Cats are present in 99.9% of all land in Australia and kill about two billion other animals a year. That makes them Australia's most invasive species.
  • Taleya@aussie.zoneEnglish
    1087·
    1 year ago

    Good.

    Australian with three cats here - they’re all indoor and happy about it because i’m not a shitarse pet owner. An outdoor cat in Australia is ecological genocide

    • Thorny_ThicketEnglish
      1411·
      1 year ago

      From the cats perspective I think it’s quite uncontroversial to say they’d be happier roaming free.

      EDIT: I’d really love to hear the argument for why a cat actually prefers to live its enitire life indoors, despite this being something we’ve only done to them for the past few decades or so.

      • plant_based_monero@lemm.eeEnglish
        61·
        1 year ago

        I mean even if they would rather be outside, they live longer inside, they are healthier and they would have better deads

      • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
        62·
        1 year ago

        We’ve selected for traits that make some of them only really suitable at being indoor companions or mouse hunters.

        Hairless cats for just one instance.

        These aren’t wild animals.

        • Thorny_ThicketEnglish
          56·
          1 year ago

          Okay, sure, but that doesn’t apply to the vast majority of cats. Your average house cat is much more a wild animal than a dog for example and it’s quite ridiculous to think they’d prefer being indoors.

      • Taleya@aussie.zoneEnglish
        31·
        1 year ago

        I could literally leave my back door wide open and Cerys would not step foot out it. She hates the outdoors. Punkin’s stuck his nose out a few times, but it holds no real interest for him and Misha - who was an abandoned cat that literally decided to move in with us and has lived an extensive part of her life as an in-out cat could not give a shit about going outside.

        Needs are met - food, safety, security and entertainment - they’re very happy.

        But all of that is downright irrelevant. We are talking about an introduced species that wreaks unimaginable ecological damage if left to its own devices. Why the almighty fuck would a cat’s fee-fees override that? Not to mention the cat safety issues. I mean i’m sure punkin would be ‘happier’ with his balls intact merrily raping and impregnating his sister and mother but that shit ain’t happening either.