this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2026
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Science Memes

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[โ€“] SPRUNT@lemmy.world 98 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Spoken like someone who knows nothing about zebras. They're not striped because of camouflage; that's their prison uniform, and they are all violent offenders.

[โ€“] Denjin@feddit.uk 51 points 1 month ago (1 children)

There's not many animals that haven't been domesticated because they're cunts. And zebras are one.

[โ€“] nesc@lemmy.cafe 22 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Cats on the other hand are domesticated despite being cunts and we absolutely adore them.

[โ€“] Krauerking@lemy.lol 21 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Oh, no. As the scientists of the Smithsonian put it,
"scientists think the house cat is only domestic when it wants to be"

[โ€“] mech@feddit.org 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

We didn't domesticate cats. They domesticated us.

[โ€“] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 month ago

They kept rats out of our food storage and we viewed it as adequate enough to not kick them out.

[โ€“] GoofSchmoofer@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Humans can have unconditional love for cats, but the opposite is not true

[โ€“] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I bet house cats would never have been a thing if they didn't house-train (bury their feces) instinctually.

[โ€“] nesc@lemmy.cafe 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They are extremely useful and adorable. I think it's the violence that makes them so magical, like they are extremely cute cold blooded killing machines.

[โ€“] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

The usefulness is dubious for most house cats. Most households don't have mouse infestations, and cats who go outside actively endanger wildlife (and yes, that is an issue for humans as well).

I do agree that they're extremely cute, probably very useful on a psychological level, and honestly I don't know any other cute pet animals that are as cleanly with their feces (dogs can relatively easily be trained to not shit on the carpet, but not to shit in a dog toilet).

[โ€“] nesc@lemmy.cafe 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Most households where? Even in rich modern nations mice and rodents were a problem very recently. Like in the lifespan of some users on this network.

[โ€“] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Most households in rich nations I guess. I haven't ever heard of anyone I personally know that they have a rodent infestation in their home.

[โ€“] LH0ezVT@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago

Oh, we had. Rats are common in all cities, and mice in the countryside. Sure, nowadays you'd just get an exterminator, but having a cat would prevent that as well. Our dog caught a rat in our basement once, and I'm pretty sure we avoided mice due to her presence as well.

The usefulness is dubious for most house cats. Most households don't have mouse infestations, and cats who go outside actively endanger wildlife (and yes, that is an issue for humans as well).

I'd say our cats are useful. These are their stats:

Number of birds killed by cats in my household over the last 5 years: 1
Number of birds killed by going full speed, beak first, into a closed window, then tried being passed off as a successful prey: 2 Number of mice killed: +500
Other wildlife known to have been affected: 1 mole

Can other wildlife have been affected? Possibly, but we're confident with regards to birds. And the only other weve seen cats go for are mice. Not even rats, I guess they're too big.