Is the population level sustainable?

[Halo Jones]

As I was going to St Ives
I met a man with seven wives
Each wife had seven sacks
Each sack had seven cats
Each cat had seven kits
Kits, cats, sacks, wives
How many were going to St Ives?

One (unless a Schizophrenic)

[SimonMac]

As I was going to St Ives
I met a man with seven wives
Each wife had seven sacks
Each sack had seven cats
Each cat had seven kits
Kits, cats, sacks, wives
How many were going to St Ives?

Depends what he was claiming on his mileage forms

[doodab]

Well a cat can have up to seven litters a year, so if we say an average of 3 kittens per litter and they can breed from 4 months onwards............. so you're looking at a lot of mouths to feed.

Dogs only have 1 litter per year. So it looks like cat domination.

Dogs can eat cats, so will thrive while the cat population explodes then crash once the cats start to starve due to overpopulation. Then it will all go round again.

[Ignis Fatuus]

There are ten million Cats in the UK and ten million dogs.

What I want to know is, if they were all wild, and not kept and fed by us, what would the natural population be ? Also, if we went back ten thousand years, how many could the country support

Cats are "subsidised exotic predators". Their natural population density in Britain would be about 1 family per 10 square miles, rather than 1 moggy every second house.

If they had to feed themselves, there would be about one hundredth the number of cats. And an awful lot more native birds.

Domestic dogs are, well, domesticated, and have mostly lost the compulsion to predation, so do not impact the environment so much; but conversely might do so more if they were wild.

[EternalOptimist]

Cats are "subsidised exotic predators". Their natural population density in Britain would be about 1 family per 10 square miles, rather than 1 moggy every second house.

If they had to feed themselves, there would be about one hundredth the number of cats. And an awful lot more native birds.

Domestic dogs are, well, domesticated, and have mostly lost the compulsion to predation, so do not impact the environment so much; but conversely might do so more if they were wild.

Aha, thats what I wanted to know.

Dogs might not predate, but they sure sh1t everywhere.

[Paddy]

There are ten million Cats in the UK and ten million dogs.

What I want to know is, if they were all wild, and not kept and fed by us, what would the natural population be ? Also, if we went back ten thousand years, how many could the country support

Too good to let them run around. Taste like chicken.

[shaunbhoy]

As I was going to St Ives
I met a man with seven wives
Each wife had seven sacks
Each sack had seven cats
Each cat had seven kits
Kits, cats, sacks, wives
How many were going to St Ives?

None. The dogs called in an Air Strike!!

[AtW]

New Labour are "subsidised exotic wasters". Their natural population density in Britain would be about 1 family per 10 square miles, rather than 1 every second house.

If they had to earn themselves, there would be about one hundredth the number of them. And an awful lot more native tax contributors.

FTFY