Walk around the neighborhood. Cats are an invasive species. When I was growing up my neighbor had a paintball gun to shoot any cats that wandered into his yard cause they killed the birds at his bird feeder.

They are normally fine around farms and breweries but that's because they are hunting things like mice that get into grain and such.

[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Cats should be kept indoors, but moreover your neighbor is a piece of shit and I hope he gets what he deserves. Get a super soaker you fucking monster, shooting someone's pet with something that travels around 200 mph is a bad look. After he baited them at that, I understand that wasn't his intention but the cats are just living by their basic instincts, it's not their fault. If he really was interested in stopping them rather than being cruel humane traps are cheap, just do what normal fucking people do, catch it, drive it 5-10mi, and release it somewhere it's no longer your problem, or drive it to the nearest no kill shelter. But no, can't be a decent human, it's more fun to break their ribs and possibly let them slowly internally bleed to death because they committed the crime of wanting to eat.

I'd rat him out for animal cruelty right now if I knew his name and location.

[–] MehBlah@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Found the serial killer in training.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Invasive where?

Everyone keeps saying they're invasive, but like... They've been around for thousands of years and were around before we started domesticating them (or they started domesticating us, I guess).

And yes, they kill birds, but then other wild animals also kill other animals.

And yes I realize you're on .ca so probably Canadian, but my point is, everyone seems to assume everyone on the Internet is North American. Plenty of us live in Europe, where cats are sort of a naturally occurring phenomenon.

[–] Hozerkiller@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah but like most invasive species we brought them to places they dont live naturally. Other than a loose dog not much will even bother a cat in North American cities.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 months ago

Nothing lives in cities naturally. Cities themselves just aren't natural.

Where I come from, outdoors cats really don't have a particularly long shelf life in cities and towns. Either they get hit by a car, or they wander to the forest and find something stronger than them

[–] angrystego@lemmy.world -1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

So how do we know this one is the bad kind or the ok kind?

[–] IzzyJ@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It's not the kind of cat, it's the location

[–] angrystego@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Do we know the location?

[–] IzzyJ@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

The location is north America, where letting cats roam is hazardous to the environment. Doesn't mean the guy should shoot them but that's why outdoor cats shouldn't be a thing

[+] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works -14 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Cool story.

[–] Lemminary@lemmy.world 13 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Wait, which part are you questioning? The paintball gun? Or that cats pose a threat to local wildlife? Because one of those has been extensively investigated.

[–] angrystego@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The paintball gun is just wrong.

[–] Vandals_handle@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

Both the paintball gun and letting cats roam freely are wrong. Everybody's an asshole (except the cat, can't blame them) in this story

[–] YellowTraveller@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 months ago

From the article directly cited in the one you posted "Pet cats: should they be kept indoors?"

But the solution isn’t quite that straightforward, says Dr John Bradshaw, who has studied domestic cats since the mid-1980s. “In this country [the UK], the evidence that cats are causing any serious depletion in wildlife populations is pretty flimsy,” he explains. “That’s not to say they aren’t killing things. There are plenty of surveys that show they are. But the long-term effects of that have been difficult to find.”

Most species targeted by domestic cats will have lots of offspring, to counter the expectation that many will die before they reach adulthood.

“Cats aren’t very efficient hunters,” adds Bradshaw. Their prey is most likely already in a poor condition, dead or dying, when they catch it. “Really, focusing on the cat is counterproductive.”

To demonise cats, Bradshaw suggests, would distract from the real dangers to wildlife in the UK: loss of habitats, reduced availability of food and the increased use of pesticides and fertilisers. These threats were identified in the UK’s State of Nature report in 2016, which brought together data from more than 50 different organisations. Though Mittens may not be public enemy number one on our shores, elsewhere in the world cats aren’t off the hook.

The article then goes on to say that it might be more of an issue in the US, but my point is that you can't say "cat = danger to wildlife" as a universal truth that applies everywhere.

[–] MeThisGuy@feddit.nl 1 points 3 months ago

yes

[–] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 1 points 3 months ago

Thanks for the link, very enlightening

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works -1 points 3 months ago

Sorry, I was being cheeky. I was saying that your story is anecdotal, and doesnt apply to everyone else. It also depends heavily whether the cat is male or female, but thats sort of getting in the weeds. Its okay to both have indoor cats and outdoor cats, there are advantages and disadvantages to both.

I'd imagine if someone were in an area that had a problem with cats killing other species, then they would prohibit outdoor cats to some degree? My area doesnt have this problem from what I can research so I'm not sure on that.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

lol this outburst contextualizes your other comments

[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 0 points 3 months ago

Outburst seems like a strong word for this.