The Great Cat Fight of 2012

Last week a town about twenty minutes away from Arlington voted on whether or not cats should be leashed outdoors. It was a topic which the people of Arlington could not resist discussing until every list reader wanted to gouge out their own eyes with toxoplasmosis infected cat claws. 

"One lister took the historical/cultural approach."

"Domestication of feral cats first occurred several thousand years ago in Mesopotamia, following the invention of agriculture and the storage of grain. Humans and cats made a deal: Cats would keep the granaries rodent-free, thereby preserving grain for people. In return, they got to stay around and eat the rodents, likewise anything else they could get their paws on, and we humans promised not to eat them. And for nearly ten millenia, we have preserved this detente, this symbiotic relationship, *without* have to debate cats in a town meeting. Until now."

 Of course not everyone agreed with this understanding of cats.

"A feral cat is generally considered to be a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. So cats were not feral prior to domestication.

Also, we didn't have to debate lots of things until very recently in our history: water fluoridation, women's rights, gun control, vaccines (including those for domesticated animals), seat belts, smoking, use of x-rays, and so on. Things change, and they change very quickly now. I'm not sure why the relationship between cats and humans should be exempt from any consideration of change."

Then there was a big heap of joyless lecturing with a side dish of "We're all going to die".

"Coming in late this conversation, so I don't know what's been said
before....the domestication of cats on a wide scale first occurred in
Africa. However, cat are an invasive species here in North America, and
like invasive species, they wreak havoc on indigenous species, in this case
songbirds. As for bells, there are conflicting studies, some show that cats
wearing bells killed less birds (though not by a large ratio), whereas some
studies showed cats wearing bells actually killed MORE birds (
http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/materials/predation.pdf).
Either way, wearing bells doesn't offer any real solution to the problem.
And it is a problem.  Cats also carry and spread toxiplasmosa in their
feces, which is highly toxic to many wild species here in New England,
including the river otter (oh yeah, and young children), which is much more
prevalent in outdoor cats than indoor ones.  And one of the number one
reasons people ask to have coyotes killed is because it predates their
cats. So, I think it's a good idea to have an ordinance to collar and keep
cats indoor or at least leashed/fenced if outside.

I have worked in the field of wildlife conservation for about 7 years now
and there is no way around it: cats decimate songbird populations. In
relation to climate change, Concord is a place that is known for prime
songbird habitat. Thoreau recorded the habits in terms of breeding,
nesting, and migration of songbirds at Walden, which gives bird biologists
a blueprint for seeing how changes in climate are impacting birds today.
However, increasing cat predation rates on birds skew these numbers. Cats
are domesticated animals, not wild ones, and should not be allowed to roam
free and compete with wild animals as though they are wild...and it is
human hubris to show utter disregard for the impact our actions have on
nature in letting cats outside. Should we also allow our dogs to just go
out unleashed and unsupervised? Our farm animals? No one seems to have a
problem with ordinances to leash or fence all of our other domestic
animals, but suggest it for a cat and people get testy and ignore all of
the science and couldn't seem to care less about any of the other animals
it harms (including the cats themselves, which often succumb to car
collisions, predation by wild animals or dogs, or diseases contracted by
being outside). And I say all of this as someone who has three cats, and
does a lot of volunteer work in animal rescue."
NAME REDACTED

This lister admirably tried to diffuse the situation with some humor!

"Yes, cats are from Africa.

So are humans.  (We are the ultimate Invasive Species.  Only cockroaches are more successful...)

And songbirds fly all over the place - eating worms, among other things.  But -

Guess what! 

EARTHWORMS are an invasive species!
http://www.allaboutwildlife.com/invasive-species/invasive-eartworms-in-american-soil/4545

NAME REDACTED
(who just let her cat out to hang out in the swamp)"


This was followed by more joylessness and some "It's all your fault that we are all going to die."

Hey NAME REDACTED,

And did you scroll down to the link you provided about earthworms that
spoke about the ecological harm they do cause in certain areas in the US?
Did you even read all of the link that you posted here to contest my point?
Would you now also like this opportunity to brag about some other thing you
do that harms the environment just because you can? Perhaps how many
disposable plastic items you blew threw today, or maybe you idled your car
for 10 minutes just for fun?

We can engage in real dialogue or you can quip and make jokes and just
ignore the facts/science and make snide comments (which is often just a
signal that the person is uneducated and defensive about the issue and
doesn't like at all for something they do to be challenged, no matter who
or what else is harmed by their choices)...MassAudubon and the American
Bird Conservatory and even the Humane Society of the United States and
countless universities and institutions have done prolific research on this
issue and have concluded time and again that cats cause significant
ecological damage (and that outdoor cats have substantially increased
incidences of disease and premature death)...but hey, you Googled a generic
link (which seems geared more for grade school age) that was off point and
went down the slippery slope...

Ever hear of the Tragedy of the Commons?"
NAME REDACTED

Finally we had this query.


"Here's a question I probably shouldn't ask but will: What is the difference between a neighbor's cat pooping in your yard versus a neighbors toddler pooping in your yard?

Both contain potentially dangerous pathogens/bacteria, both are the responsibility of someone else, both are icky. "

NAME REDACTED





Be grateful I left out the bits about people eating cats and cats who carry water bottles.