I used to think this was bullshit/overreaction (about cats harming wildlife) until a neighbor moved in next to us with an outside cat. We'd get bunnies every spring in the neighborhood and hearing baby bunnies screaming as this cat tortured them made me an outdoor cat hater. I honestly thought about shooting that cat after about the 5th bunny it killed (and doesn't eat - just tortures them to death). If you've ever heard bunnies screaming - it is one of the saddest sounds that I've ever heard and it honestly permanently fucked me up. Really not looking forward to spring this year. Hoping the rabbits moved to another neighborhood.
Ya.. I had a stray cat as a kid that I spent a lot of time with. One day she walked up and started eating a bunny in front of me.. a crisp white fur.. I don’t remember if I was frozen or thought it was important to see what reality was like.. but I watched for a while
I'm so glad I couldn't see it. I only caught a view of her catching a bunny in the backyard parallel to mine and watched as she carried it into the brush. It was mewing/crying and wiggling around when she caught it but after a few minutes the loud screams started and I had to go inside. That's the day that I seriously thought about shooting that cat.
I don't know if it would help. Baby bunnies are kind of dumb. My husband and I comb through the yard before he mows because they just try to "hide" in the grass from it. They don't really seem to run from threats but try to hide/be very still, which I think makes them pretty easy prey for the cat. Really just hoping the adult bunnies have moved to another yard this spring.
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u/rekkodesu Jan 01 '24
Habitat loss and introduction of non-native predators.