News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by prvc on Friday September 15, 2023 @02:47PM (#37527533)
Cats should not be left to roam freely in cities. They would catch and spread incurable parasites (including to humans), and they would be exposed to various other dangers, such as getting hit by cars or attacking or being attacked by other animals. Furthermore, they leave droppings, and other messes, such as the corpses of the animals they kill, and they damage bird populations. Keep housecats indoors, and do not feed feral cats.
Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by ivraatiems on Friday September 15, 2023 @02:54PM (#37527617)
This is absolutely true. I feel conflicted about feeding feral cats, because I don't love the amount of suffering they often endure, but I think the appropriate middle ground is to support trap/neuter/release (TNR) programs if you're going to engage with feral or domestic-but-outdoor cats.

If they can't reproduce, then feeding them actually reduces the harm they cause because they won't need to go out hunting for food.

I will say, though, as someone with cats who are escape artists, I love this product, I'd find it invaluable. We already have AirTags on them but it's an imperfect solution.

Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by prvc on Friday September 15, 2023 @03:19PM (#37527936)
>If they can't reproduce, then feeding them actually reduces the harm they cause because they won't need to go out hunting for food.

That's completely unfounded speculation and wishful-thinking.

Would you like for cats to deposit their parasite-laden (human-infecting, incurable) feces in your herb garden, where your children play, or directly outside of a window you need for ventilation? If so, than there are certainly others who would not. Basic decency demands that you don't facilitate this.

Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by ivraatiems on Friday September 15, 2023 @05:47PM (#37529496)
> That's completely unfounded speculation and wishful-thinking.

It's not 'speculation' to suggest that logically, an animal which is not hungry won't expend energy to hunt for food.

> Basic decency demands that you don't facilitate this.

Basic decency demands showing compassion to animals in need. But if there's one thing I'm seeing in this thread, it's lots of people who seem to think their views on these matters are moral universals.

> Would you like for cats to deposit their parasite-laden (human-infecting, incurable) feces in your herb garden, where your children play, or directly outside of a window you need for ventilation?

Do you even know how cats decide where to poop, or what they do with their feces? Cat feces doesn't just sit out, they bury them. While it's true feral animals - including many cats - harbor parasites, healthy cats are typically fastidiously clean. Much cleaner than dogs, and I should know, I have both.

You have awfully strong opinions but they don't seem like they're based in much knowledge.

Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by prvc on Friday September 15, 2023 @06:10PM (#37529707)
>It's not 'speculation' to suggest that logically, an animal which is not hungry won't expend energy to hunt for food.

Your argument remains as merely some vague hand-waving, still with no evidence presented.

Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by ivraatiems on Friday September 15, 2023 @06:16PM (#37529758)
It feels like you're being deliberately obtuse, but, here you go:

https://www.unitedspayalliance.org/feral-cats-if-you-feed-th... https://www.felina-sicily.org/en/how-to/to-feed-or-not/ https://www.feralcats.com/good-neighbor https://spayneuterspringfield.org/feral-cat-info

and here's a study describing what happens when one doesn't take this approach:

https://www.dvm360.com/view/feral-cats-fed-not-cared

All of these were on the first page of Google for 'feeding neutered feral cats only if fixed' or 'feeding neutered feral cats only if fixed study'

What I'm suggesting is standard and recommended practice.

Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by prvc on Friday September 15, 2023 @06:25PM (#37529825)
Those are advocacy websites (run by toxo+ cat lunatics), not reputable scientific publications.
Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by ivraatiems on Friday September 15, 2023 @06:31PM (#37529883)
I literally cited a scientific study as my final link.

But given that you think people who like cats are "toxo+ cat lunatics," I think there's no productivity in this exchange. You clearly have some really strong biases, and you've made clear what I was already inferring from your comments - you won't agree with anything that doesn't support your incorrect viewpoint.

Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by elzbardico on Friday September 15, 2023 @03:07PM (#37527784)
Cats always roamed outdoors. like kids used to do. It is a fucking part of life dying, having diseases.

Keep your cat vaccines up-to-date, neuter them and have regular checkups. An indoor cat is a miserable life, intended to be an object of some over-controlling miserable person who is afraid of life and want everyone else to be as miserable, paranoid and afraid as them.

Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by tonymillion on Friday September 15, 2023 @03:13PM (#37527852)
Enjoy your toxoplasmosis, and subsequent schizophrenic symptoms… but at least your cats got to hunt all the diseased rats they like, right?
Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by elzbardico on Friday September 15, 2023 @03:42PM (#37528195)
And, According the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you have a much higher likelihood of contracting the disease from eating raw meat or from gardening.

But I guess you don't do much of either.

The thing is, like everyone of us, you'll die someday, you'll get sick, probably even very sick as you age. You can't cheat death, disease and suffering for ever. You can do the reasonable stuff to take care of you, avoiding really stupid stuff like DUI, hard drugs, cigarretes, excessive drinking, too much sugar, but you need to understand that this only goes so far, and that in average, it is not liking you are going to double your lifespan if you became completely anal about preventing risk. Sooner or later, no much how paranoid you are your cellular machinery will star failing, and no, you won't be able to upload your life to the cloud and live forever in the metaverse as much as your average incult billionaire tech bro believes.

And when this day comes, the question that really matters is not if you are going to die soon, but wether you have ever lived.

Now, you are free, and if you want to live in a super-afraid-karen modem the rest of your life, none of our business. But don't force an animal to share your miserable outlook of life. If you are so worried about the cat bringing those dangerous germs to your house, nobody is forcing you to have a cat.

Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by prvc on Friday September 15, 2023 @03:46PM (#37528251)
>According the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you have a much higher likelihood of contracting the disease from eating raw meat or from gardening

Cats deposit the parasite in gardens, so your suggestion that this vector of infection is unrelated to roaming cats is misleading.

Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by nerb on Friday September 15, 2023 @03:55PM (#37528366)
what a miserable, privileged outlook on life. it's wild what must've happened to your mind to delude yourself into being this quick to judge so severely based on such little information. a knee-jerk, emotional response to the facts. i'll do an assumption of you since you're so into it: i feel for the people that have to exist around you. i couldn't imaging the anguish of dating you.
Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by elzbardico on Friday September 15, 2023 @03:30PM (#37528072)
Oh, so much fear, scary world out there. Oh god, it is all so terrifying!!!! All the pedophiles, the rabid dogs, the scammers! better do as mama always made me do, and stay locked at home playing video games!
Re:Find my cat: open-source Cat Tracker by nerb on Friday September 15, 2023 @03:51PM (#37528314)
wow, what a spiteful, judgemental message. people always beat their children to discipline, so should we keep that relic from the past even though we know better? a cat indoors is not miserable; rather you lack creativity to get it the stimulus it needs in a way that doesn't thrust the problems of an outdoor cat onto your local community. outdoor cats are for people who like the idea of having a pet, but don't want all the responsibility to take care of it and instead relies on the local environment to provide it with all of its needs. you force non-cat owners to subsidize outdoor cat ownership. y'all are a draw on our society holding onto this idea cats need to be outdoors b/c you have a naive view of what is "natural". you think your cat is being in nature, but it's more akin to a state-sponsored killer. you think wild animals get the benefit of having a guaranteed source of food, shelter, and disease prevention?