What if all the cats in the world suddenly died?
And that’s just why we’d miss them. By killing mice and rats in barns and grain storage areas, cats are vital for keeping those pests in check. In India, Beck said, cats are believed to play a significant role in lessening the amount of grain loss caused by consumption or contamination by rodents. In other words, it may be true that humans feed cats, but without cats, humans would have less food in the first place.
So, how dramatically would the rodent population increase if cats suddenly vanished? It just so happens that several scientific studies have been conducted that paint a vivid picture. A 1997 study in Great Britain found that the average house cat brought home more than 11 dead animals (including mice, birds, frogs and more) in the course of six months. That meant the 9 million cats of Britain were collectively killing close to 200 million wild specimens per year — not including all those they did not offer up to their owners. A study in New Zealand in 1979 found that, when cats were nearly eradicated from a small island, the local rat population quickly quadrupled.
And if the rodent population shot up, this would of course trigger a cascade of other ecological effects.
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It would be a cat-astrophe?
…aaaaaaand, I’m out.
Left Coast Right Mind on February 8, 2012 at 1:56 AM
I would be heart broken. I have 4, they love me unconditionally and add something to my life. Add the stray outside. 5. And yes, they keep my house critter free. Many a lizard has died here.
bazil9 on February 8, 2012 at 2:28 AM
This should be the next debate question.
Random on February 8, 2012 at 3:26 AM
Stinging comment, but so often the dead truth. I’ve met too many people in my life (mostly men, for some reason) who have irrational HATE for cats. (Had a stepfather who claimed to “love animals” but had no problem joking about killing cats, as if cats were unlovable demons.)
Like you said, cats do not submit to masters. To know the love of a cat, you must charm them; seduce them into your favor and then maintain that favor by exhibiting loyal attentiveness and love. That is what turns a “cat” into your devoted “kitty.” Once you connect, you share a sacred bond. My kitty is so attuned to me that I can softly sigh and he comes to comfort me with a rubbing caress. And there have been sad times where I’ve cried and his presence, kneading my shoulder and purring to console me, was what lifted me from my blues.
So yeah, cats are important to the ecosystem, as the article concludes, but they’re also lovely little friends as well.
EarthToZoey on February 8, 2012 at 3:44 AM
I’m not a big pet person, but I once found a calico kitten on my front porch in the dead of winter. It was below zero outside, and someone had obviously abandoned her. I took that kitten into the house, and she was my loyal friend for thirteen years. I figure fate brought that cat my way, and I never replaced her once she waas gone. I still miss her sometimes.
DRayRaven on February 8, 2012 at 6:52 AM
Fear not. If all the cats suddenly died (a terrible thought), you could still keep your house lizard free with a dog. My little pooch is quite adept at catching them — along with prairie dogs, quail, and an occasional mouse.
AZCoyote on February 8, 2012 at 6:55 AM
“First they came for the rodents,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a rat…”
Shy Guy on February 8, 2012 at 7:27 AM
Cats kill tens of millions of song birds each year.
Cats should be kept on a leash like dogs. (Our neighbor has 3 cats, when they go outside she has a leash system set up so they cannot leave her back yard.)
Cats should not be allowed to roam free outside the house.
Feral cats (those millions of former house cats that live in the wild) should be exterminated.
albill on February 8, 2012 at 7:30 AM
I’ve heard people say this before … but I don’t remember any one coming out to say we have a shortage of song birds… so if suddenly cat’s weren’t killing song birds… what would that do to the song bird population… since it would suddenly explode. Would they have enough food. Enough nesting space… would they become a nuisance and exterminated?
Achele175 on February 8, 2012 at 8:16 AM
Domesticating the cat is what made agriculture (and thus civilization) possible…
Cats though will be the last animal ever to go extinct, what with their adaptability, survival skills, intelligence, and breeding rate. Cats breed even faster than muslims do.
wildcat72 on February 8, 2012 at 8:23 AM
An animal that flies that is stupid enough to get caught by an animal that can’t needs to die to improve the breed.
Yeah, I’ve seen it happen many times, but I still can’t understand how a cat EVER catches a bird!
Not all of them do it though, it takes a LOT of patience. One cat I had, a Birman female specialized in bird killing. She’d lie in wait for HOURS and would leap about 6′ into the air to grab them.
wildcat72 on February 8, 2012 at 8:51 AM
LOL… I agree
Achele175 on February 8, 2012 at 8:59 AM
What that means is that your cat owns you.
GWB on February 8, 2012 at 9:23 AM
The last mammal, perhaps, but definitely not the last animal. That honor belongs to the cockroach.
GWB on February 8, 2012 at 9:24 AM
Pretty much. But it is a benevolent dictatorship. And they purr.
Actually you get more than you have to give with cats. They just won’t be dictated to. It doesn’t take a whole lot to win their loyalty though, just remember they regard you as their equal, NOT their master.
wildcat72 on February 8, 2012 at 9:28 AM
This is true. The feline, however, is the apex predator amongst advanced land animals. In every single food chain on land some form of feline sits at the top as the dominant predator.
In settled areas, it’s the housecat. Just outside there, is the smaller wildcat breeds like the bobcat. In the true wild, it’s the lion or tiger…
wildcat72 on February 8, 2012 at 9:31 AM
Well, the dogs would grow bored without something to chase.
Ward Cleaver on February 8, 2012 at 9:40 AM
Dogs have masters.
Cats have staff.
J.E. Dyer on February 8, 2012 at 2:03 PM
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