• doctorcrimson@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    20
    arrow-down
    8
    ·
    10 months ago

    Literally nowhere historically has had cats. Wild cats existed in Northern Africa/Mediterranean regions about 10 to 15 thousand years ago and were from there spread by human agricultural revolution to be introduced throughout Egypt, Rome, and then Roman Colonies as well as Asia, and some thousands of years later they exist on every continent except Antarctica.

    The tiny speck of area and population that they should naturally have is like a grain of sand on a beach compared to the destructive force they have become.

      • doctorcrimson@lemmy.today
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        10 months ago

        F. Silvestris, the European Wildcat, is generally considered a separate lineage from domesticated cats, though somewhat capable of crossbreeding, and because of human introduction of domestic cats the Scottish Wildcat in particular is functionally extinct in the wild. Just one of many great examples of the destructive nature of this pet and human negligence.

        • XIIIesq@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          10 months ago

          We should consider the centuries of persecution by humans and the severe habit loss.

          • doctorcrimson@lemmy.today
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            3
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            10 months ago
            "That didn't happen.
            And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
            And if it was, then it's not a big deal.
            And if it is, then it's not my fault.
            And if it was, I didn't mean it.
            And if I did... You deserved it."
            
    • emergencyfood
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      arrow-down
      14
      ·
      10 months ago

      As you yourself said, cats have been living across most of Africa, Asia and Europe for over a thousand years. So unless you are talking about Australia, the Americas, or a few corners of the old world, cats are either native or naturalised enough that they are now a part of the ecosystem.

      • doctorcrimson@lemmy.today
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        16
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        10 months ago

        A thousand years is nothing to an ecosystem. Birds have been migrating across Europe, Asia, and the Americas for hundreds of millions of years, only to get slaughtered in droves by furry shit machines.

        • emergencyfood
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          edit-2
          10 months ago

          It depends on the ecosystem. Pollution famously caused certain moths to shift from being mostly light-coloured to mostly dark-coloured in a matter of years. The removal and reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone caused observable changes in prey behaviour within a decade or so. Of course longer-lived species like trees take much longer to adapt, but we’re talking about birds, geckos and rodents here.

          Edit: Also, most geckos, birds and rodents are r-strategists, meaning they are limited more by food than by predation.

          • doctorcrimson@lemmy.today
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            10 months ago

            I don’t think the introduction of thousands of F. Catus to any local ecosystem will have anything other than dire consequences.

            • emergencyfood
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              10 months ago

              Introduction of a new predator will disturb the ecosystem. Removal of an existing predator will also disturb the ecosystem.

      • XIIIesq@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        5
        ·
        10 months ago

        The absolute brain-dead mentality of the people who will just downvote anything that doesn’t fit their predetermined conclusion.