I’m at a friend’s place and the cat keeps bringing in dead (or half-dead) animals into the house. It’s my understanding that cats think we are big, helpless kittens that don’t know how to hunt. Hence, they think they are doing us a favour.
It seems like a few mice actually escaped and found refuge in some walls in the house, so these “presents” are actually more than just annoying (and smelly if the dead animal ends up behind the couch).
The cat may actually belong to the Mafia, but he’s not strong enough to bring a horses head to you.
You should watch your back regardless.
I’ll give him an offer he can’t meow at…
You come to me in my house on the day that my daughter is to puke in the clean laundry, and ask me not to do murder?
Well there are worse bodily ececrements she could do on the clean laundry…
I was gonna say “spray” but figured people would be like “why isn’t your cat fixed??”
Is your cat broken?
Two girls. Both missing their ovaries and uterus. And a boy with a suspiciously empty sac. I’m no detective, but it seems weird.
I had a cat with an incomplete neutering. I guess the vet had trouble counting.
We didn’t find out for years later, because apparently I wasn’t fondling my cat’s balls scrote as often as you were.
Play with it more often and don’t let it outside, that’s really the only way.
My friend insists on letting it out because animals aren’t supposed to be kept in captivity. And it’s not easy to play with cats if you’re gone 10 hours a day
Cats are apex predators, and your friend is subsidizing their pet far past what the local bird population can support. (Plus indoor cats live longer.)
Unless you’re on an actual working farm, household cats belong indoors.
My cat was lousy catching birds… but man, did she ever open a can of whoop-ass on the mice, rabbits and squirrels.
Since she’s been dead - the fucking squirrels managed to get into the rafters (which are finally getting closed up as I type this) and we’ve had three mouse infestation waves. The rabbits have completely wiped out the backyard garden now, 5 years running.
Time for a new cat?
Ehhhh… We thought about it, but we decided that a pet wasn’t something we could emotionally or financially afford.
We had a great run with Celia the Monster and both missed her fiercely and just didn’t ever want to put ourselves through that again.
Also, we can take off for a few days and not have to worry about food, water and the rest of it.
Let your friend know that most experts agree:
Outdoor cats are devastating to the local ecosystem, and have a significantly shorter lifespan than indoor cats.
I have. They don’t believe the science. “Cats only kill weak and sick animals”. I’ve given up on it. Can’t convince a mind that’s made up. But the cadavers are annoying the whole household, so I was hoping for some possible solution that didn’t involve getting the friend all wound up.
Take the cat. Be the Cat Protective Services the cat needs. Then find real friends who aren’t so delusional they probably shouldn’t be considered legally capable of giving consent.
Jesus christ get a grip on reality ffs.
Where is my grip on reality (not socially comfortable consensus delusion, but reality) failing?
“Abandon your friend and steal their cat.”
That’s crazy.
Put a little bell on their collar; it’ll heavily cut down on the prey they can sneak up on.
It’s not so much that they think you’re incapable of hunting. It’s moreso that they just like you and bring gifts. However, like others have said in here, cats absolutely should not be let outside and there is a ton of research that backs that up. The best solution is to educate your friend on how damaging their behavior is to the environment as well as how it puts their cat in danger as well. I know many people in the veterinary field and they all agree that cats should not be let outside unless they are on a harness.
Well the information you are being provided with is very wrong.
Here in the UK they’re still classified as wild animals and many people let them out. They also work on farms and perform vermin deterrence. But they’re mostly pets and it will be a very very rare thing for someone to use a harness.
I can walk up my street and see one or two sat outside sunning themselves or watching the world pass by and many just want petting. But not usually when I have my four legged boy with me.
Look up lifespans of indoor and outdoor cats. It’s pretty dramatic.
I live in the UK and we look after them. They live on average 15-20+yrs if they’re a good Hienz.
You don’t. A 2025 University of Edinburgh study analysed 12 previous UK veterinary investigations, revealing a stark 10-16 year lifespan gap between indoor and outdoor cats. Seventy percent keep indoor cats. Outdoor cats have an average lifespan of 2 to 5 years with indoor cats coming up at 14 to 18 years. That’s huge my dude.
Post the paper. You have made an assertion and the burden of proof is on you.
Until you do it’s just bollocks.
Do your own fuckin work. Or better, don’t have cats because you’ll cut off two thirds of their lifespan. Here’s a link to disregard while continuing to be belligerent. Numpty fucks arguing with plain facts, this fuckin place is worse than reddit.
https://www.slobberychops.com/indoor-vs-outdoor-cats-what-uk-studies-show-about-lifespan/
Ok lets break down your link. It cites a source but provides no link to the actual scientific peer reviewed articles.
That fact alone immediately consigns that website to the ‘absolute bullshit’ bin.
Like I said, you made the assertion and therefore the burden of proof lies on you to provide. It’s a simple rule that exists in all scientific and legal proceedings.
The fact you don’t understand that simple rule immediately makes me discredit you and anything further you have to say.
Cats outside are an aggressive invasive species in every continent except Africa. I love them but they need to be kept inside, and neutered/spayed. Cats do fine indoors, even ones who have gotten used to going in and out. They may complain but with enrichment and regular play they will get over it. If not, then a catio is a good solution.
The European wild cat exists. Domestic cats may have come from Africa, but cats have been native in Europe for a long time.
I think the problem with domestic cats is not the color of their passport, but the fact they are not subject to pressures limiting predators in the wild.
They have:
a) permanent shelter b) constant access to food
So while others animals are starving and being eaten, the cat just goes out there every day and kills everything it can find, and if it can’t find anything, it goes back and has a full meal, and it does this every day for most of its very long life no matter how much food is available or how cold it gets.
That’s the reason wildcats are not a problem, they have small stable populations and barely interact with humans and domestic cats.
“Modern” Wildcats have been in all of Europe for at least 300k years, so they were just another predator species among many others.
What specific wild cat are you talking about in Europe? Do you mean feral domesticated cats (which are essentially this one small African cat)? Or larger critters like bobcats?
The European wildcat - Felis silvestris.
Interestingly it seems that they avoided interbreeding with domestic cats for over 2k years.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2023-11-06-european-wildcats-avoided-introduced-domestic-cats-2000-years
Cats are anarcho-communist and just share food with their colony. Proving you don’t need it will not stop the cat from letting you have some. They bring home extra not just for the young, but also for pregnant mothers, the sick, the elderly, and whoever might have had a bad hunt that day. They typically eat their fill in the field first before taking one to go, too.
Also there’s the prestige of it. If your cat is a prolific hunter it will bring you back the freshest game as a way of putting on airs. Do you not see what a successful hunter this cat is?
Cats are anarcho-communist
I knew that cats doing this were bringing back excess food for the colony (in their point of view, anyway) but this is the funniest way I have ever seen someone put it and I’m stealing it.
