Dogs and cats - Why is it ok for cats to kill things for fun?

[QuinnP]

ther are 21 or so of the nasty creatures here, & I am allergic to them, but its not my house & I have no right to dictate what goes on in another's home. They eyeball my ratties all the time, one climbs the rattie cage & I kicked it off (ok, not a kick, a nudge) I dont know why cats are held to different standards than dogs.

(I attempt to convince myself that I hate cats, but then I end up scratching ears & popping Benadryl D!!)

I've given proper respectful burials to several small animals dragged home.

 

[moondog425]

Hey Punkinpeep you said exactly what i've been thinkin !!!
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[Glenbogel06]

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Blackbird - that's just what I was thinking. I hate the idea of anything killing anything else, but that's life isn't it? If cats didn't kill birds, mice, chipmunks etc . . . would there be a population explosion that would cause a whole host of other problems? If dogs, didn't kill rabbits, cats, or anything else that they could get hold of, would there be a population explosion? Nature has made it so that some animals kill other animals . . . who am I to argue with mother nature?

Of course, I certainly don't want to see it happen. But that is life.

 

[wegotchickens]

I was passing out treats and putting the birds away yesterday afternoon when I heard Jezebel yelling "Meof! Meof! Meof!" as she ran down the hill. I always look when a cat yells, "Meof!" because it usually means Callie's about to spit a live, slobbery cricket on me. Jezebel doesn't usually yell about such things, so I watched as she ran up to me with something brown in her mouth. She went pthew and spat a bird at my feet. My heart stopped for a moment! Thankfully it wasn't one of my birds, but a wild bird. Jezzie was very proud. She's declawed and has never caught a bird before. She sat next to her trophy and glowed with pleasure as she winked at me.

It was a sap sucker of some kind, not a hummer, and was in very poor condition. I suspect it was ill or aged and that's why she was able to get it. I hauled it away from the chicken pen (grateful everyone was put away and couldn't investigate) and "put it somewhere safe" while Jezzie was watching. When she got bored and wandered away I threw it in the trash (thank heavens today is trash day).

While I really hope this doesn't become a trend, I'm glad that poor pitiful bird wasn't alive to forage around my poultry. I've been battling so many mite/lice this year it's unreal. Must've been a booming year for them because this poor bird was covered with a type I've mite I haven't seen this year.

 

[Morgan7782]

have you ever tried to train a cat?


'Nuff said.

lol

 

[wegotchickens]

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Actually, Jezebel comes when I whistle. And gets off the table before I have to yell at her about it

Callie, well.... Callie is still trying to prove humans can be trained!

 

[Morgan7782]

lol My cats come when I call them, IF food is involved. Otherwise they are deaf

My youngest cat plays fetch as well. But I doubt I could train them to A.) Not kill and B.) go from being outside cats to inside cats.

If somebody nearby is raising finches, sparrows or mice and my cat kills them, I would do what I could to keep that from happening. But.. I don't know anybody who raises animals that my cats would kill or harm, so they are outside. They kill mice, rats, and all kinds of rodents that are after my spilled feed or whatever. My cats are an asset to me, AND my neighbors because they keep the tree rat population down. I have also not known a stray cat to attack a person, but I have known many loose dogs that wouldn't think twice about attacking a stranger. It's just pretty obvious IMO the difference between cats/dogs when it comes to livestock protection.

 

[FireTigeris]

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Mine (cat) sits, speaks, and 'up' (begging position) on command for tactile reward-(petting) - we are working on 'off' (the table), 'down' (lay down) and 'paw' (shake), cats are usually better at attention as reward. I only did it to prove to DH it could be done. It went much faster then training the lab...

He was under the impression the Russian preforming cats are either a very special breed that tolerates training or really odd little dogs in costumes...

 

[Chicky Tocks]

I was drawn in by the title of this thread and had to share something that my cat did this weekend....which involved killing for apparently no good reason.
First in answer to a cat being trained, mine isn't. However, she knows what belongs to me and respects these boundaries. Such as the chickens. They're mine. She has never attempted to harm a chicken, not even a chick in the brooder. Also I have a parakeet in the house that she completely ignores. My chickens freerange and she ranges all around them. You will often find her laying on the carport twitching her tail while surrounded by chickens. When I'm tending the chickens, she's always with me, lurking somewhere close by. My chickens aren't afraid of her either.

So this past weekend I'm outside tending my chickens and Sammy, the cat, is prowling around while I tend. I catch a lot of movement in my peripheal vision and then I hear this meowpurring, which is something she does to get someone's attention...that dang cat is laying on her back and she's juggling a squirrel. Seriously. She's looking straight into my eyes and juggling a dead squirrel on the tips of her toes which are at the end of her very long legs that are sticking straight up into the air. Look at me mom, how bout that said the cat!

Ya know, I just died.

Then I felt a little sorry for the squirrel.

ETA: Sammy does indeed know one trick! She bumps fist (her head) with my DH. He can hold his fist out at any given time to her and get a bump in return.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

I have several barn cats around the farm, none have ever harmed a chicken. If they even attempt to kill a chicken they are gone, not killed but found a new home. They catch mice and birds all the time, its part of their diet. Thats why they are on a farm, to control the mice population. Its a natural thing. I would hate it if they killed something to play with, but they dont. They eat it, they feed it to their kittens etc etc.

Some people think cats killing wild animals is cruel, but why? Should set out dishes of wolf chow, and fox chow made of tortured chicken, turkey, pig (or any other domestic animal) meat?

@Morgan7782, I completely agree.