Do humans or free-ranging domestic cats kill the most animals in one year?

The domestic cat is criticised almost daily on the internet for being a manic, indiscriminate killer of animals. The human is hardly ever criticised for killing animals. The only people who criticise humans are vegans and animal advocates but their voice is quieter than that of the cat critic lobby.

Well, the first point to note when answering the question in the title is that all we have for cats killing animals are estimates. Or guesstimates. You can't genuinely count on the number being accurate and it is probably the worst case scenario. So here goes:

Free-ranging domestic cats kill around 21 billion animal per year worldwide. This is a midpoint between the max and min estimates.

We know how many animals humans kill as there are records. And the total livestock animals we kill per year amounts to 92.2 billion. I think we can fairly add around 1 billion non-livestock animals to that number making 93.2 billion. That's probably a big underestimate but I stick with it.

And so humans kill 4.4 times the number of animals per year compared to free-ranging domestic cats.

I think humans need to look at themselves in a mirror. It is also worth saying that the farm animals killed often lead horrible lives until they are killed. I mean they are often abused all their lives until slaughtered.

Cats, by contrast, often kill dying birds and infirm mammals. Do you ever see a dead bird lying on the ground? No, because their dead bodies have been scavenged by a variety of predators including the free-roaming cat and the feral cat.

I would doubt that the scientists put this into the equation when estimating the number of animals killed.

The human is the victor in this competition. Oh, one last point, many millions of animals are abused for the fun of it by humans worldwide. Cats don't abuse animals for fun.

Almost forgot: cats have to kill animals as they are programmed hyper-carnivores. They can't eat plants as the nutrients aren't there. Humans are omnivores. We can leave animals alone entirely and probably be healthier. 

There are many studies which say that a vegan diet is healthier than a conventional meat diet.

RELATED: Cat caregivers should try a vegan diet for just TWO MONTHS for real health benefits.

Cat eats all of mouse efficiently, no mess, leaves behind gallbladder

My cat is an incredibly efficient catcher, killer and consumer of mice. He eats the entirety of the mouse in about 60 seconds. There is almost no blood, and sometimes absolutely no blood, left on the floor and he always, or nearly always, leaves behind what I believe to be the gallbladder. That is what the photograph shows on this page. It is quite a big organ and I have always believed that domestic cats leave behind the gallbladder because the bile inside the organ is too bitter for their taste. Everything else is consumed with great cleanliness! Does your cat do the same thing?

Gallbladder left behind after my cat consumed his mouse. He eats very efficiently and cleanly. No mess. No blood and no fuss. All in 60 seconds. All you hear is the crunching of bone. Photo: MikeB.

The remarkable aspect of my cat's behaviour is the efficiency in which he eats mice. I guess it is a testament to the eons of evolution that has resulted in this pinnacle of predation and consuming. I guess that it is to be expected that he would be this efficient. Mice are top of the menu for the domestic cat. Everything that they do is geared around hunting, killing and eating mice. It is their raison d'être for living. They are, as is commonly stated, killing machines at the top of the food chain. No animal is better at killing. 

All you hear when my cat eats a mouse is the sound of the bones crunching. He starts at the head. It is remarkable that he is able to dissect out of the body everything so cleanly and leave this scrubbed gallbladder on the carpet. It is nice that I don't have to clean up after him except pick up the gallbladder and put it into a waste bin.

Of course, I dislike the whole process. I hate it when he brings in mice and eats them in my home. And of course, sometimes they escape and run under an item of furniture so I have to capture the mouse and release it. Perhaps there is no point in releasing an injured mouse because they will die anyway but I am compelled to do it. My cat is aware that I might intervene so sometimes he growls at me to tell me to go away. It is his prey animal and his alone to eat.

The worst moment is the scream a mouse emits when the killing bite is inflicted upon him. It is audible to me because the mouse is screaming at the top of his lungs. It is tragic and I hate it.