Domestic+House+Cat

=The Domestic House Cat first originated in the Fertile Crescent, (Egypt, Israel, Mesopotamia- now Iraq- Syria, and Cypress), but soon spread further around the globe. It's mainly only a problem on small islands, like Stephens Island. A cat named Tibbles was brought to a New Zealand island by the local lighthouse keeper. Tibbles killed off the entire species of bird that lived there, the Stephens Island Wren. The Domestic House Cat is invasive because humans like to bring their sweet pets when the travel or move to a new place, and the cats kill off the natural wildlife that lived there before the cat was introduced.= = = =Another place cats have taken over is a closed gate community called the Ocean Reef Club in Florida. Someone brought cats into the club, hoping to deal with a rat problem. Soon, the cats had multiplied to over 2,000. To combat the feline infestation, Ocean Reef set up a "trap-neuter-release" program, called ORCAT. After that, the numbers dropped to 350 cats. They feed the cats, but even well fed cats hunt out of instinct.= = = =A way we can prevent this from happening is by watching our cats closely, making sure they're not killing off too many animals, also, not bringing them to small islands.=

-Mattie

[|Tibbles The Cat]