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Cats terrible for catching rats
https://www.wired.com/story/rats-vs-cats/ IN THE SUMMER of 2017, Michael Parsons found the urban rat haven of his dreams: A Waste Management transfer station—aka a literal trash heap, aka rat paradise—in Brooklyn, New York. For nearly two years, the behavioral ecologist and visiting scholar at Fordham University had been searching for a place to observe the city-dwelling rodents in their natural habitat. Trouble was, he needed to not only capture the critters and tag them, but then to set them free. ... .... But a few months into their investigation, they discovered with horror that five feral cats had infiltrated the waste treatment facility and begun patrolling the entrances to the rats' burrows. At first, Parsons and his colleagues assumed that the felines posed a mortal threat to their subjects. Then it hit them: They actually had no idea how the rats would respond. Few studies have documented interactions between feral cats and a wild rats. To a behaviorist like Parsons, the cats' surprise arrival presented an irresistible opportunity. They decided to let nature take its course. Their observations, which the researchers recount in the latest issue of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, revealed the cats to be miserable predators of rats ... .... |
#2
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Cats terrible for catching rats
On Thu, 27 Sep 2018 21:25:18 -0600, Tigger
wrote: Their observations, which the researchers recount in the latest issue of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, revealed the cats to be miserable predators of rats ... ... NOT my experience. I had rats at a place I lived many years ago. ALSO had 2 (bonded) male cats, who QUICKLY learned to team up and dispatch the rats. |
#3
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Cats terrible for catching rats
On 9/28/2018 12:44 AM, Jes Me wrote:
On Thu, 27 Sep 2018 21:25:18 -0600, Tigger wrote: Their observations, which the researchers recount in the latest issue of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, revealed the cats to be miserable predators of rats ... ... NOT my experience. I had rats at a place I lived many years ago. ALSO had 2 (bonded) male cats, who QUICKLY learned to team up and dispatch the rats. When I had indoor/outdoor cats, I had a couple who were hunters, and they also caught and killed rats. |
#4
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Cats terrible for catching rats
On Thursday, September 27, 2018 at 11:25:20 PM UTC-4, Tigger wrote:
https://www.wired.com/story/rats-vs-cats/ IN THE SUMMER of 2017, Michael Parsons found the urban rat haven of his dreams: A Waste Management transfer station—aka a literal trash heap, aka rat paradise—in Brooklyn, New York. For nearly two years, the behavioral ecologist and visiting scholar at Fordham University had been searching for a place to observe the city-dwelling rodents in their natural habitat.. Trouble was, he needed to not only capture the critters and tag them, but then to set them free. ... ... But a few months into their investigation, they discovered with horror that five feral cats had infiltrated the waste treatment facility and begun patrolling the entrances to the rats' burrows. At first, Parsons and his colleagues assumed that the felines posed a mortal threat to their subjects. Then it hit them: They actually had no idea how the rats would respond. Few studies have documented interactions between feral cats and a wild rats. To a behaviorist like Parsons, the cats' surprise arrival presented an irresistible opportunity. They decided to let nature take its course. Their observations, which the researchers recount in the latest issue of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, revealed the cats to be miserable predators of rats ... ... I think it depends on the cat. Cali was an excellent mouser and would form hunting parties with her two students, Smokey and Cleo. Although Cleo came from outside, so I don't think she needed much training. One day a squirrel got in the house, so I went to get Cali for help, but she said, Yep that's a Squirrel, good luck with your new pet. She then went to bed. :-) When I was young we had an old Tomcat, Tom who had been caught in a leg-hold trap, so his leg was a little messed up. He was a real character, he would eat lettuce and loved to nip my mother for attention. He was a true outdoor cat and had a bad habit of killing the neighbor's chickens. So I don't think a rat would phase him. |
#5
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Cats terrible for catching rats
On 9/28/2018 1:05 PM, Bill Stock wrote:
On Thursday, September 27, 2018 at 11:25:20 PM UTC-4, Tigger wrote: https://www.wired.com/story/rats-vs-cats/ IN THE SUMMER of 2017, Michael Parsons found the urban rat haven of his dreams: A Waste Management transfer station—aka a literal trash heap, aka rat paradise—in Brooklyn, New York. For nearly two years, the behavioral ecologist and visiting scholar at Fordham University had been searching for a place to observe the city-dwelling rodents in their natural habitat. Trouble was, he needed to not only capture the critters and tag them, but then to set them free. ... ... But a few months into their investigation, they discovered with horror that five feral cats had infiltrated the waste treatment facility and begun patrolling the entrances to the rats' burrows. At first, Parsons and his colleagues assumed that the felines posed a mortal threat to their subjects. Then it hit them: They actually had no idea how the rats would respond. Few studies have documented interactions between feral cats and a wild rats. To a behaviorist like Parsons, the cats' surprise arrival presented an irresistible opportunity. They decided to let nature take its course. Their observations, which the researchers recount in the latest issue of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, revealed the cats to be miserable predators of rats ... ... I think it depends on the cat. Cali was an excellent mouser and would form hunting parties with her two students, Smokey and Cleo. Although Cleo came from outside, so I don't think she needed much training. One day a squirrel got in the house, so I went to get Cali for help, but she said, Yep that's a Squirrel, good luck with your new pet. She then went to bed. :-) When I was young we had an old Tomcat, Tom who had been caught in a leg-hold trap, so his leg was a little messed up. He was a real character, he would eat lettuce and loved to nip my mother for attention. He was a true outdoor cat and had a bad habit of killing the neighbor's chickens. So I don't think a rat would phase him. As you say, cats are individuals. It is very unwise to make blanket statements about what cats do or don't like or will or will not do. |
#6
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Cats terrible for catching rats
My mom's old cat, Smokey, came up from our barn one day, dragging a rat as big as she was. (She weighed about 8 lbs.) She was so proud of it, chirping and trilling, saying "See what I have done!" We were quite amazed at the size of the thing! She was a VERY good hunter!
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#7
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Cats terrible for catching rats
On 28/09/2018 18:21, joy wrote:
On 9/28/2018 12:44 AM, Jes Me wrote: On Thu, 27 Sep 2018 21:25:18 -0600, Tigger wrote: Their observations, which the researchers recount in the latest issue of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, revealed the cats to be miserable predators of rats ... ... NOT my experience. I had rats at a place I lived many years ago. ALSO had 2 (bonded) male cats, who QUICKLY learned to team up and dispatch the rats. When I had indoor/outdoor cats, I had a couple who were hunters, and they also caught and killed rats. Boyfie was very good at catching young rats. His best was 5 presented to me in one evening. He said no way to the huge ones with big chisel teeth. I had to get the terriers in for those. |
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