There is a certain point at which problems just seem insurmountable. What the hell are you going to do that will suddenly fix world hunger or global warming, or stop people from fighting wars? You're not a billionaire or a politician. It's easier to just throw up your hands, go back to bed, and let someone else take care of it, especially since naps are fantastic.
But the good news is that for absolutely no effort or cost whatsoever, you can make profound differences in the world. These are meaningless little things that you probably didn't even know made an impact at all, and they can be easily scheduled in between your nine daily siestas.
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Keep Your Damn Cat Indoors (Before It Obliterates the Ecosystem)
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This being the Internet, most of you adore cats. And what's not to love? They're easy to domesticate and are one of the lowest-maintenance pets out there. The trouble is that your beloved kitty's fondness for catching pests can become a huge problem the second you let your snookums outside. How huge? Well, cats are now listed among the world's top 100 invasive species. And yes, we mean domestic cats -- not feral. So, yeah, your putty tat's pwedatowy pwowess is way less adorable once McFluffin starts decimating local ecosystems.
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"Now I am become death, the destroyer of- OH, STRING!"
The problem is that most of us tend to vastly underestimate the impact of domestic cats in the wild. Thanks to human breeding and protection, their population density is actually 100 times higher than feral cats in the same environment, and most ecosystems simply aren't prepared for those numbers. Domestic cats also have fewer risks from predators, as they have safe homes to retreat to whenever, say, stray dogs enter their territory. That means domesticated outdoor cats have all the benefits and hunting skills of feral cats and none of the drawbacks that force other animals to be more cautious. The result is basically a natural apocalypse every time cat owners open the front door.
But maybe you're convinced that your outdoor cat isn't an insatiable killing machine -- after all, you feed the little guy. Why would he feel the need to hunt?
See, that's what everybody thought. So they did an experiment: A University of Georgia researcher tied small video cameras to cat collars and obtained nearly 2,000 hours of footage of kitties roaming the suburban wilds. They watched as these well-fed cats hunted prey ranging from mice to chickens, not even bothering to eat them. Yep, these cats were specifically hunting for pleasure, often hiding the evidence, all the while roaming through forests, across rooftops, and deep in sewage systems. Just murdering everything they saw.
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"Meow-mar's coming!"