Protect the ecology丨These issues regarding stray cats must be taken seriously!

In fact, stray cats not only cause physical harm to people and spread pathogens including rabies, but also come with many problems. The following are some of the views of an overseas article that can be used as a reference:

1. Feral cats are ecological serial killers

A 2013 study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute found that free-ranging domestic cats, most of which are ownerless , are the greatest threat posed by humans to wildlife.

2. Scientists call cats “overpopulation killers”

****Scientists from the University of Georgia and the National Geographic Society installed cameras on 55 outdoor cats and recorded their activities for 7 to 10 days. They found that one-third of the cats hunted twice a week on average, and nearly half of the prey of these cats was not eaten - which led to the breeding of rats . In addition, feeding stray cats food can also lead to the breeding of rats and insects.

3. Outdoor cats kill between 1.4 billion and 3.7 billion birds each year

Scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute determined that feral cats kill more wildlife than other human threats, including poisoning and collisions with vehicles and buildings, although another U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fact sheet also lists habitat loss as a major cause of songbird declines.

4. Outdoor cats kill at least 6.9 billion mammals each year, most of which are not mice

One study of wild cat kills on the islands found that rabbits made up 73 percent of their prey , followed by mice and birds. Rats did not appear on either list.

5. Where did the idea of ​​cats being mouse killers come from?

This is industry information from the 1800s. However, the practice of bringing cats on board ships led to the spread of cats to shipping ports, where they destroyed local biodiversity as an invasive species. As for how effective these cats were at controlling rats on these ships? Science has helped reveal many facts since the 1800s, and being good at keeping rats out of your food is not one of them.

6. Jack Russell Terriers May Be Better at Killing Rats

In 1862, a 13-pound bull terrier named Jack killed 100 mice in just 5 minutes and 28 seconds, setting a rat extermination record. 7. Feral cats eliminate the main consumers of mosquitoes and other pests . Feral cats kill birds, reptiles, and amphibians that feed on insects, leading to a high incidence of vector-borne diseases. A study published in the journal Wildlife Research in June 2018 calculated that in Australia, feral cats and domestic outdoor cats kill 649 million reptiles each year, and the remains of 40 reptiles were found in the stomach of one outdoor cat .

8. Cats are the largest carriers of rabies in U.S. livestock

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists cats as the top source of rabies risk to humans in the U.S., while dogs are the top source of rabies infection worldwide. A 2012 review paper in the journal Zoonoses and Public Health tracked trends since the turn of the century and found that cats spread rabies at twice the rate of dogs .

9. Cats spread toxoplasmosis

According to the American Bird Conservancy, three-quarters of outdoor cats carry Toxoplasma gondii, which is transmitted to warm-blooded hosts, including humans, through contact with cat feces or ingestion of undercooked meat. Toxoplasmosis, the infection caused by it, has been linked to deafness, epilepsy, schizophrenia and other conditions. In the United States, 1.26 million people have lesions in their eyes thought to be caused by toxoplasmosis.

10. Parasites in cat feces stay in the soil for a long time

Parasite oocysts are infectious pathogens excreted in cat feces that are difficult to kill and can survive for years in soil in warm climates such as New Orleans, where the study estimated that 1.2 million tons of cat feces are deposited in the environment each year. Of course, other claims include "living with cats in childhood increases the risk of schizophrenia" (Yolken, RH et al. "Toxoplasma and schizophrenia." Parasite immunology vol. 31,11 (2009): 706-15. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3024.2009.01131.x) and affecting responsiveness (Stock, Ann-Kathrin et al. "Humans with latent toxoplasmosis display altered reward modulation of cognitive control." Scientific reports vol. 7,1 10170. 31 Aug. 2017, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10926-6), but because the research itself has major limitations, we will not share them here. You can click to read the original text to view it. To be honest, under this topic, there has been a lot of outpouring of opinions that the injured should compensate the stray cats that were fed, and it has even become a hot topic. I think this kind of leading direction is more terrifying than the stray cats themselves.

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=丸= Disclaimer: This article was created out of personal interest, only to allow more ordinary people to have a clearer understanding of vaccines. The content and views do not represent any organization, unit, or institution, and have not accepted any form of sponsorship. All pictures are from public online platforms. If the content is incorrect, everyone should do more self-criticism (not).