In fact, feral cats (stray cats) not only cause personal injury and spread pathogens, including rabies virus, but also come with a lot of problems. Here are some of the views from an overseas article that can be used as a reference:
1. Wildcats are ecological serial killers
A 2013 study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Smithsonian Institute for Conservation Biology found that free-range domestic cats, mostly ownerless, are the greatest threat humans pose to wildlife.
2. Cats are called "excess killers" by scientists
Scientists from the University of Georgia and the National Geographic Society installed cameras on 55 outdoor cats, recording their activities for seven to 10 days. They found that one-third of cats hunted an average of twice a week, and nearly half of their prey was not eaten – which in turn led to rat breeding. In addition, feeding food to stray cats can also lead to rats and insects.
3. Outdoor cats kill between 1.4 billion and 3.7 billion birds each year
Scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute determined that feral cats kill more wildlife than other man-made threats, including poisoning, vehicle and building collisions, although another fact sheet from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also lists habitat loss as a major cause of songbird decline.
4. Outdoor cats kill at least 6.9 billion mammals each year, most of which are not mice
A study of wildcat hunting on islands found that rabbits accounted for 73% of their prey, followed by house mice and birds. Rats do not appear in either list.
5. Where did the idea that cats are rat killers come from
This is industry information from the 19th century. However, the practice of bringing cats on ships has led to the spread of cats to shipping ports, where they destroy local biodiversity as invasive species. As for how effective are these cats at controlling rats on these boats? Science has helped reveal many facts since the 19th century, and being good at keeping rats out of your food is not one of the effective effects of cats.
6. Jack Russell Terriers may be better at killing rats
In 1862, a 13-pound bull terrier, Jack, set a record for exterminating rats by killing 100 rats in just 5 minutes and 28 seconds.
7. Feral cats exterminate the main consumers of mosquitoes and other pests
Feral cats kill insects-feeding birds, reptiles and amphibians, leading to a high incidence of insect-borne diseases, and a study published in the journal Wildlife Research in June 2018 calculated that in Australia, feral and domestic outdoor cats kill 649 million reptiles each year, with the remains of 40 reptiles found in the stomach of one outdoor cat.
8. Cats are the largest carriers of rabies among domestic animals in the United States
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks cats as the largest source of rabies risk in humans in the United States, while dogs are the largest source of rabies infection worldwide. A 2012 review paper published in the journal Zoonotic Diseases and Public Health tracked trends since the turn of the century, with cats spreading rabies twice as fast as dogs.
9. Cats transmit toxoplasmosis
According to the American Society for the Protection of Birds, three-quarters of outdoor cats carry Toxoplasma gondii, which is transmitted to warm-blooded hosts, including humans, through contact with cat feces or ingestion of undercooked meat. Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by this and has been linked to deafness, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and other diseases. In the United States, 1.26 million people have eye lesions thought to be caused by toxoplasmosis.
10. Parasites in cat feces can stay in the soil for a long time
Parasite oocysts are infectious pathogens excreted in cat feces that are difficult to kill and can survive for years in soils in warm climates such as New Orleans, with the study estimating 1.2 million tons of cat feces deposited annually in the United States.
当然，其他的说法还包括“童年时期与猫一起生活会增加患精神分裂症的风险”（Yolken, R H et al. “Toxoplasma and schizophrenia.” Parasite immunology vol. 31,11 (2009): 706-15. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3024.2009.01131.x）、影响反应能力（Stock, Ann-Kathrin et al. “Humans with latent toxoplasmosis display altered reward modulation of cognitive control.” Scientific reports vol. 7,1 10170. 31 Aug. 2017, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-10926-6），但是因为研究本身有比较大的局限性，在此不进行分享，可点击阅读原文查看。
To be honest, under this topic, many people believe that the injured should compensate the stray cats that have been fed, and even put a hot spot, I think this kind of driving direction is more terrible than the stray cats themselves.
sincere
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