Cat vs. Bird: Is it Time to Lock Up Fluffy to Protect Wildlife Diversity?
posted by: Jennifer Mueller 70 days ago
With a population more than 100 million strong, the domestic cat is the most prevalent predator species in the United States and a significant threat to wild song bird populations, according to the National Audubon Society. The U.S. is home to nearly a quarter of the worlds cats. One study estimated that in rural Wisconsin alone 1.4 to 2 million cats were killing between 8 million and 219 million birds every year.
But the cat-bird problem is a worldwide one. Many countries with a preference for cat ownership have a problem with cats preying on wild birds. Based on behavior monitoring of pet cats in Britain, one research team estimated that the nation's 9 million cats probably killed 27 million birds during the spring and summer of 1997. The domestic cat is considered to be one of the major threats to the European Robin.
Figures like these alarm bird fanciers. According to Birdlife International, one in eight bird species worldwide is threatened with extinction and even common species are experiencing population declines. But cats are only one of many threats to birds that includes loss of habitat, competition from invasive species, toxic chemicals in the environment, and climate change.
This weekend, a New York Times reporter explored the issue of pet cats and wild birds in the DC Metro region, interviewing experts who argue that, because house cats are cared for and fed by people, they actually exist in densities that far exceed what nature would allow. The author concluded that we should Give Birds a Break. Lock Up the Cat.
Should Cats Be Kept Indoors?
The American Bird Conservancy argues that it doesn't matter if a cat is well fed; cats hunt. The group runs a Cats Indoors! campaign to convince cat fanciers to keep their pets inside and even publishes tip sheets for making an indoor cat a happy cat. The National Audubon Society also publishes tips for making your yard safe for wild birds by deterring cats. The first tip: keep your own cat indoors.
Many cat rescues will ask adopting families to commit to keeping their new family member inside, not for the safety of birds but for the safety of the cat. Allowing cats to roam the neighborhood knocks an average of more than 3 years off their life expectancy. Cats on the loose are more at risk for traffic accidents or fatalities, injury from wild animal or other cat encounters, and are more likely to catch fatal diseases like feline leukemia (which is actually a virus). Life in the modern outdoors is so dangerous for cats that the ASPCA estimates that feral cats live only an average of 2 years.
“No parent would let a toddler outside the house to run free in traffic,” Darin Schroeder of the American Bird Conservancy in Washington told the New York Times. “A responsible owner shouldn’t do it with a pet. But cat lovers may not appreciate advice from the ABC because the group has endorsed eradication of feral cats to protect sensitive bird populations.
And What About Feral Cats?
The difficult issue of feral cats killing rare birds made national news a few years ago when one bird-loving Texan decided to exact justice on a neighborhood feral that was preying on a beloved endangered bird species, the Piping Plover. The question of whether the Texan's actions were appropriate or legal divided a community and hung a jury.
The kill-the-cats solution comes up a lot and not as a lone crusader solution either. There have been numerous government proposals to capture and euthanize, poison, or otherwise eliminate feral cats wherever there are cat-bird problems. Birdlife International credited removal (no details given) of feral cats from Assention Island with enabling a resurgence of once decimated sea bird colonies. (The bird population revival was commemorated with a postage stamp.)
Care2 circulated a petition this summer opposing killing feral cats in favor of more humane capture-relocate or trap-neuter-return programs and one of our animal welfare cause bloggers urged animal lovers to get involved with humane programs to manage feral cat colonies.
Are House Cats Easier to Control?
The New York Times article was focused on the well-fed, well-loved, urban and suburban house cat. The author cites research by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center revealing that in Takoma Park, Maryland, the author's hometown which is teeming with indoor-outdoor cats, only 10 percent of baby birds survive their first year. This compares to a 55 percent survival rate in nearby Bethesda where either there are fewer cats or cats are more likely to be kept indoors.
Keeping an indoor cat can mean a 20 year commitment of preventing cat escapes and providing enrichment activities to stimulate your cat and prevent him from destroying your furniture. While some cats, even former ferals, adapt to indoor life, others kept indoors from kittenhood may have a strong urge to roam and make regular escape attempts. Consequently, conscientious cat people put bells on collars of free-roaming cats, a strategy both the ABC and Audubon Society consider ineffective.
But how do you address the behavior of millions of pet owners? Unfortunately, the New York Times reporter did not consider whether Montgomery County's cat nuisance law can be credited for the dearth of cats on Bethesda streets. Under that law, cat owners could be fined $500 per repeat incident for allowing their cat to roam on another resident's property.
Read more: cats, birds, pets, environment & wildlife, feral cats, wildlife diversity, roaming cats, birds endangered
comments
a new product is available online for outdoor cats that hunt birds if the cat owners want the Birdsbesafe cat Collar. It uses bright colors to warn birds that the cat is stalking and the birds fly off! Birds see bright colors super well. check it out
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Hello TeeD,
Pretty harsh. Many animals here are not native,but have been here over 200 years. You are not native to here....should we remove you? Factually the biggest destroyer is mankind. Killing the cats is not a solution. Responsible pet ownership and getting the government to stop poisoning the air,water,and soil is what is needed here.
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Cats should be indoors for their own safety. The bird problem is more man made than cat created. Spraying pesticides,leaving granules of poison on ground,polluted water sources,and of course those who "target" practice on any species are more the problem. Cats and birds have always existed outdoors together and it is only in recent years the birds have diminished. Look at the human causes and get them to stop poisoning all of us. Humans are the problem not cats.
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Cats are domesticated animals and need to be kept indoors like all pets (excluding farm animals, of course). If people are worried about keeping their cats inside because they might feel "imprisoned", that's why you dote on them and buys tons of toys. And, big obvious, PLAY WITH THEM!!! Play keeps the cats minds free of boredom.
I live with cats and I play with them and pet them everyday. They love it. They watch the world outside, but are never curious enough to venture outside. in fact, they go in the opposite direction of the open door. They are content, because they get attention and love.
Also,I have 2 parakeets and they are never bored. They live in a cage and they have toys for inside and outside the cage. They are free-flighted (no wing clipping) and I play with them. They love it.
Keep your cat indoors and keep everyone safe, please. No more outdoor cats if you want to keep your furry family member a part of the family for many happy years of your life.
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Cats are living, breathing creatures that love the outdoors. How would you like to be imprisoned? If you just want something to sit around the house for you to admire buy some knick knacks. Also, many people I know who keep their cats indoors have their claws removed, which is a cruel practice that can cause infections and pain for the cat's entire life. It is against the law to do so in some countries and should be here. I have had cats all my life and they have all been indoor/outdoor cats and most of them have lived very long lives. They're not all lacking in road sense. My cat looks both ways before she crosses the street, and she's tough. She runs off raccoons and other nuisances. As far as birds are concerned, very few healthy birds can be caught by cats. Birds fly you know; cats don't. If you want to do something about birds being killed, go after the stupid egotistical men who shoot them for sport. Let Mother Nature alone. Freedom and democracy for cats I say! The American people don't have it, so let us live vicariously through our cats.
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i live in a rural area in washington. all the cats that i have started off life outdoors. we rescued them as babies, re-domesticated them, made sure they have all their shots, yet they all wanted to live outdoors.
sure they catch the odd bird or two. but most of the time they kill the rats and mice that live in the country. i know this because they bring most of them to us to show us what good kitties they are.
should cats be indoors? if i lived in the city the cats would be indoor cats. but here in the rural country -- and especially since they started off live as semi-feral -- they are indoor/outdoor cats [they don't like being out in the rain or snow, so stay indoors except to go to the bathroom (and yes they DO have a cat box-they just prefer outdoors)].
pesticides are what kill many birds off.
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When cats hunt birds,(a natural instinct) they're called murderers; when human hunters massacre birds for "fun", they're called sportsmen. So maybe we should fine hunters for every bird they kill. So saying, I think cats should be kept indoors for their own safety; though in an ideal world, I'm sure they would probably prefer an indoor/outdoor arrangement.
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Have kept my cats strictly indoors since adopting my first from Humane Society, both because they recommended it strongly, and we lived a block from an expressway. No danger to birds, plus cats healthier, flea-free, and at no risk from cars, other pets, or predators. Win-win.
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I live in a semi-rural area of Washington state and have four feeders within my sight. The cats don't come around any more - a B-B round in the arse from my Crossman Air Gun, they remember!
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In my town its not the cats that are killing the birds and running them off. Any were there are a lot of lights, trees, and fields there are going to be many birds.. So the city sets up timed water cannons, loud music, gun shots noise anything that will keep the birds away from the so said shopping stores, so that people will not have to step in poop. Also don't you know about all the germs they carry. So the poor little cats get blamed for all the bird deaths. I feed the birds, and the squirrels in my back yard all the time. I have never seen or found a dead bird from a cat killer. Grown man and little boys with pellet guns, all the time. Why can we not just leave nature alone and let the mother of nature take care of it.
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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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