A World Without Cats: what would it be like if cats did not exist?

Hello and Welcome to this week’s happenings in The Scratchpad. Today we discover what it would be like if cats ceased to exist. Sad thought, right?

I am an avid cat lover and thinking about our furry friend not being around is just plain upsetting. Cats are wonderful companions that provide us with love and comfort. They cuddle with us (of course on their own terms ;) ) and love to play and explore.

I mean just look at these cute little guys below. What would we do without them?

More than emotional support

Cats play a large role in our ecosystem. I remember back to grade school when I learned out the environment and how each animal fits in. So, of course it’s not a surprise that our fellow cat makes a big impact on the world ecologically. According to experts, if all the world’s cats suddenly died, things would not be looking very good for all of us.

Cats are skilled predators that are able to adapt their hunting behaviors to any environment. Professor Alan Beck of veterinary medicine shares just how significant this makes them in the whole scheme of things.

“They are a significant predator of small animals, and can survive as almost solitary animals when the prey is scarce, while thriving in high density when the prey is abundant.”

Their ability to prey on small animals is what impacts everyone and everything around them. They kill mice and rats that would normally get into barns, grain storage areas, basically any place where we store our food. Cats protect our food from those pesky creatures that try to eat or contaminate it.

How much of an increase would we see in the rodent population if cats disappeared?

A 1997 study done in Great Britain discovered that the average house cat brought around 11 dead animals to the house over the course of six months (please take into account that this does not calculate any animals they may have hunted, killed and not brought to the house). At that time, there were 9 million cats located in Great Britain. Close to 200 million rodents were being killed every six months in the UK alone. That’s a lot of mice.

If the lack of emotional support we’d be suffering from wasn’t enough for people to care about a world without cats, I hope the estimates of how many rodents would be milling around has convinced you. Cats ARE important to us all.

Make sure to give your cat some special attention today and congratulate them when they plop a little dead something on your back porch. They are protecting your food!

What do you think about the study? How important is your cat to YOU?

Source: http://www.mnn.com/family/pets/stories/what-would-happen-if-all-the-worlds-cats-vanished

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