What do domestic cats do during the day? Mostly, of course, they sleep – it is believed that they devote 16 hours a day to this. They also periodically eat, drink water, and also play with objects in the house, because they need to somehow give free rein to their hunting instincts. They take care of their fur for some time and, if circumstances are successful, play with flies and other insects that catch their eye. One might come to the conclusion that these are completely useless creatures, and if they suddenly disappeared, the world would not change at all – except that the owners would really miss their favorites. In fact, this is not true, and cats play a very important role in nature. We just don't notice it.
Cats play a very important role in nature, and we don’t even notice it
What cats do at home and on the street
Don’t forget that in addition to domestic cats, there are also stray cats. There are also many wild species in the world – for example, forest cats can be found in European forests. They look like domestic animals, but are larger and more muscular than them. And all because to survive they have to move a lot, because no one will give them a bowl of food and water.
Cats and cats are very dexterous hunters
Throughout the day, city and forest cats try to find food and shelter by all means. In an urban environment, animals easily find human food – many people deliberately take out leftovers so that stray cats do not die of hunger. In the wild, animals have to hunt small mammals like mice and even rats. Urban animals also engage in this activity, but mainly in the absence of more accessible food sources.
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Why do they kill cats in Australia
If there are suddenly no cats in the world, rats may breed everywhere. This is known for sure, because we have already encountered such a problem relatively recently.
In 2019, we published the article “Cats in Australia killed a billion animals in a year.” It says that these cute-looking creatures killed a million birds every day in search of food. Among them were representatives of species that are on the verge of extinction.
Cats in Australia posed a threat to rare animals
To save the birds, the authorities decided to exterminate the cats. A reward was announced for the head of each cat, and baits with poison were scattered across the continent. Domestic cats also posed a threat to animals on the verge of extinction, so owners were forbidden to let them out.
As planned, many cats in Australia were exterminated. This led to the fact that the mice multiplied so much that they began to destroy grain on farms. Rodents also damaged some cables, and tribes located far from civilization were left without light and electricity – amenities were extended to them using not the most reliable wires.
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How many mice and rats do cats kill
We don't notice it, but cats play a very important role in nature. A 1997 scientific study found that on average each domestic cat in the UK catches 11 small animals per year. We are talking not only about mice, but also about birds, frogs and so on. Considering that at that time there were 9 million cats in the kingdom, every year they exterminated approximately 200 million different game.
It is possible that without cats people would starve – rats could eat our food supplies
A similar study was conducted in 1979. Scientists from New Zealand have calculated how many rats cats kill. The results of scientific work have shown that if there are no longer these furry creatures left in the world, the number of rodents can increase up to 4 times. Rats breeding can cause many problems. Not only can they easily destroy human food supplies, but they can also carry salmonellosis and other diseases. Rats also cause damage to buildings and equipment – we noted above that they chew wires.
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In the end, it turns out that cats play a very important role in our lives, and they cannot be called useless. They live next to us, but we still don’t know much about them. Fortunately, scientists are constantly telling us something interesting about them. For example, thanks to the work of scientists, we know why cats love valerian and how harmful it is for them. Also, during one experiment, scientists learned that cats are fans of the game “fetch” just like dogs. There is also an article on our website that explains why cats are the best creation of evolution. We strongly recommend reading!