Man bred house-cats into predators which kill far more than they should. In exchange, we supplement their food supply.

This made them useful tools for keeping rodents under control in ships, barns, etc.

Terriers seem to have bred to do this in/around houses.

Did we breed anything else like that?

Cheetahs seem to have been bred as a type of catch dog.

It seems like we would have bred a bird/lizard etc to kill off bugs

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Aglifter,

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Originally posted by Aglifter:

It seems like we would have bred a bird/lizard etc to kill off bugs

Isn't that what Free Range Chickens are for?

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Originally posted by cmparrish:

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Originally posted by Aglifter:

It seems like we would have bred a bird/lizard etc to kill off bugs

Isn't that what Free Range Chickens are for?

Guinea hens in particular. And barn swallows, bats, birds in general, most spiders.

I love going down by the barn just as the sun is setting and watching the swallows and bats flitting around munching on mosquitoes and black flies.

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Originally posted by Aglifter:
Terriers seem to have bred to do this in/around houses.

Not just Terriers. Pinschers, Dachshunds, and Schnauzers too.

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Guinea hens in particular. And barn swallows, bats, birds in general, most spiders.

None of which you want in your house. Dogs can be housebroken, cats can use a litter box (and they are inconsistent about that). I don't think birds can.

So what you're saying is you'd need to have one guy breeding the bug-hunting birds and lizards, and another guy designing and producing bird- and lizard-sized diapers.

I smell a business opportunity.

Get a monkey. Then when it gets out of line you can spank it.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
Man bred house-cats into predators which kill far more than they should. In exchange, we supplement their food supply.

This made them useful tools for keeping rodents under control in ships, barns, etc.

Terriers seem to have bred to do this in/around houses.

Did we breed anything else like that?

Cheetahs seem to have been bred as a type of catch dog.

It seems like we would have bred a bird/lizard etc to kill off bugs

bendable?

I’m thinking Ferrets, Weasels, Stoats…

https://youtu.be/QJ-QLOrTgM0

Probably cheaper than a Cheetah, not as cool as a cheetah, but probably cheaper.

I don’t think we breed them that way, if anything, we (humans) bread it out of them…
We wanted that Terrier all nice and cute and shit, so he can live inside the house. Probably with a pet cat, maybe even a pet rabbit.
Not saying that those types of dogs still don’t have it in them, I just would be reluctant to get one from a breeder in a city, vs a farm dog.

There is one breed of mammal that has evolved into a complete and irresistible force that man cannot come close to controlling. Most members here can name this one off the top of their heads...women! OTOH, they are, occasionally, good for a pretty decent sandwich!

Dogs are a pretty close second (they are still working on that sandwich thing).

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Originally posted by CPD SIG:
I’m thinking Ferrets, Weasels, Stoats…

Mink too. But are they domesticated or just semi tamed?

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Originally posted by Orguss:
bendable?

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Man bred house-cats into predators which kill far more than they should.

Man did not breed this trait into cats. If anything, man is breeding it out.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:
It seems like we would have bred a bird/lizard etc to kill off bugs

It's been awhile since visiting Hawaii, but every time we did, there were lizards (geckos?) in the hotel room/condos doing just that. I think they were/are native, and had just found their ways inside, rather than having being custom bred and put there on purpose.

Egregore, that may be a recent path, but we have to have bred that into cats.

Being a “good mouser” is a valued trait in a barn cat, and it’s clearly unnatural for a predator to routinely waste prey, the way they do.

(Predators do seem to have the ability to be triggered into wasting prey, if the prey population gets too large, but housecats seem permanently set on wasting prey.)

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Originally posted by egregore:
Get a monkey. Then when it gets out of line you can spank it.

And then it goes nuts and rips off your lips and genitals.

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Originally posted by Aglifter:


It seems like we would have bred a bird/lizard etc to kill off bugs

Just put out bat houses. Hard to improve on bats for bug killing.

quote:

Originally posted by Aglifter:

(Predators do seem to have the ability to be triggered into wasting prey, if the prey population gets too large, but housecats seem permanently set on wasting prey.)

I guess I don't really see this as being bred into cats. It's not like dogs where the genetic variety of dogs has created very specialized predator differentiations like that of wolfhounds all the way down to dachshunds.

Cats may look different (Persians vs. Siamese for example) but HUNTING different. I don't see that.

And there are MANY species known to waste (kill and not eat), especially in mammals: Orca, dolphin, dogs, etc. Cats aren't unique.

However, I would also add that if you have room for it, falcons make great pest removal and have been trained to hunt by humans for millennia.

There are no "other animals similar to cats."

There are cats.

And there are cat servants.

All of Animalia neatly divided, as cats intended.