Free Diseased (not disease-free) Geckos

[GPulchra]

Well, I always see geckos and other strange creatures popping up in my backyard with their tails chopped off. There's not much to say. Cats are great for finding lizards. In fact, one time I even saw an armadillo (just...don't ask about the tail).

 

[Offkillter]

 

[pitbulllady]

Yeah, my reaction exactly. What has this got to do with "diseased geckos", "free" or otherwise? I believe that most Kindergarten kids know that many small lizards shed their tails when attacked by a predator, though again, not sure how the armadillo figures in here. And, what would be so strange about these animals showing up in your yard, unless you lived some place that had no lizards...or armadillos? Where does the part about "diseased" and "free" come in?

Yeah, cats ARE great for finding...and KILLING/MAIMING...lizards, birds, rabbits, snakes, frogs, more birds, native mice and rats(including many that are Endangered), insects, salamanders, etc., etc. They are also really great at spreading deadly viral diseases like Feline Infectious Peritonitis and Feline AIDS to our native wild cats, for leaving dirty tracks all over cars, for spraying foul-smelling urine all over everything, for leaving cat feces in sandboxes where children play, for knocking over garbage cans, and for accounting for well over half of the shelter animal killings in the US. Coyotes, Horned owls, Red-Tailed hawks, alligators and bobcats, fortunately, are great at finding free-ranging cats. Bottom line, if you have cats, keep them INDOORS! Maybe there won't be quite so many tailless or "diseased" Geckos(still trying to figure out the connection there)popping up in your yard.

pitbulllady

 

[pwilson5]

i think he meant deceased (as in dead)

 

[pitbulllady]

Who knows? That's what happens when people let their &^%$ cats run loose outside! Other than to make a good point about either keeping cats indoors, or mandatory spay/neuter of stupid cat owners who don't give a &^%$ about what their cats do to wildlife, I still can't figure out the point of the OP.

pitbulllady

 

[malevolentrobot]

Who knows? That's what happens when people let their &^%$ cats run loose outside! Other than to make a good point about either keeping cats indoors, or mandatory spay/neuter of stupid cat owners who don't give a &^%$ about what their cats do to wildlife, I still can't figure out the point of the OP.

pitbulllady

ugh, i so agree. why do people do this? so many things can happen to your cat outside, its not worth it just to let them run around!

as to everything else, what is this i dont even i think applies... :? :wall:

 

[Dyn]

Who knows? That's what happens when people let their &^%$ cats run loose outside! Other than to make a good point about either keeping cats indoors, or mandatory spay/neuter of stupid cat owners who don't give a &^%$ about what their cats do to wildlife, I still can't figure out the point of the OP.

pitbulllady

Thats why they should ban pythons... they are destorying ecosystems and killing indigenous wildlife :?

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

Thats why they should ban pythons... they are destorying ecosystems and killing indigenous wildlife :?

So we should ban the domestic house cat too? That is going to go over well.

 

[Terry D]

Who knows? That's what happens when people let their &^%$ cats run loose outside! Other than to make a good point about either keeping cats indoors, or mandatory spay/neuter of stupid cat owners who don't give a &^%$ about what their cats do to wildlife, I still can't figure out the point of the OP.

pitbulllady

Pitbulllady, + 9 jillion in being against the destruction caused by feral cats! I've seen firsthand on numerous occasions the damage that they do. . As for the op and this thread-

Terry

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

Pitbulllady, + 9 jillion in being against the destruction caused by feral cats! I've seen firsthand on numerous occasions the damage that they do. . As for the op and this thread-

Terry

Amen. But the American people aren't going to give up their kitties. I have mine on my lap right now, but she NEVER goes outside.

 

[Terry D]

To clarify a little better- I think it is moreso well-fed housecats that are allowed to roam free indiscriminately on a constant basis. Ferals pretty much do it for a living. Sure, bells on collars, etc. don't work for long but one can at least try changing them up, adding more, or at the very least make sure they are neutered or spayed- or keep them inside.

Terry

 

[Terry D]

Amen. But the American people aren't going to give up their kitties. I have mine on my lap right now, but she NEVER goes outside.

AudreyElizabeth, Kudos to you!! :clap::clap::clap::clap:

Terry

edit- I really like cats, too!

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

AudreyElizabeth, Kudos to you!! :clap::clap::clap::clap:

Terry

edit- I really like cats, too!

I do too, in small doses (like own one at a time lol). Cats are by nature indiscriminate killers, for sport or food. As you said, a well fed cat will more than likely kill for sport. A feral cat will save it's energy for sustenance.
Crap, my little kitty would probably kill me if I was small enough, just for the heck of it.

 

[GPulchra]

Wow, this topic has gone far O_O. Anyways, I just wanted to make a post about this. The animals aren't shedding their tails. The point of this is that I keep finding lizards in my backyard that are frightened like heck and I always see my cats bite off their tails, which is very freaky. But it's not just geckos.

 

[pitbulllady]

So we should ban the domestic house cat too? That is going to go over well.

No, but I'm all for a "leash law" for cats, like most places have for dogs. In most cities, towns, counties, etc., it's illegal to let dogs roam free, and part of that is due to dogs' propensity to kill things that they shouldn't, to form packs, and make nuisances of themselves. Cats are WAY worse than dogs, though, when it comes to predation on native species. Cats were long left out of the "loop" because they weren't even regarded by many laws as being domesticated pets at all, for many decades, and weren't considered to have any value whatsoever. Times have changed, though, and if people really DO value pet cats, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to let them roam free, unattended, outdoors. We don't let our pet pythons run loose(in spite of what HSUS and the media wants everyone to believe), most of us who have dogs are responsible and keep our dogs on our property, under control, as well. We do not allow our tarantulas, scorpions, parrots, etc. roam free outdoors, especially where they aren't native, so why should cats be any different? They are either going to be domesticated house pets, or wild animal non-native pests, you can't have it both ways.

And BurntSnow, it's NOT "freaky" that your free-ranging cats mutilate small animals; that's NORMAL cat behavior! It's what cats do-they kill and maim other animals for the pure pleasure of doing so, not because they are hungry, but because they just love to kill things. What do you expect if you let your cat run loose? They bite off the lizards' tails because the tails are designed to draw a predator's attention away from the lizards' heads, since they can't regrow a head, but you can be sure that the cats DO in fact, kill many of the lizards and leave them where you won't see them, and quite often, they will just bite through the torso and leave the mortally wounded animal to suffer and die. You don't have a problem with this? It doesn't bother you that there are all these little lizards in your yard that are "frightened like heck" because they've been attacked by this non-native predator that maims for sport? It would sure as heck bother ME, which is why MY cats live indoors, no exceptions. All my other pets are confined, so are the cats. I don't worry about anything happening to THEM, either, like getting hit by cars, or attacked by bigger and badder predators, or shot at by people who hate cats leaving paw prints all over their cars or mutilating the birds that come to the bird feeder, or who just hate cats, period.

pitbulllady

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

That was quite tongue-in-cheek. I was pointing out the similarities between banning our beloved "normal" pets to banning the less loved (by the majority). I know the havoc my cat can wreak, therefore, she stays within my house , under my supervision. Just as the pythons and boas do.

 

[Dyn]

So we should ban the domestic house cat too? That is going to go over well.

I dont think they should try to ban pythons or boas because of a stupid reason like that when cats and dogs do FAAAAAAAR more damage to the local environments over a MUCH larger range then the pythons in south Florida.