Even if the theory of every animal killed making the species stronger were true there is no good reason for a cat supported by a human to take food away from carnivores who need to feed themselves.
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The cat can be seen as increasing the competition, in turn making the other carnivores stronger too.
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Years ago there was a study on the impact of coyotes moving into the canyons of San Diego and the researchers were surprised to see native bird populations rebound. They figured it was the coyotes eating the cats. Of course, now coyotes are everywhere.
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My momās cat brought a few not-quite-dead lizards into the house over the years. Surprise!
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Bell collars donāt work anyway. Our cat could move totally silently wearing a bell that when handled by me tinkled just because I looked at it. A mouse or a vole would have heard it just as his jaws were closing and that was about it. He once hooked a bat out of the air simply by waiting for it to fly by and then putting up a paw.
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More importantly, the coyotes eat the local rats who shelter in human-built structures, but decimate nearby wild bird populations by eating bird eggs.
The cats are generally too well-fed to make a big difference in the rat population.
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Thatās exactly what I heard.
We have 2 indoor cats and 3 outdoor layabouts, hereafter referred to as āThe Three Stoogesā. While I have found the occasional rock dove carcass (hence, ādumb as a box of rock dovesā), I am far more likely to find a dead rat or mouse on the back doormat, the Stoogesā contribution to the evening meal. The cats get lavish praise for that. Good kitties!
We only have one cat that goes outside ā have tried many times to keep him in, but he just improves his sneaking out between your legs moveā¦
His main reason for going outside is to ādo his businessā (he only uses litter boxes as a last resort). He doesnāt seem to hunt, but he does kill quite a few blue jays ā he grabs them out of the air when they dive bomb him.
As much as we would like our kitties to be indoor only giving access to the outside was what stopped the literal pissing match between the 2 we currently have. They are happy to come in at night so no issues with the raccoons getting to them.
So, the article you link on buildings is raising awareness because people are concerned, and every bird group raises awareness and tries to encourage designs that minimize this problem. So what study are you citing that supports your idea that there is an outsized concern for cat predation and no one worried about building strikes? All of the bird people I know advocate for sensible measures to conserve birds and protect them from preventable take, from poisons to windmills, without disproportionate emphasis on cats.
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cause thats all I hear in the news and from the general public not from bird people.
I see. Well, rest assured that if panties are not in a twist (because no one likes having their legitimate concerns trivialized by casting them as some weird gendered underwear problem), significant numbers of fucks are being given and actions taken to encourage reasonable solutions to unnecessary losses to bird population by birders and their allies. My local Audubon works with cat lovers to sterilize and give needed health care to feral cats, among other non cat-related conservation efforts.
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Well I get more upset at the poor science reporting and the people who take it as gospel and spread it around. Buildings killing birds is an issue and I have long been aware of it and aware that people who know a whole lot more about it than I do are working hard to make things better. Just the panic of late over cats being major bird killers when there are sketchy numbers to support it is annoying. The only cat I had that hunted never went after birds and I was sure he would eventually go after one of the jays out of spite but he never did.
In cool bird news I did hear of one species of small bird that was quite endangered by cars have evolved to fly faster and now dodge the cars easily.
Thatās pretty cool. Given enough time, behavior will evolve and all will be well. In the short term, Iām not above giving them some help to keep them flourishing for my own enjoyment.
Or the cat can be seen as a trust fund kid with a rifle. He does not kill to sustain himself. He is sustained by another and kills just because he can.
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The worst threats to NZ bird populations seem to be (1) rats; (2) possums (some stupid fuckers thought it would be interesting to introduce Australian marsupials, which are nominally herbivores but also really like eggs); (3) ferrets and weasels and stoats (stupid fuckers thought it would be interesting to introduce mustelids to put down their trousers); (4) humans destroying the habitat. In no particular order. Then cats.
Hence the recent heart-warming account of saddlebacks nesting in the inner city, outside a protected environment, but still needing protection from possums.
There are populations of ground-breeding shore birds who suffer specifically from cat predation, and need a lot of protective work from the Department of Conservation. In other areas they are a threat to local species of lizard. Generally, though, according to the ecologists with whom I associate, and based on stomach contents, feral and domesticated cats are killing as many rats as they kill birds, so neutral impact.
That is what my feline overlords made me type, anyway.
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All part of Natures balanceā¦
Or as a pest removal service.
True, I suppose there are some who view songbirds as pests with their incessant tweeting.
