• wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
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    5 months ago

    Im a professional ecologist. I have to listen to one of my colleagues rant about this topic on a nearly weekly basis, because its the focus of her grant work.

    There are multiple groups of actual researchers in nearly every institute of biological study on the planet dedicated to spreading local awareness about wild cats.

    There are multiple websites entirely dedicated to trying to inform people that the small apex predator from a far off desert doesnt actually belong wandering the wilds of your neighborhood.

    There are a few actual native species of wild felines currently threatened due to feral domestic cats, that are having trouble becoming stable again because of folk like you.

    The kind of person who doesnt really grok that owned cats are where feral cats come from, because your cat is fucking left and right in the bushes.

    The kind of person who thinks their cat can win a fight with a car, or coyote, or wolf, or fox, or badger, or weasel, or any other predator in the wild that youre gleefully feeding it to.

    The kind of person who is to blame for multiple feline diseases spreading and festering in local populations because you let your cat go pick them up from the source and spread them about willy nilly.

    The kind of person who failed to pay attention in grade school science.

    But please. Go on, tell me how the majority of science is a pop article about cat litter, flunkie.

      • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
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        5 months ago

        I mean… I know Im not lying, and my comments are repeating the current standard. So either you retired 4 decades ago, or youre about as successful an ecologist as you are a conversationalist.

        Letting your cat outdoors means its interacting with wild populations. That makes it succeptable to the same problems. An ecologist would know this.

        A responsible pet owner doesnt let their pets roam outdoors, so thats a confirmed lie. But at least its not breeding, yes.

        Wildcats are often refered to as apex predators in their native environments, because they dont live near all those predators. But piddling over the exact definition of apex doesnt really stop your cat becoming a coyote meal.

        This basic concept is a grade school science lesson. If you dont know algebra, why would I assume you took calculus classes?

        Some of us, sure. I dont think youre part of that collective group though.

        For starters, Ive never met an ecologist who wants to feed their pets to the local wildlife, or who completely ignores the massive issue of feline disease spreading.

        E: I just noticed your edit, on apex predation. Do you genuinely think that cats cannot be an ecological threat to small mammal, reptile, and amphibian populations just because they can be eaten by larger locals? By that logic, you are counting on your pet getting eaten. Thats… Thats insanely fucked up.

        • Pandantic@midwest.social
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          5 months ago

          By that logic, you are counting on your pet getting eaten. Thats… Thats insanely fucked up.

          And something an actual ecologist would have thought of, as you are essentially considering your pet cat as part of the food web, a high school level ecological concept.

        • Lizardking27@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          “Never met an ecologist who wants to feed their pets to the local wildlife.”

          “A responsible pet owner doesnt let their pets roam outdoors.”

          Dude. You’re clearly not an ecologist, just some loudmouth repeating sensationalist, unfounded, unresearched pseudoscience. Just stop.

          • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
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            5 months ago

            You cited a decade old research paper with funding conflicts.

            But my awareness of cat risk makes me not an ecologist?

            Lol, ok. Your cat is likely riddled with parasites and other diseases, and might vanish one night in a smear of red alongside the road to die a slow, painful, lonely death.

            But you keep spreading your lies. Im sure the slow, painful, lonely deaths of other peopled beloved pets makes it worth it to you.

      • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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        5 months ago

        You can put anything you like in quotes, it’s not cited. As a “professional ecologist” you’d habitually cite your sources

      • Alteon@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        If you don’t think outdoor cats, not just feral cats, are destroying the ecosystem, then you’re not only an ignorant ecologist, but a fucking dangerous one. God only knows what other goody-ass looney tunes theories you have. Not only are you misinformed, but you go so far as to defend and spread that misinformation. Jfc.

      • Pandantic@midwest.social
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        5 months ago

        Well some us have actual educations, with degrees and everything.

        The argument is based on hearsay, personal experience, and this flimsy excuse for authority.

        Troll, or insane person?

      • trolske@feddit.de
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        5 months ago

        As a “professional ecologist” you should be aware of the concept of “landscape of fear”.
        Non-consumptive effects have an equally strong (some argue an even stronger) effect on prey populations compared to consumptive effects.
        Letting domesticated cats roam freely creates an unnaturally high predation pressure in the area and has more effects on the local wildlife than just killing it.