Is this the face of a killer?
This post is probably not going to appeal to cat owners the world over. We apologise in advance – but let’s look at the facts. When he’s not sitting in your lap being the purring, fluffy companion you’ve devoted your life to serving, your beloved pet is probably out on a murderous rampage. According to this infographic by New Zealand economist Gareth Morgan, the country’s average cat brings home 13 prey items each year … and that number represents only a fraction of the actual body count since our feline friends don’t bother to haul all of their kills back home. And because their killing is pretty indiscriminate, they’re as happy to dispatch a rat as, say, an endangered kiwi (here in South Africa, pet cats have been linked to the decline of rare dwarf chameleons). This is not the first time your cat’s murderous ways have been exposed (the Oatmeal did it a while back with this grim-but-funny infocomic), but Morgan does enter potentially thorny territory by calling for a cat-free New Zealand in order to protect native wildlife. So – your thoughts? Is fitting your cat with a bell enough? Or will your next pet be a goldfish?
Learn more about the damage cats do to our wildlife in New Zealand at http://catstogo.org.nz
Black cat image via @Doug88888, Creative Commons
Wildlife for the Web.
