Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/03/19/mystery-miscreant-shaving-outdoor-cats.html
…
3 Likes
8 Likes
Is anyone going to make the joke? Anybody?
1 Like
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has warned people to keep their cats inside as much as possible
Considering that’s what should always be done with cats anyway (those murder death machines have caused more species extinctions than any other animal besides humans) I don’t really see a huge problem here.
Not to mention the cats aren’t being harmed in any way. It isn’t like the fur can’t grow back…
3 Likes
No, no I do not think they will.
10 Likes
I don’t think that’s true. Rats have done quite a lot of damage and rendered countless island species extinct as humans brought them.
3 Likes
Well, then we clearly need to introduce cats there to eliminate the rats!
Um… It’s a bad idea.
" Not only that, shaving his fur off completely can actually be pretty risky for a variety of reasons. Removing all his fur can actually make him more likely to overheat. It can also make him more likely to be bitten by insects or to get sunburn which can ultimately even lead to skin cancer." (link)
If the miscreant is shaving the whiskers off, That is cruelty, and should be punished.
12 Likes
I read “murder death machines” and thought “Wah?” - then I found a citation:
3 Likes
I don’t think I would use that as a citation. They take the estimated number of cats and extrapolate kills from that count based on a relatively small study and assuming that the total number of cats in the USA are all outdoor cats. My own fluffy murder muffins do indeed make the occasional kill, but they’re indoor only cats and those mice had it coming once they stepped inside. I think between the three of them they’ve scored two in the last six months - not exactly a killing spree.
10 Likes
Totally agree on not shaving the whiskers, they are necessary for cats. I did shave my Maine Coon once and know of other Main Coon owners who do it once a summer. Their fur can get very matted, to the point where it can hurt them and many of them have OPINIONS about not being brushed. And by shave I mean took it to my vet and had them handle it so it would be done safely.
5 Likes
Yup. I’m probably going to have to take one of my fluffballs into the vet about the mats he has, but I’m delaying that as much as I can, and working out the more egregious ones during cuddle sessions.
We used to have a roach problem in our house before we found the root cause of it, but most of my clowder were all about ‘what’s this thing we can bat around’ and less of ‘moving snack!’. (Shiva was pretty good about batting them to death, although I don’t think she or any of the others actually ate them.) At least none of them deposited carcasses on my bed- they’d rather leave fur clumps and the occasional barf. 
3 Likes
Cats have been in Britain for a very long time. It is actually strongly encouraged to allow cats access to the outdoors there.
1 Like
Totally. Our three are indoor only cats - we have far too many birds and reptiles in the garden to trust the blessed psychopaths outside.
On the other hand, we don’t get mice but I used to feel guilty about the occasional gecko they’d catch. Natural selection seems to be working though, and the geckos don’t come within feline distance of the floor anymore.
3 Likes
My father was a school principal, and one year his school had a mouse infestation problem. He was told he could have a certain budget for hiring exterminators. He decided to haggle. “If I get a cat and that solves the problem, can I spend the balance on instruments for the school band?” He somehow got that cleared. And the fluffy murder muffin did its job.
10 Likes
You can’t just shave someone’s… cat… because you got a good look at it and thought it was too hairy.
You have to ask for consent, or preferably ask if they would shave their… cat… for you, and leave the decision up to them IT IS KILLING ME TO NOT MAKE THE JOKE.
2 Likes
I know, right! It’s like this itch in my brain that I can’t scratch, even with cat claws!
2 Likes
Watching my void boys who seem to have both taken a few levels of Super Jump, that’s what … 2 meters or so? 
5 Likes
Good advice anyway, for sake of the cats and everyone else.
3 Likes
I guess it depends what the definition of “access to the outdoors” is. Cats with free access to the outdoors have a lifespan of 2-5 years; a fraction of the longevity of indoor cats. Not to mention the damage outdoor cats do to other wildlife and property.
If access to the outdoors includes taking them on a walk regularly, then cool. Declawed cats in a backyard might be ok as well. But free reign of outdoor spaces is not good for the cat, not good for the environment, and not being a good neighbor.
5 Likes
