Dipcdame
Very Well-Known Member
Okay, lets put this to rest here and now. There are those on this site all too quick to refer to cats as "feral". Domestic cats in the community whether having owners or not are NOT "feral", they are strays, the same as dogs are referred to if lost or homeless.
Wikipedia refers to feral cats as such:
"In Australia, the term "feral cat" refers to cats living and breeding entirely in the wild. Significant populations of Australian wildlife that are poorly adapted to this effective predator, including marsupials, reptiles, and birds, have allowed the establishment of stable feral cat populations across most of the country.
Adult feral cats that were never socialized with humans can rarely be socialized. Feral kittens can sometimes be socialized to live with dogs. The ideal time for capture is between six and eight weeks of age. Taming at this age may take only a couple of days. Older kittens can be tamed, but it takes longer. Also, an older kitten may bond only with the person working with him or her, which can make adoption difficult but not impossible.
Feral cats may live alone but are usually found in large groups called feral colonies. The average life span of a feral cat that survives beyond kittenhood is usually cited at less than two years,[2] while an indoor domestic housecat lives an average of 14 to 20 years. However, feral cats aged 19 (Cat Action Trust) and 26 (Cats Protection) have been reported where food and shelter are available.
Urban areas, Australia, and North America are not native environments for cats. The domestic cat comes from temperate or hot, dry climates and was distributed throughout the world by humans. Cats are extremely adaptable, and feral felines have been found in conditions of extreme cold and heat. They are more susceptible to cold, damp conditions than to cold alone. In addition, they are vulnerable to predators such as dogs, feral pigs, wolves, bears, cougars, bobcats, foxes, crocodilians, birds of prey, and coyotes.
Feral cats in Australia prey on a variety of wildlife. In arid and semi-arid environments, they eat mostly introduced European rabbits and house mice; in forests and urbanised areas, they eat mostly native marsupial prey (based on 22 studies summarised in Dickman 1996). In arid environments where rabbits do not occur, native rodents are taken. Birds form a smaller part of the diet, mostly in forests and urbanised areas, reptiles also form just a small part of the diet. It has been suggested that feral cats have been present in Australia since before European settlement, and may have arrived with Dutch shipwrecks in the 17th century, or even before that, arriving from present-day Indonesia with Macassan fisherman and trepangers who frequented Australia's shores. However historical records do not suggest this, instead dating the arrival of feral cats at around 1824.[3] Intentional releases were made in the late 19th century to control mice, rabbits and rats. Cats had colonised their present range in Australia by 1890. Evidence for early predation by cats having caused major and widespread declines in native fauna is circumstantial and anecdotal and its credibility and significance is debated (Abbot 2002, Dickman 1996).
Numerous Australian environmentalists and conservationists claim that the feral cat has been an ecological disaster in Australia, inhabiting most ecosystems except dense rainforest, and being implicated in the extinction of several marsupial and placental mammal species (Robley et al 2004). But scientific evidence supporting this view has been hard to come by, and some researchers disagree with it (Abbot 2002). There is little sound evidence that feral cats significantly affect native wildlife throughout the mainland (Dickman 1996; Jones 1989; Wilson et al. 1992). Difficulties in separating the effects of cats from that of foxes (also introduced) and environmental effects have hindered research into this. Cats have co-existed with all mammal species in Tasmania for nearly 200 years.[3] The Western Shield program in Western Australia, involving broad-scale poisoning of foxes, has resulted in rapid recoveries of many species of native mammals in spite of the presence of feral cats throughout the baited area..............."
AND FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Unintended consequences
In some cases, the removal of cats had unintended consequences, such as on Macquarie Island where the removal of cats caused an explosion in the number of rabbits and rats which also harmed native seabirds.
.......................and so the flaming from cat haters begins........................................
Wikipedia refers to feral cats as such:
"In Australia, the term "feral cat" refers to cats living and breeding entirely in the wild. Significant populations of Australian wildlife that are poorly adapted to this effective predator, including marsupials, reptiles, and birds, have allowed the establishment of stable feral cat populations across most of the country.
Adult feral cats that were never socialized with humans can rarely be socialized. Feral kittens can sometimes be socialized to live with dogs. The ideal time for capture is between six and eight weeks of age. Taming at this age may take only a couple of days. Older kittens can be tamed, but it takes longer. Also, an older kitten may bond only with the person working with him or her, which can make adoption difficult but not impossible.
Feral cats may live alone but are usually found in large groups called feral colonies. The average life span of a feral cat that survives beyond kittenhood is usually cited at less than two years,[2] while an indoor domestic housecat lives an average of 14 to 20 years. However, feral cats aged 19 (Cat Action Trust) and 26 (Cats Protection) have been reported where food and shelter are available.
Urban areas, Australia, and North America are not native environments for cats. The domestic cat comes from temperate or hot, dry climates and was distributed throughout the world by humans. Cats are extremely adaptable, and feral felines have been found in conditions of extreme cold and heat. They are more susceptible to cold, damp conditions than to cold alone. In addition, they are vulnerable to predators such as dogs, feral pigs, wolves, bears, cougars, bobcats, foxes, crocodilians, birds of prey, and coyotes.
Feral cats in Australia prey on a variety of wildlife. In arid and semi-arid environments, they eat mostly introduced European rabbits and house mice; in forests and urbanised areas, they eat mostly native marsupial prey (based on 22 studies summarised in Dickman 1996). In arid environments where rabbits do not occur, native rodents are taken. Birds form a smaller part of the diet, mostly in forests and urbanised areas, reptiles also form just a small part of the diet. It has been suggested that feral cats have been present in Australia since before European settlement, and may have arrived with Dutch shipwrecks in the 17th century, or even before that, arriving from present-day Indonesia with Macassan fisherman and trepangers who frequented Australia's shores. However historical records do not suggest this, instead dating the arrival of feral cats at around 1824.[3] Intentional releases were made in the late 19th century to control mice, rabbits and rats. Cats had colonised their present range in Australia by 1890. Evidence for early predation by cats having caused major and widespread declines in native fauna is circumstantial and anecdotal and its credibility and significance is debated (Abbot 2002, Dickman 1996).
Numerous Australian environmentalists and conservationists claim that the feral cat has been an ecological disaster in Australia, inhabiting most ecosystems except dense rainforest, and being implicated in the extinction of several marsupial and placental mammal species (Robley et al 2004). But scientific evidence supporting this view has been hard to come by, and some researchers disagree with it (Abbot 2002). There is little sound evidence that feral cats significantly affect native wildlife throughout the mainland (Dickman 1996; Jones 1989; Wilson et al. 1992). Difficulties in separating the effects of cats from that of foxes (also introduced) and environmental effects have hindered research into this. Cats have co-existed with all mammal species in Tasmania for nearly 200 years.[3] The Western Shield program in Western Australia, involving broad-scale poisoning of foxes, has resulted in rapid recoveries of many species of native mammals in spite of the presence of feral cats throughout the baited area..............."
AND FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Unintended consequences
In some cases, the removal of cats had unintended consequences, such as on Macquarie Island where the removal of cats caused an explosion in the number of rabbits and rats which also harmed native seabirds.
.......................and so the flaming from cat haters begins........................................
