I'm so annoyed at how little people care about how dangerous it is to let predator and prey animals interact. This image isn't cute it's stupid.
Edit: I'm not gonna continue arguing with people who think animal neglect/abuse is fine as long as it's cute. Good bye
Probably a lot more to it than just predator and prey in domesticated animals lol
Cats still hunt. Rats can fuck up anything it gets its teeth in. Why risk it.
Does it upset you when you see pictures of dogs and cats together?
That isn't the same and I never said my opinion on this is black and white. Dogs and cats have been by each others and our sides for a long long time. That doesn't change the fact that I still think dogs are dangerous and need to be properly trained and that different breeds are bred for hunting and aggression while others are bred to protect other animals. What are you gonna ask me next? that seeing a hamster and a rat cuddling pisses me off? Two prey animals? yep because they'll fucking kill each other for not being compatible.
yeah I keep rats and dogs and would never let them intermingle, way too risky. Even an innocent snap that wouldn't be anything weird rat-to-rat or dog-to-dog could end up nasty in an interspecies context.
but uhh, the image is cute anyway, even if fucked up
Dogs are more dangerous than a kitten. I also keep my rats away from dogs.
Not the point. I know I'm not going to sink my teeth into my pets. We have a responsibility to prevent our pets that we've chosen to care for from being harmed or killed.
I'm not being tongue in cheek, I agree with you. Don't think humans should have pets - you might never choose to harm your pet, same as the pictured cat and mouse. But not every cat is going to be this nice and neither will every human so long as we continue to choose to be predators.
So that means putting your animals at risk is okay? I know some cats aren't prey driven, but that doesn't matter because it's still irresponsible. What if someone saw this cute video and thought they'd let their cat and rodent play only for the worst to happen?
The responsible thing is to use caution and discretion when introducing any animals to each other---even ones of the same species. You're right that some* species combinations should never be attempted, but cat plus rat is not among those IMO. The potential for interaction should be judged cautiously on an individual basis.
Most people understand that not all dogs and cats can be trusted together. That's why we don't need disclaimers on videos of dogs and cats being cute together. Cats + rats are only slightly lower than dogs + cats on the compatibility spectrum. I think a disclaimer would be appropriate but I also believe it's not necessary here.
Rats are my favorite animal. I've had thirty-one in my lifetime. I never once placed one of my rats in the same environment as my cats, but nevertheless I had a rat become good friends with my kitties (hence my investment in this topic). It was something that developed naturally from his curiosity and aggressive affection. I very gradually expanded his freedom of movement and interactions. Like the cat in that video, my cats were intelligent enough to recognized him as part of the family. I know that it wasn't for a lack of prey drive because I found dead (wild) rats in the garage a couple times.
*Including Rodent+Bird, Rodent+Lizard, Mouse+Rat, Hamster+Rat, Dog+Rodent
