. While the couple were in bed, watching in horror. That's the 'other way' a pet can protect the family: by being easier prey. : Cheers -- Pete Tillman -bertil- For another method of using cats as weapons see: http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove/pliocats.htm Lorenzo L. Love http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove "Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have many other fine qualities as well." Missy Dizick |
#48
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Bertil Jonell wrote:
In rec.arts.sf.written Peter D. Tillman wrote: : Could be worse. When my parents lived in Kenya, they had friends whose : dog slept at the foot of their bed. Until the night when a leopard came : through the (unscreened) bedroom window, grabbed the dog, jumped back : out. While the couple were in bed, watching in horror. That's the 'other way' a pet can protect the family: by being easier prey. : Cheers -- Pete Tillman -bertil- For another method of using cats as weapons see: http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove/pliocats.htm Lorenzo L. Love http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove "Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have many other fine qualities as well." Missy Dizick |
#49
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John F. Eldredge wrote:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 21:39:56 -0400, "Brenda W. Clough" wrote: In the larger pet catalogues they're selling cat strollers. Essentially a cat cage, mounted on wheels with a stroller handle. So you can take kitty for an airing, and he doesn't have to even set paw to ground. Some cats might enjoy this, but I suspect that most of them would be saying "Me Out! Me Out! Me Out Nowwwww!" until you got back to the house. It does sound terribly effete and decadent. My lot would not put up with it for one minute, but we live on a very quiet street and they have been going outdoors since kittenhood. Brenda -- --------- Brenda W. Clough http://www.sff.net/people/Brenda/ Recent short fiction: PARADOX, Autumn 2003 http://home.nyc.rr.com/paradoxmag//index.html Upcoming short fiction in FIRST HEROES (TOR, May '04) http://members.aol.com/wenamun/firstheroes.html |
#50
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John F. Eldredge wrote:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 21:39:56 -0400, "Brenda W. Clough" wrote: In the larger pet catalogues they're selling cat strollers. Essentially a cat cage, mounted on wheels with a stroller handle. So you can take kitty for an airing, and he doesn't have to even set paw to ground. Some cats might enjoy this, but I suspect that most of them would be saying "Me Out! Me Out! Me Out Nowwwww!" until you got back to the house. It does sound terribly effete and decadent. My lot would not put up with it for one minute, but we live on a very quiet street and they have been going outdoors since kittenhood. Brenda -- --------- Brenda W. Clough http://www.sff.net/people/Brenda/ Recent short fiction: PARADOX, Autumn 2003 http://home.nyc.rr.com/paradoxmag//index.html Upcoming short fiction in FIRST HEROES (TOR, May '04) http://members.aol.com/wenamun/firstheroes.html |
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