• solsangraal@lemmy.zipEnglish
    1210·
    6 months ago

    if there are cats, there are probably raccoons and/or possums, i’m skeptical that anyone who knows this would leave that on the porch overnight

    • nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca
      9·
      6 months ago

      I’m pretty sure I saw this in a 1988 reader’s digest in my dentist’s waiting room while sitting there in 1998.

      • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
        4·
        6 months ago

        Pretty sure it was actually nineteen ninety eight shortly after the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell and plummeted sixteen feet through an announcers table.

      • Veneroso@lemmy.world
        362·
        6 months ago

        Unfettered? No. Feral cats often aren’t cared for and live suffering lives. They have significantly shorter lives. They’re domesticated animals and aren’t suited to life in the wild. We bred that out of them. They fare better than dogs, but they deserve better.

        I just buried one that some asshole dropped off near my house. My dog doesn’t do well with cats and I found them scrapping in the yard. I pulled them apart, literally the cat had several claws stuck in my dog’s face. I went out a few times to make sure that it was ok. After about 20 minutes it was gone. Three days later I go out to see my dog barking at the road. It seemed like the cat was back. Either running away from my dog or distracted by her, it lay dead in the road. It has been run over by a car or a truck. Blood everywhere. I put my dog in the house and scooped it up into a bucket and buried it with my shovel.

        This wasn’t just some feral cat. It was friendly and had known the love of people. Unfortunately, that love wasn’t enough to do what was right. It deserved better. This happened about a month ago and it still bothers me.

        Get your pets spayed and neutered. If you can’t afford to house the results of your irresponsibility, then at least do right by them, and make sure they go to loving homes, instead of dumping them off at someone’s farmhouse in the country.

        • qwerty@discuss.tchncs.de
          029·
          6 months ago

          Yeah being homeless sucks, what does that have to do with cats reproducing?

          Even if we assume that all unplanned kittens end up homeless, it’s still some twisted version of financial cat eugenics. “Your life will probably not adhere to my standards of what a good life is, so I will prevent you from existing in the first place for your own good. I will cut off your balls because your kids would be homeless.”

          Now apply the same logic to humans. I know we are talking about cats but from a moral standpoint it should make no difference, the degree of “bad” might change, it’s less bad if you do that to an animal and more bad if you do that to a human, but in both cases it’s still bad. I can’t think of anything that this logic doesn’t apply to, even when it comes to something we do all the time like killing, if you do that to a human, that’s murder, which is obviously terrible and if yo do that to an animal, that’s acceptable, because we need it for food to survive but it’s still bad. If we could get meat any other way I don’t think anyone would be opposed to that.

          If you don’t want to get castrated by aliens\AI overlords then don’t do that to your pets.

        • Veneroso@lemmy.world
          192·
          6 months ago

          When we had cats, I made sure that they were spayed and neutered. But they’re not good for the bird population. They should be kept indoors, not to mention how easily they catch fleas. It had gotten to the point that none of the over the counter solutions worked, and you need to take out a small loan to afford to properly treat them.

          • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
            142·
            6 months ago

            They’re not good for the birds, but perhaps even more importantly, the outdoors isn’t good for them. The life expectancy of an indoor cat versus an outdoor cat can be 10+ years longer.

              • iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works
                3·
                6 months ago

                Backyard on a leash and monitored is very responsible! When people say outdoor cat, they are typically referring to cats that are allowed outdoors with no leash and no supervision.

            • Worstdriver@lemmy.world
              4·
              6 months ago

              Growing up, (I’m in my 50s) we had an orange tabby that went indoors and outdoors as much as he wanted. The cat supplemented his kibble by killing and eating (confirmed by observation) birds and rodents in the area. He lived to be 23. Most cats like him that I’ve known all had lifespans into the high teens.

              I think you mean feral, as opposed to outdoor. In which case I would agree with your statement.

              I should add, that as an adult, I currently own two cats obtained from rescue services and both are exclusively indoor cats.

                • Worstdriver@lemmy.world
                  2·
                  6 months ago

                  Then can you quote your source for your statement? My experiential information is counter to your claim, so I would like to see your data so I can improve my understanding.

    • ZeroHora@lemmy.mlEnglish
      31·
      6 months ago

      I adopted an cat early this year, I wasn’t planning to stay with her but within 1 month she got pregnant.

    • Veneroso@lemmy.world
      61·
      6 months ago

      Yeah this doesn’t make sense to me. It does get expensive. My sister only neuters the males since it’s cheaper. Only flaw is if one gets out…

      • MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz
        26·
        6 months ago

        Your sister isn’t doing her female cats a favour.

        Neutered cats statistically live longer and healthier lives. Fertile animals have health risks. Unless you actually intent to breed your cats, there is no reason to leave them unfixed.

        If you can’t afford it, don’t get a cat. It’s like adopting a pet without first figuring out whether you can even buy the food to keep it alive.

    • kandoh@reddthat.com
      61·
      6 months ago

      People are allowed to own pets without knowing anything at all about responsible pet ownership. It’s ficked up.

    • drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world
      19·
      6 months ago

      You can’t get them fixed before a certain age and that cat might have threaded the needle. A friend of mine adopted a stray that turned out to be pregnant.