I feel for both camps in the pet-cat/no-cat debate. I understand why people
enjoy their pet cats and want to defend them. However, being a lover of natural
history and especially of our native wildlife, it's *very* hard to defend the
'right' of a cat-owner to release an unstoppable predator upon native fauna
every day. Isn't it time to forgo some of our rights in favour of
responsibilities?

I was once part of a local effort to 'de-cat' an important feeding area for
migratory waders. (We did this by removing weeds and eliminating hiding places
for the cats to stalk from). If you could see the way a dear little old lady's
affectionate moggie stalks and kills a bucketful of sandpipers, you might pause
to think again about the cat's 'rights'! Cats are *lethal* when they're hunting
and most birds are quite defenceless against them. *Please* don't believe your
cat simply walks the streets at night, waving merrily to his mates as he passes
by and pausing for a snooze at number ninety six! He goes out to *hunt*! That's
how he's been programmed and it's what's natural for him. Sadly, he can't read
the endangered species list and he'll kill a beautiful little wren or native
robin just as readily as he will a sparrow!

Y'can't blame the cat, fair enough! However, considering the cat's out of his
element, it's hardly fair to allow him free range: he's no longer *entitled* to
run free - he's too domesticated for that. I've seen news reports showing people
who house their cats in caged, purpose-built runs, just as you might house, say,
a ferret. Why isn't this an acceptable way of keeping your cats if you like
them? Dog owners are required to contain their pets, since the potential
savagery of a dog being a dog has long been acknowledged. Why do people perceive
cats as being different or more special?

I saw a bloke on the news tonight, claiming there was no greater joy than
sitting with a grey kitten parked on your chest. I *have* to disagree! There
*is* a greater joy: go out and have a close look at native wildlife living as it
has evolved to do in its own back yard! Now *that's* joy! Anyone can watch a
cute cat pull faces and find odd places to fall asleep - but *I've* watched a
pair of Brown Snakes engaging in courtship display on a creek bank and somehow I
think I'd take the snakes over the cats any day!

I've kept pet animals all my life (including a helluva lot of unwanted kittens
I've rescued over the years), but now I'm approaching my dotage I've begun to
realise something: animals aren't *designed* to be owned! They're designed to
fulfil a purpose in biodiversity, foodchains and the overall system of life on
earth. Instead of treating them as our playthings, why not take our pleasure
from watching them coexist with us?

(If only everyone had the chance to really study biological systems and
understand more fully the ways in which predators and prey interact with each
other and the environment! It's important to remember that lots of people
haven't had that chance and will argue from their own experiences. As always,
communication and education are the keys. IMHO.)

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

PS. G'day Rod! How's Sgr Toiletto Frogoli?

PPS. FWIW, I saw a humungous octopus the other day! He was just moochin' around
in a pool, apparently waitin' for the tide to take him out to sea again. What a
buzz that was!!!!