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otters

Jon Frisby said:
Cats, what purpose do they serve in the urban environment?? Apart from the people who keep them inside permanently. Those who do let them out the majority have cat flaps etc so they can come and go as they please. My neighbour bought a little black cat 2 years ago for his daughter, I saw it many times hunting fledgeling blackbirds in my garden that nest most years, I once saw it with a collared dove in its mouth, once taking a goldfinch off my bird feeder, the last time my missus saw it, it was chasing a chicken across the road and not looking in the right direction when it went under the number 66 bus.

So sad
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I am not sure it is necessary for a cat to actually serve a purpose in an urban environment, or any creature for that matter. They just exist and are trying to adapt to a world that we humans are building. Their general "purpose" is to live as pets for humans-we don't really need them to control mice and rats because we invented stuff like cheese and traps for that. It's not their fault they haven't evolved yet to a point where they don't have the urge to hunt. Anyway, no one has mentioned wasps. What a totally pointless creature. At least bees are cute and make honey. Wasps just hang around bins intimidating people. Just like tough northern girls on the lash.
 
Dogs, what purpose do they serve in the urban environment?? Apart from the people who keep them inside permanently. Those who do let them out in the garden, majority have dog flaps,must be deaf,as the bleeding things bark
all night and pee off the neighbours.

Come morning the same selfish dog owners chuck thier hounds in the back of the car,and proceed to the nearest local beauty spot,to let the dogs
**** all over the footpath,one or two,though not many bag up the ****,
and then sling it in the nearest bush,to hang on a branch for eternity.
Know this for a fact,as usually have to sidestep dog-**** every 3 yards
when out for a walk:mad:

Dangerous dogs........oh yes,we love these dont we,children and stupid
owners maimed for life when the dog turns to what it really is....a danger
to one and all......no use to anyone,cept,drugdealers and local hoodies,
who wanna be hard,but aint got the muscle to back it up.

Only one good dog in the uk................Otter-hound
 
Quote: Anyway, no one has mentioned wasps. What a totally pointless creature.



What good are wasps?

The adults usually feed on sweet things such as nectar and fruit but they are also predators as they catch and kill thousands of other insects, mainly flies, to feed to their young. They help to control the population of other insects.

They are also prey as they are eaten by many animals including badgers, dragonflies, weasels, mice, frogs, fish and birds. The birds that eat them include warblers, swifts, flycatchers and honey buzzards.
 
Neil Smart Quote:
And fleas....only fleas that are spread are feline.

Tosh try googling,Dipylidium caninum its sread to humans among other
things

The dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis) is a species of flea (Siphonaptera) that lives primarily on the blood of dogs. The dog flea is troublesome because it can spread Dipylidium caninum.

Folk really should get thier facts correct fore posting
 
Howard Hutchins said:
Quote: Anyway, no one has mentioned wasps. What a totally pointless creature.



What good are wasps?

The adults usually feed on sweet things such as nectar and fruit but they are also predators as they catch and kill thousands of other insects, mainly flies, to feed to their young. They help to control the population of other insects.

They are also prey as they are eaten by many animals including badgers, dragonflies, weasels, mice, frogs, fish and birds. The birds that eat them include warblers, swifts, flycatchers and honey buzzards.
Click to expand...

Wow, just googled "wasps". I had no idea. However, I think you might be bigging them up a bit here. It's not all good news. You haven't mentioned the barbaric way in which parasitic wasps inject eggs into a host and what happens next.... The stuff of horror movies that. Now if wasps ate otters..
 
Jon Frisby said:
Cats, what purpose do they serve in the urban environment?? Apart from the people who keep them inside permanently. Those who do let them out the majority have cat flaps etc so they can come and go as they please. My neighbour bought a little black cat 2 years ago for his daughter, I saw it many times hunting fledgeling blackbirds in my garden that nest most years, I once saw it with a collared dove in its mouth, once taking a goldfinch off my bird feeder, the last time my missus saw it, it was chasing a chicken across the road and not looking in the right direction when it went under the number 66 bus.

So sad
Click to expand...

How awful, Jon, I hope that the missus was not too traumatised. Regarding Howard's post above, he makes a very good point. The hedgerows and farmland which were once the natural habitats of many birds became a hostile environment and hence gardens became the sanctuary for many species. Unfortunately, gardens are not exactly sanctuaries because of the pressure of cat predation plus the effect of squirrels and magpies. It is not just garden birds which are under threat from cat predation but the vole, shrew and frog population. And these species are under threat partially because they are "easy meat". As I have mentioned previously, I have yet to see a domestic cat with a grey squirrel, magpie or rat in its mouth. Nor have I any issue whatsoever in controlling the crow, rook ,magpie or squirrel population. Do cat owners ever consider what their cats get up to when they are tripping out of the cat-flap? I suspect that most are in denial or some even quite proud of their cat's hunting prowess. At least potential cat owners might stop and think about the impact that their cat may have before bringing a cat home and introducing it to their and their neighbour's gardens.
 
Howard Hutchins said:
Dogs, what purpose do they serve in the urban environment?? Apart from the people who keep them inside permanently. Those who do let them out in the garden, majority have dog flaps,must be deaf,as the bleeding things bark
all night and pee off the neighbours.

Come morning the same selfish dog owners chuck thier hounds in the back of the car,and proceed to the nearest local beauty spot,to let the dogs
**** all over the footpath,one or two,though not many bag up the ****,
and then sling it in the nearest bush,to hang on a branch for eternity.
Know this for a fact,as usually have to sidestep dog-**** every 3 yards
when out for a walk:mad:

Dangerous dogs........oh yes,we love these dont we,children and stupid
owners maimed for life when the dog turns to what it really is....a danger
to one and all......no use to anyone,cept,drugdealers and local hoodies,
who wanna be hard,but aint got the muscle to back it up.

Only one good dog in the uk................Otter-hound
Click to expand...

Not the dogs fault, its bad owners that are at fault.

Dogs Can

Find illegal drugs

Find people in ruins of buildings after say an earthquake

Find cash that has been gained illegally

Assist the police to catch criminals

Find hidden illegal weapons

Guide the blind

Guard the owners property

Help disabled people in their daily life

Mine also stops cats coming into the garden and ******** everywhere and could probably eat an otter but not all in one go :eek:
 
Howard Hutchins said:
Neil Smart Quote:
And fleas....only fleas that are spread are feline.

Tosh try googling,Dipylidium caninum its sread to humans among other
things

The dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis) is a species of flea (Siphonaptera) that lives primarily on the blood of dogs. The dog flea is troublesome because it can spread Dipylidium caninum.

Folk really should get thier facts correct fore posting
Click to expand...

Fact is cat fleas are the PRIMARY scource for infecting canines and other creatures, including man, fact is the feline flea is the common reason for flea infestations.
Without the fline flea life would be so much easier for my dogs:) is it any wonder then my springer hates all cats?....and chill pleeease:) It's a light hearted thread no need for bitchy retorts.
 
Graham Young said:
Not the dogs fault, its bad owners that are at fault.

Dogs Can

Find illegal drugs

Find people in ruins of buildings after say an earthquake

Find cash that has been gained illegally

Assist the police to catch criminals

Find hidden illegal weapons

Guide the blind

Guard the owners property

Help disabled people in their daily life

Mine also stops cats coming into the garden and ******** everywhere and could probably eat an otter but not all in one go :eek:
Click to expand...

Great 1st post.. and welcome :)
 
Howard Cooke said:
Wow, just googled "wasps". I had no idea. However, I think you might be bigging them up a bit here. It's not all good news. You haven't mentioned the barbaric way in which parasitic wasps inject eggs into a host and what happens next.... The stuff of horror movies that. Now if wasps ate otters..
Click to expand...

Wasp grubs good Chub bait.

Good enough.
 
chap near where my brother lives in the USA had the right idea, keen gardener driven to distraction by his neighbours cats doing what they do in his garden, after several attempts to convince said neighbours to keep the cats and the cr*p out of his garden and being met by the usual" there just being cats" he put out humane traps (strange thing to do in the USA but there you go) captured said moggies and took them to the local humane society explaining they were not his cats but he had caught them in his garden. Told his neighbours, they went to the humane society and had to pay to get the moggies back. Several repeats of this later it went to court. Judge found in favour of the gardener, he was within his rights to catch unwanted "strays" and take them to be cared for by the humane society.
The cats no longer visit his garden, the neighbours have made their garden like Colditz, precious little moggies can no longer roam. I was surprised being the USA the gardener didn't just get out his Barrat .50 cal. and solve the problem that way.
 
For many years I was not an avid wasp fan. Couldn't harm a hornet, a creature of great beauty. Now, I'm a bit of a wasp convert, they get rid of pests (flies, mossies etc.) which are required to provide protein for their grubs. It's late summer that the wasps become a nuisance when they no longer need the protein and start to feed on sugary things, fruit etc. Concerning the parasitic wasp, Darwin questioned the existence of a God when he observed its life cycle.

On to the subject of dogs. I can remember in my youth when packs of dogs would roam wild, hard to believe now. This does not happen anymore as it is deemed unacceptable. Dogs can be a nuisance when turfed out of their homes - sound familiar? However they do have many roles as demonstrated in the former excellent post. There are irresponsible dog owners and slowly but surely these people are being brought to book. I don't consider Pit-bulls to be your average dog and, as pointed out in a previous post, are used in criminal activities.

Both dogs and cats can carry parasites in their faeces. I'm more likely to contract one of these parasites from cats as dogs do not roam in my garden whereas there is no way of controlling cats, it's a shame that their owners are not in a position to clean up their mess, bit of a NIMBY situation. The other issue with cats is the constant shedding of their skin which is very bad news for asthmatics, but at least that is between the cat its owner.

I suspect that we are probably going round in circles. There will always be cat camps and dog camps. Me, I prefer dogs, they are much more fun and friendly and can prove very useful in the roles described and can make good companions. I just can't see the value in having a cat in an urban environment. In my view, there are just too many of them and their numbers are artificially high for the environment that they are in.
 
if a cat gives you a nice present , it's what they do, you feed them, they give you gifts back, so,do you have it fried or grilled....:D
 
Howard Hutchins said:
Quote: Anyway, no one has mentioned wasps. What a totally pointless creature.



What good are wasps?

The adults usually feed on sweet things such as nectar and fruit but they are also predators as they catch and kill thousands of other insects, mainly flies, to feed to their young. They help to control the population of other insects.

They are also prey as they are eaten by many animals including badgers, dragonflies, weasels, mice, frogs, fish and birds. The birds that eat them include warblers, swifts, flycatchers and honey buzzards.
Click to expand...

They eat Afids, thats a good thing ;)
 
David Gauntlett said:
My old dog used to eat afids...and wasps. Beyond that, she was a pretty useless old rogue :p

Cheers, Dave.
Click to expand...

Mine ate a Bumble bee once, that made him wince ! he chases just about anything, biggest catch so far is a Muntjack, he had it by the back leg they were spinning round and round in circles and he had this "i got one, what happens next " look on his face ! daft bugger :D
A couple of weeks later, my daughter, who is a vet nurse sent me some pics from her practice of what was left of a Greyhound that had done the same, good job he let go i think :(
 
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