lardyl

No doubt this will be all over the news, but to make Nz pest free and give some native species a chance do we also need to be a land of fewer (or zero) cats ????
http://garethsworld.com/catstogo/
Discuss.........

love30stm

Oh dear not a cat lover I see??? My cat has only brought sparrows, starlings and blackbirds in and mice, I don't like that about cats I must admit and we have saved a few off her and have a bell on her collar that don't work obviously !!!!!!

But what about indoor cats? They aren't a threat

BEVS

Cats like small twitchy things so mice & small birds are fair game in all honestly. Mine is well fed and only out during daylight hours. He's mostly sleeping but has brought in the odd mouse or bird as an unwanted present.

Feral cats will obviously be a problem as they look to feed themselves.
Neutering the cat is a way to go.

I'm actually in favour of cat registration and licensing. Compulsory microchip/neutering etc.

If cats are all to go , then it should be the same for dogs.

After all,dogs are known to attack birds also. along with other animals

lardyl

agreed, registration chipping and neutering are all good ideas and probably the minimum we should be looking at to minimise the damage.

Can't see how dogs can be as bad for birds as cats though, with Kiwis being the obvious exception. Never had to put a bird or baby rabbit out of its misery when a dog is playing with it.......never known of a dog I've owned or been close to showing any sign of taking birds.

I suppose if Gareth Morgan wants to suggest a phase out of owned cats and putting down anything else, that's up to him but I reckon he's gonna get some flack!

Like I did even though I never said I agreed with his website or his views.

love30stm

Mine has been neutered and is getting microchipped this week

scrubbedexpat094

YES! We can have hamsters instead

love30stm

What is exiting about hamsters??? they are boring and can bite

scrubbedexpat094

Mine didn't bite, a couple of vets I met commented on how tame they were. Hamsters are just great fun & sooooooo cute. So much nicer than cats

And they don't poo in my garden!

love30stm

never owned a hamster and won't be able to in NZ one of my friends hamster used to bite!!!

And first time I have owned a cat in my life and my cat is lovely, but I'm not so sure I would have one again as I'm worried that she could come to harm by people that hate cats!! Luckily my neighbours have cats and they love her, only got her as my kids wanted a pet! Had a Guinea pig in the uk

scrubbedexpat094

We had a mad neighbour (when we lived in Burton-on-Trent) who loathed cats. He was always buying stuff to keep cats out of his garden. We were woken at 6am one morning with him shouting 'blue murder' & flicking cat poo onto his neighbour's house wall, that he had found on his lawn. His neighbour owned two cats & so he had decided it must've come from them.

Made us laugh cos Bob had really lost it. He didn't seem to understand why we were more bothered by his cyprus trees that were 8ft high & planted very close to the border between his house & ours. Now they were a bloody nuisance.

However, I have nothing against cats per se, perhaps we need to limit the numbers households are allowed to own. Would a reduction in the number of cats lead to an increase in the number of rats & mice I wonder.

BEVS

That might have been hedgehog poo or someone's Jack Russell on the QT
Hedgies are given to pooping, flat out, on grass. Cat's tend to bury their poops.

love30stm

Yep we have hedgehog poops my cat doesn't poop in the garden!!!

Agree cats bury it, dogs don't

scrubbedexpat094

I've seen cats pooing on the lawn in this country & in the UK. They don't always bury it. We don't talk about Guinea Pigs in front of OH, the neighbour's cat ate his two . He's never quite got over it.

love30stm

Ate the guinea pigs??? that's horrible!!!!

And your right my hubby said he's seen our cat pooh on the lawn

RobClubley

We have three cats. I know someone who has seven!

The two older (Leeds born!) cats don't hunt much as far as I can tell but Sam the 3 year-old is a killer. Mostly rats, which is fine by me except when he brings them in alive.

All of ours are neutered and I believe all domestic cats should be, they can breed so quickly if left to themselves!

But shouldn't we be going after other pests that destroy the place? Possums, rabbits, stoats etc.
Though the success there shows how (un)successful eradicating cats might be.

Domestic cats are an easy target.