Althouse: "We have got a concerted effort on opossums, rats, mice, mustelids, but the one that stands out is cats."

May 14, 2013

"We have got a concerted effort on opossums, rats, mice, mustelids, but the one that stands out is cats."

"Everybody is too bloody PC and scared to take on cats. So I thought, I can handle that...."

44 comments:

Shanna said...: Man, those people in new zealand really hate cats. There is a huge difference between a cat and a rat.; 5/14/13, 3:25 PM
edutcher said...: Kiwis are to Oz (which has really been wussified) what Canadians are the the US.; 5/14/13, 3:29 PM
bagoh20 said...: "The Conservation Department spent two years and more than $500,000 eradicating three short-tailed weasels off nearby Kapiti Island, for example."

That's a sweet hunting trip right there.; 5/14/13, 3:34 PM
Clayton Hennesey said...: Do Kiwi cats kill this many animals every year?

Surely not. New Zealand is much smaller.; 5/14/13, 3:38 PM
samanthasmom said...: My cat spends a lot of time outdoors. She's an accomplished hunter. Mice, voles, rabbits, chipmunks are hardly endangered, and they wreak havoc. She takes down a bird every now and then. Birds are dirty, smelly creatures that shit all over my deck and my car. If they avoid my property because she's lying in wait for them, all the better. A neighbor complained because she sits under his bird feeder and chases the birds away. I offered to put a feeder up in my yard so she could kill them here instead. She'd be miserable, fat, and lazy if I kept her in the house all of the time. Like the kids no one wants us to let outside to play anymore. They're fat and lazy, too. Instead she's a lean, mean killing machine who purrs like crazy when she brings home some dinner for me.; 5/14/13, 3:42 PM
Anonymous said...: As long as they're ok with eventually exterminating themselves, and not the rest of us, I can live with this invasive species.

Poor Mr Pickles can't.

The authoritarian impulse, beneath layers of science and true-believing idealism activism, will be with us for a long while.; 5/14/13, 3:43 PM
jimbino said...: Here in Texas, we are prohibited by law from killing a cat that belongs to another. Cats kill millions of songbirds in Texas, the very state that is the transit path for birds between the cold North and Mexico and south.

Austin bleeding hearts have mounted a TNR policy for feral cats, which does nothing to keep cats out of my yard. I'd prefer to do the TNR on the owners, in any case.

I'm an animal lover and I like girls too, but I wouldn't think of owning or confining either for 10 years.

Fortunately, Austin can't change the US Constitution, which elevates property interests to the point where I have the right to ban both cat owners and their cats from my yard. I trap cats very successfully, and I charge whatever sad owner $50 to return his cat. If he can't pay, it's off to Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, or New Mexico, where the cat can be sacrificed legally.

I'd pay dearly to have Korean or Chinese neighbors who are known to savor cats.; 5/14/13, 3:47 PM
Anonymous said...: How about trying to enlist and appeal to as many cat-owners as possible, and public sentiment, accepting a lot of limitations to the society that produced YOU. Your knowledge and free time and lack of privation.

Was this also an option instead of becoming a righteous cat-hunting warrior?

Look into it, nature boy.; 5/14/13, 3:52 PM
Anonymous said...: I'll shut up after this one and go into a catatonic state:

How about hunting parties? 5$ a head for each feral cat?

The great Kiwi feral cat shoot?; 5/14/13, 3:56 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Enh, I have two cats, and they don't go outdoors. They haven't the opportunity to harm any creature but us humans, unless a mouse or a rat gets in here. In which case, I say "Go for it!" One of them might even have a sporting chance against a rat; he's originally from a feral cat colony on the other side of the country, and his hunting skills seem as well-honed as his claws. But he's not getting the chance. No, dude, no squirrels for you. No crows, either. I like you with your eyes as they are now, not pecked out.

Every issue about cats can be addressed by (1) keeping them inside; and (2) spay/neuter.

jimbino, I'd comment, but it'd be too rage-filled. I'll just say that I think T/N/R is the right way to deal with feral cat colonies.; 5/14/13, 3:59 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: In America, we need to focus first on puppy and kitten mills.; 5/14/13, 4:02 PM
Shanna said...: Do Kiwi cats kill this many animals every year?

You don't have to sell me on cats, Clayton, I'm already a fan.; 5/14/13, 4:28 PM
Shanna said...: Just one more comment.

What cracks me up on these people is that they get all freaked out about the cats going free but if someone wanted to try to eradicate all the songbirds they wouldn't like that too much. I'd much rather have cats in my neighborhood than birds. Much kinder to the car, for starters.; 5/14/13, 4:34 PM
Amartel said...: New Zealanders aren't anti-cat, it's this attention- and authority-seeking environmentalist who is "calling attention" to the cat menace.

Is it "political correctness" that prevents people from "taking on cats?" I think not. Cats are useful pets. People like them without having to be prompted by the rules of political correctness. Now noisy crusading environmentalists ... that's another story.; 5/14/13, 4:38 PM
exhelodrvr1 said...: Just declare the cats to be Republican, and then sic the government on them.; 5/14/13, 4:41 PM
Steve said...: If you feed your cat and let it out for sporting purposes you are an evil bastard. Cats kill and play with the dead, which are discarded after the fun is over. A feral cat that is killing birds is one thing, a well fed house cat out for fun is entirely different. Keep your cat in your yard or on a leash.

I can't for the life of me figure out why a cat is treated any differently than a dog.; 5/14/13, 4:46 PM
bagoh20 said...: Over the weekend, I was awakened at night by a strange chirping noise. I went outside and found the noise was coming from a baby opossum hanging on my fence. Below it was the mother looking dead, but still breathing. I've seen them fake it so many times, that I just left her for a while hoping she would get up, grab the kid and go home. It was strange because all my dogs were asleep, and didn't seem to know she was there.

After a while I went back out and the mother was gone, with just a trail of blood leading into the brush. The baby had fallen off the fence and looked dead. I picked it up and it moved slightly. Then I noticed two more babies laying near by. They all looked dead and were ice-cold, but moved a little when I touched them. I gathered them up, put them in towel with a hot water bottle and made some calls. I found a rescue person that specializes in possums who took them in. They were very actively climbing about after they got warmed up.

Then when I got home, I went looking for the mother, and found her in the deep grass motionless. She was still alive, but paralyzed with a broken back, and had lost a lot of blood. I gave her some warm water with sugar from a syringe and she drank it readily, but she couldn't move and barely dragged herself to where she was. Now she could hardly lift her head. I had no choice but to put her out of her misery.

Thankfully her pouch had no more babies, and I didn't find anymore laying around. I still don't know what happened, unless the dogs got her, but were seriously faking disinterest, but that's not their style.

Kind of a nightmare for me. I barely have the fortitude to put down an animal who needs it, but what else can you do? Knowing she was suffering was much harder. I had to shoot my dog when I was 12, after she was hit by a car, and I have never gained any ability to deal well with that kind of thing.

I have no issues with hunting, but it was never for me. I used to go deer hunting with my dad, but would not pull the trigger even with a buck in the sights. We all have our weakness, I guess. Mine is animals.; 5/14/13, 4:50 PM
Clayton Hennesey said...: That's okay, Shanna. I don't argue, I just shoot them when they're on my property. Sooner or later I or someone like me will move next door to you and put a suppressed .22 round through your kitty's head, too. Of course you could always call the police and tell them to put out an APB on kitty while explaining why kitty was running free in violation of the law.; 5/14/13, 4:55 PM
jimbino said...: Yo Steve,

Cats are different from dogs in that their bites are more dangerous. Furthermore, we are not plagued by dogs here in Austin, since Animal Control will come to pick up any dog I trap or that is running in the street.

Unfortunately, they don't come to pick up cats, so we need a different Endloesung for them. I'm curious, however, how an elderly disabled person with no car would deal with an invading cat.

Here are some of the serious diseases communicated to humans by cats.

* Afipia felis
* Anthrax
* Bartonella (Rochalimaea) henselae
* Bergeyella (Weeksella) zoohelcum
* Brucella suis
* Campylobacteriosis
* Capnocytophaga canimorsus
* CDC group NO-1
* Chlamydia psittaci (feline strain)
* Cowpox
* Cutaneous larva migrans
* Dermatophytosis
* Dipylidium caninum
* Leptospirosis
* Neisseria canis
* Pasteurella multocida
* Plague
* Poxvirus
* Q-fever
* Rabies
* Rickettsia felis
* Salmonellosis
* Scabies
* Sporothrix schenckii
* Trichinosis
* Toxoplasmosis
* Visceral larva migrans
* Yersinia pseudotuberculosis; 5/14/13, 4:56 PM
dc said...: Get rid of windmills first.; 5/14/13, 4:59 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Bagoh - You're awesome.; 5/14/13, 5:09 PM
Peter Metcalfe said...: Garreth Morgan has as much credibility on cat issues in NZ as a gun control activist in, say, rural Alabama.

He's only made a name for himself because he invested some money in his son's start-up (Trademe) which is now a billion dollar company.; 5/14/13, 5:11 PM
Peter Metcalfe said...: In January, the general reaction to his offensive against cats was "You can pry our cute cuddly kittens from our cold dead hands".; 5/14/13, 5:14 PM
bagoh20 said...: "Bagoh - You're awesome.".

Yes, it's true, but I'm also a bit of a pussy. I got a little queasy just recounting the story. I think I need to lay down.; 5/14/13, 5:29 PM
bagoh20 said...: Knowing how delicate the reproductive system with hormones, and chemicals, I'm surprised that there has not been a substance developed that could be left out in bait that would chemically sterilize cats. It can't be that hard. Cats don't even have lawyers screw it up.; 5/14/13, 5:37 PM
Chef Mojo said...: Fucking hypocrite Kiwi assholes. The argument is about "invasive species." Yet, they'll except the cows and sheep. And themselves, of course.

Should have thought about this before they went to New Zealand.

It's not the fault of the cats. They're cats, after all. People brought them there. They can live with the consequences and just fucking deal.

Species invade the territory of other species all the time. That's why certain species become extinct. Too fucking bad.; 5/14/13, 5:44 PM
JAL said...: dc re windmills: Heard today that 600,000 birds a year in the US get mortally clipped by windmills.; 5/14/13, 5:55 PM
Chef Mojo said...: Heard today that 600,000 birds a year in the US get mortally clipped by windmills.

Including eagles and other assorted raptors. Nearly 85,000.

Why aren't wind turbine companies and producers liable to prosecution for chopping up bald eagles?; 5/14/13, 6:37 PM
madAsHell said...: Eagle feathers are sought after on the reservation. You know.....that chunk of land the surrounds the casino.; 5/14/13, 7:02 PM
Bob Loblaw said...: Knowing how delicate the reproductive system with hormones, and chemicals, I'm surprised that there has not been a substance developed that could be left out in bait that would chemically sterilize cats.

It probably wouldn't be hard. But it would be hard to use something like that too liberally without affecting nearby humans.; 5/14/13, 8:35 PM
Petunia said...: No one's yet figured out a way permanently to sterilize cats that doesn't involve capturing them and performing some sort of surgery. Someone was experimenting with a chemical injected directly into the males' scrotums, that would permanently damage the tubules necessary to move sperm, but you still have to catch the cat, and at that point, why not just neuter him? It only takes a couple of minutes.

As for the females, I've never heard of a chemical way to sterilize them that doesn't involve regular dosing with a medication. If it's an oral medication, you can try to put it in food and leave it out for the cat, but how do you ensure that she gets the right dose every time? And if it's NOT an oral medication, how do you get it into the cat? Spay surgery only takes a few minutes and it's not reversible.; 5/14/13, 8:48 PM
Shanna said...: Sooner or later I or someone like me will move next door to you and put a suppressed .22 round through your kitty's head, too.

Good god, what an ass. If you do so, I might pull out my own 22.

Thankfully, my neighbors shoot neither cats nor dogs when on their property. Because they aren't assholes.; 5/14/13, 9:17 PM
Shanna said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/14/13, 9:17 PM
Nature Advocate said...: If you are plagued by criminally irresponsible cat-lickers, following is a link with some of the most effective methods I invented to eradicate hundreds of these invasive vermin; by myself, on large tracts of land, in heavy brush and dense woods. The eradication so complete that I've not seen one cat in over three years. All done in only a couple of seasons, all for less than the price of a couple cups of coffee. www.americanhunter.org/blogs/arkansas-will-trap-feral-cats

In areas with firearms laws then check into air-rifles rated 700-1200 fps and using pointed vermin pellets. The newer ones come with their own sound-suppressors built right-in, specifically designed for shooting vermin cats in urban areas, the demand for them is that great.

Shoot to maim is animal-cruelty, and rightly so. These are the ONLY cases cat-lickers' cite to try to manipulate everyone. But shoot to kill is a perfectly legal way to humanely destroy an animal.

You MUST take direct relentless action against ALL feral and stray cats, collared or not. For collared stray cats are the very source of every feral cat. If you don't destroy them too then you have done NOTHING to solve the problem. No trapping program in the world has been able to catch-up to cats' breeding rates. Actively and aggressively hunting them is the ONLY way to get ahead of and stay ahead of cats' breeding rates and the rates at which criminally-irresponsible MORON cat-lickers let more cats be born and dumped outdoors.; 5/14/13, 9:52 PM
Nature Advocate said...: I found a perfect 100% natural solution for those who don't want to take more direct and more effective measures. Anyone who has criminally irresponsible cat-lovers in their area need only plant lilies (Lilium species) on their properties. Cat-lovers always want their more responsible neighbors to grow plants around the perimeter of their properties that will repel their cats for them (from the cat-owners' own criminally negligent and criminally irresponsible behaviors and values). Well now you can brighten up your yard AND repel cats naturally! -- PERMANENTLY

IMPORTANT: This works for people in N. America and other regions of the earth. Just be certain that you are not causing more problems by introducing yet another invasive species plant, check your NATIVE plants for others from the Lilium species that are just as deadly toxic to cats ONLY.

It's been reported that a cat even licking a bit of Lily (Lilium species) pollen from their fur will be fatal in short order. A cat even drinking some of the water in which a bunch of lilies has been kept is also fatal to them.

You get to have the plants you want, they get to have they pets they want -- if they take care of it like a responsible grown-up. Are they now going to demand you can't plant flowers on your property? That would be their next usual move.

A perfectly natural solution to an invasive species that didn't evolve with lily species. Also a good incentive to educate themselves about native species and evolution. :-)

From ASPCA's toxic plants (Family: Liliaceae):

Lilies (Lilium species) deadly toxic to cats ONLY, in even minute quantities:

Asian Lily (Asiatic Lily) | Scientific Name: Lilium asiatica

Easter Lily | Scientific Name: Lilium longiflorum

Red Lily | Scientific Name: Lilium umbellatum

Rubrum Lily** | Scientific Name: Lilium speciosum cultivar

Stargazer Lily** | Scientific Name: Lilium orientalis

Tiger Lily** | Scientific Name: Lilium tigrinum

Wood Lily | Scientific Name: Lilium umbellatum

(not of the Lilium species)

Orange Day Lily | Scientific Name: Hemerocallis graminea

(** see notes below)

Lilies (Lilium species) that may be toxic to dogs:

NONE!

Be sure they are from the Liliacea Family, has "Lilium" on the plant label or are common N. American Day Lilies. Many plants with "Lily" in the common-name are not of the "Lilium" species, and are in fact toxic to other species of animals besides cats. Double check. On further investigation I also found out that all plant-parts, the blossoms and pollen being the most toxic, if harvested and dried (for year-round use) are just as deadly toxic to cats (if not more-so because of the unknown toxin being concentrated), and the drying makes them even more palatable to cats. What a great mulch for gardens! (Or powdered spice for a special outdoor can of tuna.)

**There have been some anecdotal reports of some free-roaming cats that have spent many years around some of these particular species of plants and still survived. So it is best to harvest, dry, and grind-up the plants and mix them into any appropriate bait-foods to be most effective.; 5/14/13, 9:54 PM
Nature Advocate said...: After 15 years of trying to reason with criminally negligent cat-lickers, I learned my lesson (at the loss of nearly all the native wildlife on my lands that were tortured or starved to death by their invasive species vermin cats). You can't train a cat to stay home; but I found that, in time; you CAN train a disrespectful, inconsiderate, and criminally irresponsible neighbor into being a responsible, considerate, and respectable adult. One who finally takes care of their animals like any responsible grown-up would.

Google for this complete string, as-is, including all quotes:

"Licensing and laws do nothing to curb the problem." AND "I don't see anyone dumping cats where I live anymore." AND "irreversible consequences"

Therein you'll find a humane answer that works 100%, is affordable by any individual or size of community, and the cat problem is completely resolved PERMANENTLY in less than 2 seasons. Guaranteed.

People who let cats roam free only do so because they think their disease-ridden INVASIVE SPECIES cats are going to live idyllic lives chasing and torturing animals (valuable native species) or someone else will take care of their vermin cat for them. If they realize that that cat will die within hours or days from them having dumped it or letting it roam free, the dumping and free-roaming of cats stops 100%. They can't just believe it MIGHT happen, they have to KNOW that IT WILL HAPPEN. It worked where I live.

Did I mention that you have to ignore every last thing these deranged invasive species lovers spew to the world? That's the MOST important part. Asking them for advice and help to solve the problem they created and are hellbent on perpetuating is as foolish as asking your local career thieves for advice and help to hide your valuables from their daily motives and activities. That's where I made a foolish error for 15 years. Don't make the same mistake I did. Just do what needs to be done and the problem is solved -- PERMANENTLY.

Aside: In case you are curious -- the term that I use of "cat licker" is accurately gleaned from the growing fad of people who are obsessed with cats and want to do everything possible to make their cats feel good, as naturally as possible, at the expense of all that is reasonable and sane.

They are now licking their cats clean.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9xmiOxsTWg

Since they see a cat fighting back from being washed in water as animal abuse, but the cat not fighting if they use their tongues, they use their tongues instead to wash their cats.

It's just another one of the many aberrant and mentally-ill behaviors of "cat lickers".

I cannot, in all honesty, EVER use the term "cat lover" again to describe these people. People who love cats do not throw them under the wheels of moving cars or let them lap-up antifreeze in a gutter or let them be attacked by other cats and animals by letting them roam free. "Cat lover" is an oxymoronic label. "Cat licker" is the only one that accurately works today!; 5/14/13, 10:12 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Nature Advocate, you are one sick puppy.

A collared cat is obviously somebody's pet. It's probably not a "stray," as in "unable to find home"; it's likely close to home and knows exactly where that is. You haven't the foggiest idea whether it has been spayed/neutered or not before you shoot it, so blaming the existence of feral cats on it is ... well, my immediate reaction is "batshit insane," but I'll go with "illogical."

My two cats aren't allowed outdoors, more for their own safety than for that of the local wildlife. Both were adopted, one from a shelter that stipulated indoor-only, the other from my mom (who was fostering him, a kitten taken from a feral cat colony as part of a trap/neuter/release operation). The female is spayed; the male is neutered.

Once, in a storm, the front door blew open and the female got outside. Thankfully, none of my neighbors are bloodthirsty cat-hating maniacs with guns, so we got her back rapidly and she's been inside ever since.; 5/15/13, 10:00 AM
Nature Advocate said...: A collared cat that is roaming free is NOBODY's pet. It is an expendable lawn-ornament and eventual pavement-splat. You ALWAYS have some lame excuse of why your cats escape. Well, tough ti**ies said the kitty. The ecological disaster we face today is FAR FAR greater than the life of any individual cat owned by someone who is criminally negligent and criminally irresponsible.

And it doesn't matter one lick if it is sterilized or not. It is an INVASIVE SPECIES THAT IS DESTROYING OUR VALUABLE NATIVE WILDLIFE. THEY STILL DO THAT WITH 'NADS AND EGGS INTACT OR NOT.

STERILE DOES NOT GIVE AN INVASIVE SPECIES THE FREE LICENSE TO CONTINUE TO DESTROY NATIVE WILDLIFE AND STILL SPREAD DEADLY DISEASES. AND IF YOU ALLOW A CAT TO HUNT ANIMALS, THEN *YOU* ARE A POACHER AND YOUR HUNTING ANIMAL MUST BE DESTROYED. ON TOP OF THAT THEN *YOU* MUST BE FINED AND CONVICTED UNDER ALL POACHING LAWS AS WELL AFTER YOUR HUNTING ANIMAL IS DESTROYED.

I guess if the storm blew the door off your house and your toddler ran into traffic you'd still find a way to blame the traffic and storm too, right?

Nobody's buying cat-lickers' pathetic and manipulative self-victimization song-and-dance routines anymore. If you do something that causes you to cry about it -- MAY YOU ENJOY YOUR TEARS!

The time is now: Half-Past Kill-Kitty-O'Clock. Do you ALL know where your cats are?; 5/15/13, 4:57 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Nature Advocate:

Yep. Batshit insane.; 5/15/13, 5:12 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Nature Advocate,

As it happens, my cat got as far as the front porch before she ducked under it. There was, as I said, a storm going on. The main difficulty was coaxing her out from under there.

No doubt, had you been nearby, you would have rid the world of another exemplar of an invasive species that is likely the only species you actually wish were extinct. Luckily for me, my husband, Lili, and our other cat, you and your gun were not present that morning.; 5/15/13, 6:18 PM
jimbino said...: I'm with you, Nature Lover, and thanks for the advice about planting Lilies: they will improve my yard and garden by their beauty and by their facility in eliminating cats.

I sympathize with those whose indoor kitties escape, but what mechanism is there for them to ransom their trapped kitties? None, as far as I know.

Until they come up with a plan, like paying me $50 to return their wandering feline, I say "Tough Kitty."; 5/15/13, 6:28 PM
Nature Advocate said...: jimbino, I've told these waste-of-flesh cat-lickers, that if they want to ensure they get their cats returned safe then make it worth all their neighbor's time. If they plan on letting their cat roam free, or foresee it as a flight-risk, then they should pay EVERY NEIGHBOR $1000 IN ADVANCE. And then promise to pay, IN WRITING, another $1000 on the safe return of their cat. Then people might allocate the valuable time from their own lives to pander to the immature needs of these adult-children who can't even supervise their own pets.

If not? Then every person WILL find the most cost-effective and efficient manner to put a complete end to the problems that these useless cat-lickers bring to all their neighbors and all their communities. I found that solution in .22s on a closeout sale of 5000 rounds for only $15. That's 3 PERMANENTLY solved stray cats PER PENNY! It doesn't get cheaper and quicker than that! And it only needs to be applied one time per cat. :-)

Here's another novel idea I came up with long ago, but I've yet to hear of anyone using it. I bet some fed-up neighbor will though eventually. To not only get rid of the cats, but their neighbors too. It's a good'n:

Property owners' tip: Put up signs at the edge of your property, prominently visible to the criminally-irresponsible cat-lickers and all others. Or hand them a paper with the following notice (while in the presence of your witnesses). "Cat-Recreation Land-Use Fee:$10,000 per day per cat. Evidence of your cat using this land will be your legal agreement to these fees. Payable on demand.(legal description of your property in fine-print)" You have every right to charge anyone any amount that you see fit for them using your land for any purpose of theirs. After posting notice then document with video and witnesses anytime you see their cats using your land for any purposes. When you take them to court for non-payment (wait until after they have amassed the amount of money that YOU want :-)) you get to legally own every last thing in their lives; house, cars, what's left of their savings (if any), garnisheed wages if the amount surpasses the value of what they presently own etc.; just like they have stolen the use of your property all those years. Only you get to take all of their possessions for your own use legally.; 5/15/13, 10:43 PM
Nature Advocate said...: Michelle, didn't I make myself clear before? Let me state it again:

You can't stop cat-lickers who caused and perpetuate the problem by using normal means. I tried that for FIFTEEN YEARS and got nowhere. Not even the Sheriff could reason with them for all the laws, national and international, that they were violating. You MUST ignore every last thing a cat-licker says or you'll get nowhere. Asking for help and advice from a destructive invasive species advocate who is hellbent on perpetuating the problem that they created is just as beneficial as asking your local career-thieves for help and advice of where to hide your valuables from their motives and daily activities.

Ignore EVERY LAST THING THAT A MANIPULATIVE, LYING, DECEITFUL, AND DECEPTIVE, CAT-LICKER SAYS, and you too can solve the problem where you live! That's what finally worked where I live!

See Michelle? THAT's how it works! Just like YOU ignore everything that everyone else is saying to you, now everyone else MUST ignore you! You now get back the VERY SAME amount of respect and consideration that you have given and shown to all other lives on this planet -- ABSOLUTELY NONE.

THAT'S what solves it!

It's really all so simple. :-); 5/15/13, 11:09 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Nature Advocate,

If your idea of "ignoring" me is to write repeated replies with a healthy smattering of ALL CAPS yelling, you are doing a fine job of it.

To repeat: I have two cats, both sterilized, both kept indoors. Once one got outside, making it as far as the front porch before she ducked under it to escape the rain. Had she gone a little farther, and you been my next-door neighbor (which God forbid), she would have been shot on sight.

Because apparently just being a cat is intrinsically evil, chez you. And if you own a cat, you are a "cat-licker," and have it in for all wildlife except your favorite "INVASIVE SPECIES."

You really ought to meet my mom, NA. Lifelong environmentalist, very good wildlife photographer, host to a menagerie that includes (besides two permanent-resident cats and whatever rescue cats she might be fostering at the moment) three Dobermans (all also rescues), two parrots, a conure, a large assortment of Gouldian finches (for a while she bred them for sale), and a few fish. She's been active in wildlife conservation efforts essentially all her life.

But, hey, she's a "cat-licker," because she has cats, and she doesn't want them dead. Luckily, she also does not live next door to you.; 5/16/13, 11:25 AM