- Joined
- May 14, 2019
So, suppose you have some cats.
However, these cats are not house cats.
They're actually yard cats/semi-feral, descended from a single queen you used to own.
Your queen bred with a stray and gave birth to two litters of kittens.
You gave away some, but mostly you kept the kittens the same way you kept their mother: they wander around freely, and you just lay food and water out for them.
The litters grow up, and have their own litters.
Over the years, you have come to see at least a hundred cats pass through your yard.
Over the years, the cats become more distant from you.
Where the great matriarch of the dynasty had been loyal, her descendants aren't.
Each generation is a little more fearful, a little more feral.
Instead of offering their kittens, you have to capture them and teach them not to fear you.
The kittens usually become pets, but they go feral again as they get older.
Cats die frequently.
Many kittens die of a plague of crusty eyes that slowly blinds them.
You try to treat their eyes whenever you can, but nothing seems to work.
Other cats are killed by foxes and catfights.
One cat gets snakebit and its face falls off (you mercy kill it).
Cat carcasses need to be disposed of.
So, you take the dead cats and you carry them into the bushes, and lay them down there.
Now, note that you also have dogs.
However, you only have a few at any time, and they're house dogs (fully tame), and they're neutered.
When a dog dies, you bury it, give it a gravestone, even decorate the grave with lights.
But, the cats are less like pets, and more like birds at the birdfeeder.
Is there anything wrong with this approach to cat ranching and cat corpse disposal?
However, these cats are not house cats.
They're actually yard cats/semi-feral, descended from a single queen you used to own.
Your queen bred with a stray and gave birth to two litters of kittens.
You gave away some, but mostly you kept the kittens the same way you kept their mother: they wander around freely, and you just lay food and water out for them.
The litters grow up, and have their own litters.
Over the years, you have come to see at least a hundred cats pass through your yard.
Over the years, the cats become more distant from you.
Where the great matriarch of the dynasty had been loyal, her descendants aren't.
Each generation is a little more fearful, a little more feral.
Instead of offering their kittens, you have to capture them and teach them not to fear you.
The kittens usually become pets, but they go feral again as they get older.
Cats die frequently.
Many kittens die of a plague of crusty eyes that slowly blinds them.
You try to treat their eyes whenever you can, but nothing seems to work.
Other cats are killed by foxes and catfights.
One cat gets snakebit and its face falls off (you mercy kill it).
Cat carcasses need to be disposed of.
So, you take the dead cats and you carry them into the bushes, and lay them down there.
Now, note that you also have dogs.
However, you only have a few at any time, and they're house dogs (fully tame), and they're neutered.
When a dog dies, you bury it, give it a gravestone, even decorate the grave with lights.
But, the cats are less like pets, and more like birds at the birdfeeder.
Is there anything wrong with this approach to cat ranching and cat corpse disposal?
