I thought the natural inclination of a cat was to hunt rodents that feed on stored grain.
“Natural inclination”? Heh. There are three barn cats at the farm where I board my horse, all of whom came from non-barn circumstances and thus were not educated by their mothers on how to hunt. All three are fed cat food, since even ratters need that kind of steady food supply.
Two of them, best buddies, are stone cold killers of any rodential life form within their barn-centered territory, and I see the grisly evidence every day, as they commonly kill but do not eat (much). The third just lazes about enjoying her life and avoiding the killers, who will beat her up if they can corner her.
People don’t hold cats prisoner; cats decided to move in with us because they realized it was to their advantage.
When the ancient Egyptians started growing and storing lots of grain, they attracted all the neighborhood rodents. African desert cats who were comfortable living around people had an abundant supply of plump, grain-fed mice. These well-fed cats had kittens and evolved into the lovable furballs of today.
Bingo. Any ailurophile will tell you the truth, which is that cats are our masters, not the other way around. 
Eat mice? Luci just discovered tonight that she likes onions. (No, I did NOT let her eat them! I was having a hot dog for dinner, and she started sniffing them, and was ABOUT to eat one, when I grabbed her away. She also likes bananas.)
[quote=“EddyTeddyFreddy, post:40, topic:505727”]
Napier: […] I will note in partial defense of pet stores that some will host adoption promotions by local rescues/shelters.
[QUOTE]
Oh, yes, I must amend my last comment to say that it is unethical to buy cats from stores that get theirs from kitten mills, not the least because it probably causes the mills to spit out slightly more than 1 kitten in response (on margin).
But, pet stores that host cats from local shelters or otherwise distribute cats that are rescues are doing a great service, and it is a fine thing to purchase or accept these cats. In abundance. Absolutely, get cats from such stores, and lots of supplies while you are there.
Thanks for pointing this out - I should have thought of it! The PetSmart near us does this and they deserve good patronage as a consequence.
Hmmm. "What You See Is What YouETAOINSHRDLU ETAOINSHRDLU ETAOINSHRDLU ETAOINSHRDLU ETAOINSHRDLU ETAOINSHRDLU ETAOINSHRDLU ETAOINSHRDLU
or something like that…
I was given a finch once. This bird was worth 89 cents. Less, because he had one eye. He lived in that cage for about 10 years. I felt bad for him, although he lived much longer than a wild bird would. If I were in his place, I would choose to die young and be free without doubt. I will never keep another bird, it’s just wrong. His cage was in a window and he watched the other birds outside. He knew the score.
I love my cats. That’s why they are free to do as they please… They have a garden, sleep in the flowerpots and go wherever they desire. We live by a busy road, but they are intelligent and avoid it. If the trade off for freedom is a shorter life, that’s OK (they get the best of care). Longevity without quality of life is meaningless. But that’s just me.
100 years as a chicken? 10 years as a tiger? I pick tiger.
Cats don’t necessarily need to go outside to have quality of life. And letting your cats outside; especially without an alternative shelter or a means to get back inside at will; when there is a high trafficked road or predators around is basically animal cruelty. Would you let a dog run around near a busy street?
Some cats enjoy being outdoors and some don’t. It all depends on the individual. In any case, imposing your own philosophical ideas about freedom doesn’t help your cat, who has no philosophy and would just like to be a cat. Don’t kill your cat so you can feel better about yourself having a cat.
An alternative would be to provide your cat with enrichment in your house or a safe place outside your house where your cat can have a blast without the danger of getting squashed. By enrichment, I mean providing games and behavioral motivators that satisfy your cat’s… well, catness.
You can do simple things like hiding small bowls of food around your house that your cat then “hunts” throughout the day, giving your cat a puzzle box filled with toys or treats, or spending some time with your cat (perish the thought!) teaching him a trick. Things like this keep your cat’s brain active and occupied. They make your cat happy.
As a general response, so many people, and you may not be one of them, think that all a cat needs is bowl of food and water and it’s good to go because they are “independent”. As was stated previously, cats are social animals. They are intelligent animals. They are curious animals. In order for your cat to be healthy and happy he needs to be cared for mentally as well as nourished physically. A pet every now and then is not enough. The solitary hunter who is only around people because he wants to be and could care less for his owner outside of dinnertime is a myth. A single cat that hisses at every other cat and sleeps all day is an emotionally crippled cat.
And yes, I know cats. I work daily with over 200 of them as an adoptions counselor and coordinator of the cat foster program for an animal shelter.
I love it when people tell me my cats are so close to being wild animals! Other than Cuthbert apparently trying to mate with my feet, my cats are about as wild as ketchup.
They don’t eat the rodents because you regularly feed them. If you were to stop, they’d eat the kill.
Not really. The owners of the farm cut way back on their food, with that as their goal, but the cats just got a little thinner and the number of observed uneaten corpses didn’t change much. The killers hunt and slay because they enjoy it. I’m sure they do eat some of their catch, and did so even on larger rations; but from what I’ve observed, hunger isn’t their prime motivation. Bloodlust is.
Of the two cats I have now, one walked up to my son, who was in college at the time, during a rainstorm. She was dirty and hungry and she essentially walked up to him and begged him to help her, and so he did. Then he moved back home and I hijacked his cat.
The other one walked into our back yard, rubbed against our legs, and did everything possible to make friends. We fed him but didn’t let him inside. For a couple of weeks. Then we decided to take him to the vet, see if he had a chip identifying him as somebody else’s cat, and if not, make him ours.
So no, I don’t feel bad about keeping these cats. It was their choice all the way.
From what I’ve read in articles about a few zoos, they are not nice animals and will claw you up worse than your cat would, with less provication. They don’t sound like ideal pets.
Cats are can finicky as hell, sometimes. Maggie won’t touch dry cat food, and she’s very picky about which canned food she’ll eat. (She loves human food, though – go figure)
And every cat I’ve had that caught a mouse just played with it – they never attempted to eat it.
Haven’t you ever had a cat sleep with you? BabySis says that both Annie and Luci (who stay in her room at night) both are like portable heaters, and Gypsy usually sleeps right between my parents (when it’s cold, she’ll sleep right on top of my father).
Cats usually WANT to be around people.
::gasp:: BABYSis? Don’t you know cats can suck the LIFE out of children and other living things?!
It’s too bad. They look just like John Adams.
Little known fact: John Adams was a biter.
Do you and your cat post to the Net from a Linotype machine? What an interesting mix of technology 
True. It’s said that domestic cats are in many ways in a state of perpetual kittenhood - viz kitten behaviors like kneading, meant to stimulate milk flow from mama cat. Without the active heritage of outdoor hunting and other feline arts, our kitties do become dependent on us to thrive.