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[Reelya]

Once the no-daughter thing gets into the pet population (as it will, although mostly by human incompetence in keeping a proper eye on a 'pedigree' queen), there could end up being a pressure upon illegal kitten-farms hording 'clean' queens and possibly (or possibly not, if they're looking for return customers over ethical business) 'clean' toms, in whatever dank conditions they can get away with.

If there's a male-only gene drive then all females are "clean" by definition, even if they had previous litters of gene-drive males. So it's just clean males that would be in demand. In fact they could breed the females with gene-drive males in order to have only boy kittens for sale. It's a lot less surgically invasive to neuter males.

Other types of pet animals seem to be ok without letting them out for random breeding experiments.

Not really. Most thoroughbred dogs come with a whole package of genetic disposition towards a gazillion health issues.
Same for throroughbred cats. A lot of them have respiratory afflictions, or genetic disposition to kidney failure at relative young age.

But they do that deliberately, because they're bred for shows and pedigrees, so they deliberately breed them with e.g. parent/child or sibling inbreeding. So in those cases the breeding stock is heavily restricted by design. For just standard pet cats there isn't the same pressure to do that, so it's not quite a comparable situation.

"Show cats" are an inbred mess. The average cat you buy in a pet shop isn't the same. And that's what we'd be left with if strays largely disappeared because of a gene drive. Pet shop cats aren't going to suddenly become mutants because there are less strays. But also with less random unwanted cats being bought, then demand for pet shop cats would increase, and to meet that, the size of the breeding pool would have to rise, and a larger breeding pool promotes diversity.

[martinuzz]

Tbh I think selling cats from a pet shop is animal abuse. Cats aren't meant to be put on display in a little cage until someone comes and buys them.

[wierd]

I think most people get "moggy" cats, because that is what most people have, and they tend to self-reproduce.

Moggy cats are on average, healthier (because they arent inbred, or have serious renal or respiratory problems that "purebred" cats have), and smarter than their "show" counterparts.

They also tend to be "free to a good home" because mittens managed to get out and find some random tom somewhere and then popped out 12 kittens a few months later, and her peoples cant afford to keep 13 cats.

I think spay and neuter are good control methods, but introducing a genetic nuclear option is over the top. Nature is significantly less kind about things than humans, and she is more than willing to murder them all, so to speak.  Currently, stray cats live terrible, bleak lives-- but no worse so than any other wild predator of their size. 

If you are a pet owner, keeping your pet from replicating out of control is part of being a responsible one.

I personally see the market for cats go way up if there is an introduction of a nuclear population depletion option in the population, because the depression on the market from ubiquitous availability of moggy cats will vanish. I dont think the benefits would outweigh the costs, and think it is dangerous to do so.

Now, if you want to totally destroy a population that should not be someplace-- like mice in NZ, or cane toads in AU--- by all means! Nuclear Option Ahoy!

Companion animals?  Better to institute more aggressive fines and fees for irresponsible pet ownership.

[Descan]

My issue with the nuclear option on strays in an area with a beloved pet population is that they gon' fuck; no pure-breed is actually pure, it's got stray in it, and if that nuclear option gets in, it'll eradication to cleanse the breeding population again.

y'all gonna cause cat eugenics

[ChairmanPoo]

An acquitance of my father once walked into his house to find his favorite (up to that moment) uncle skinning and cooking his pet cat.

[martinuzz]

An acquitance of my father once walked into his house to find his favorite (up to that moment) uncle skinning and cooking his pet cat.

That is one of the moments I would cross the 'thou shallt not kill' treshold, and skin and cook the uncle. You don't kill my cat and live to tell it.

[Helgoland]

My issue with the nuclear option on strays in an area with a beloved pet population is that they gon' fuck; no pure-breed is actually pure, it's got stray in it, and if that nuclear option gets in, it'll eradication to cleanse the breeding population again.

y'all gonna cause cat eugenics

If I understand correctly, it wouldn't be a problem because the females are always clean. If you happen to lose the last clean male - and that's quite a task -, you could probably just edit back the DNS of an 'infected' male.

[wobbly]

Now, if you want to totally destroy a population that should not be someplace-- like mice in NZ, or cane toads in AU--- by all means! Nuclear Option Ahoy!

Companion animals?  Better to institute more aggressive fines and fees for irresponsible pet ownership.

Trouble is cats are both of those for AUS

[hops]

Instead of hating on the cats can we get around to wiping out mosquitoes first

[TempAcc]

Cats are more edible though.

[Eric Blank]

Don't you know bug meal is the hip new thing

Cats are relegated to bad stereotypes of foreign countries.

[ChairmanPoo]

Stereotype? My dad's friend genuinelly had his cat eaten by his uncle.

[martinuzz]

Heh, nifty. Utah university is developing self-focussing glasses.
http://www.utahbusiness.com/university-of-utah-engineers-develop-smart-glasses/

[wierd]

Sounds like an oil-lens from Dune...

[martinuzz]

Haha yeah. Liquid glycerine instead of oil, but yeah.