The Cat Megathread

[mongers]

Yeah, I worried about Princess Sneakers of Monaco about getting old when she turned 12, too.  I wound up worrying for 6 more years. 

Try to keep her weight down, that's the most important thing you can do.

Yep, my oldest stray, Pepper, made it to 20+ years, no one knew her age for sure, so keep them on a good 'diet' and if they remain active, they can put in a fair old innings.   

[Razgovory]

I guess cats live longer then dogs.  Mine are around 10, and they really haven't slowed down much.  Hell, they still go into heat and make a lot of noise.

[sbr]

I have no idea how old the other two are, but they are older than 9.

The three-legged bitch was 6-9 years old when we got her 10 years ago but we didn't ever get any vet records.

The other one was adopted by my ex after we split up, then I took her after the ex got evicted from her apartment.  I don't think I got any official records on her either.

[mongers]

I have no idea how old the other two are, but they are older than 9.

The three-legged bitch was 6-9 years old when we got her 10 years ago but we didn't ever get any vet records.

The other one was adopted by my ex after we split up, then I took her after the ex got evicted from her apartment.  I don't think I got any official records on her either.

Doing the right thing, man.

Hope you 8 year old pulls through the health-scare.

[Viking]

http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/a-plan-to-save-new-zealands-birds-get-rid-of-cats/?src=twrhp&_r=1&


First All Blacks, then Hobbits now Cat Genocide? But seriously, if you want to save the Kakopo and Kiwi then, yes, maybe Catmageddon might be needed. The Maori took out the Moa and Haast's Eagle (both easily candidates for top 10 coolest animals alive today if they were, y'know, alive today) maybe we can save their cousins?

A Plan to Save New Zealand's Birds: Get Rid of Cats

HONG KONG — A prominent New Zealand economist has set off a storm by suggesting that cats should eventually be eliminated from his country, claiming that they are posing a dire threat to native bird species.

Gareth Morgan, an economist and environmentalist, says that the cat is actually a "friendly neighborhood serial killer" when it comes to birds, and his Web site suggests that New Zealanders should gradually reduce the local feline population by having all cats neutered, and that when cats die, their owners should not replace them.

This problem, he says in his anti-cat site Cats to Go, is that cats are gradually endangering New Zealand's rich avian diversity, having helped kill off nine native species while endangering  33.

New Zealanders, it turns out, have an affinity for what Mr. Morgan calls "that little ball of fluff" that  "is actually a natural-born killer." The New Zealand Pet Food Manufacturers Association, which of course has a stake in such statistics, reports that 48 percent of New Zealand's households have cats, "making it the highest cat ownership rate in the world."

The issue of the feline threat to birds has been documented before. A study on the deaths of baby gray catbirds in the Washington suburbs found that 80 percent of the birds were killed by predators, and that cats were responsible for 47 percent of those deaths. One issue is that with their domestication, cats have few natural predators.

Still, Mr. Morgan's campaign calling for the eventual elimination of cats from New Zealand has drawn an angry response from cat lovers and some animal groups. "A cat-free anywhere is not a good area," said Bob Kerridge, executive director of the Auckland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who added that we should "leave it to nature to take care of things."

[Eddie Teach]

House cats aren't endangering any species, now if he wants to push for more rounding up ferals he can knock himself out.

[mongers]

House cats aren't endangering any species, now if he wants to push for more rounding up ferals he can knock himself out.

I'm guessing they don't have house cats in New Zealand, probably treat their pet cats similar to the way we do in the UK ?

[Eddie Teach]

Even outdoor cats are only going to affect the bird populations near home. Seems to me the problem is either roaming ferals or people destroying their habitat.

[sbr]

I got the bad news yesterday evening.

Pepper does have bone cancer in his jawbone.  I forget the exact name, but it is a tumor that metastasizes very slowly but is very aggressive locally.  It won't be the cancer itself that kills him, but eventually he will be in a lot of pain and unable to eat so it will come down to Quality of Life^TM.  The vet (who is a smoking hot mid-to-late-20's gal) mentioned the possibility of surgery, but it would be at least $3,000 and would mean removing at least half of his mandible.  I could tell from her voice that she was mentioning it because it was an option, but she didn't think it was a very good idea.   There's really no way I can justify spending that much money to end up with a cat that may need to be spoon-fed for the rest of his life.

The time span depends on how fast the tumor grows and on Pepper's pain tolerance.  He will be in pain and will continue to lose teeth on his right side; as long as he is eating he should be Ok.  The vet gave a best case scenario of 8-10 months and a worst case of 3 weeks to a couple of months.

[sbr]

Last picture is from last night.

[CountDeMoney]

We know you'll do the right thing by him at the right time.

It hurts, but don't let it go on too long.  Not fair to him.

[Razgovory]

Sorry Sbr

[HVC]

This cat is more bad ass then you will ever be

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2282335/Whisker-away-death-Moment-courageous-cat-battles-zoo-crocodile-WINS.html

[Solmyr]

Reincarnation of Steve Irwin?

[Grey Fox]

See? Cats = killers. Even the crocs know that.