This article poses the question what would happen if all cats (pets and strays) in the world suddenly died?

Besides dogs being pleased, I’d imagine that the world would actually be harmed because cats are great predators.

The article confirms this, explaining how important cats are to controlling the rodent population.

Then of course there’s the human-feline bond:

And let’s not forget the emotional toll that a mass cat death would take on us humans: “In this country, cats are much loved by many. While there are more dog-owning households (38 percent) than cat- owning households (34 percent), there are actually more domestic cats than dogs because cat owners own more of them. Cats as pets have always been appreciated for the contact, relatively low maintenance, and pedomorphic (child-like) face and general morphology.”

I’m not sure why the demise of cats was investigated.  Maybe canine lobbyists were trying to encourage feline genocide.  Fortunately, the results defend the existence of cats so all feline fans can have some peace of mind.