[TN-Bird] Re: Fw: cats are predators...but
- From: mgreene@xxxxxxxxx
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 08:35:29 -0600
No scientific studies here, but speaking from personal experience about 15
years ago we had a Tom cat who in the span of about three weeks killed the
following birds and laid them at our carport door: Eastern Screech-Owl,
Loggerhead Shrike, Field Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, and Northern
Cardinal. That was in three weeks! I can only imagine how many birds it
killed in the span of one year! The cat did not eat any of these birds -
it brought them home as trophies and laid them at the doorstep. The
Screech-Owl was the last one and also the last straw for me. It was a gray
phase owl which had been roosting in a shed behind our house during the
winters for two years! I vowed that day that if something happened to that
cat that I would never have another outdoor cat. Two weeks later the cat
was hit by a car and I have never owned another cat to this day. Keep in
mind that cats were my favorite domestic animals up to that point. I was a
cat lover.
This past summer my grandparents had taken in a cat which they were
feeding. My grandfather loved the cat because it would dig up moles in his
yard. It also killed an Eastern Bluebird, a House Finch, and a Robin.
These are just the ones that I saw when I was visiting. The House Finches
had nested for several years in ferns on their porch. The cat ripped out
one of the nests, busted the eggs, and killed the female. My grandmother
was so angry that she continually asked my brother and I to get rid of the
cat for her. One day while my grandfather was away my brother took the cat
and took it to the animal shelter.
One last story - my mother-in-law has two indoor cats. This summer she
came to visit and brought the cats. She left them outside for two hours
and in that two hours they tore out a rabbits nest and killed a small baby
rabbit and mortally wounded another one. Needless to say I was livid.
Another strike against outdoor cats for me.
I could go on and tell of the cats that we had growing up and the birds
that they killed and the cat that my wife had when we were dating, etc.,
etc. but I'll spare you the details. Suffice it to say that those stories
had similar endings for the birds. No ecotourism anti-cat lobby or
scientific studies here. I'm speaking from personal experience and let me
tell you folks, cats do significant damage to wild birds. Cats are very
proficient hunters and they don't always just kill because they are hungry.
I'm not trying to tell you what to do if you have an outdoor cat but I
think you should be aware of the facts. Should you choose to ignore them,
that's your choice but trust me that outdoor cat is killing more birds than
you will ever know about. Are there other wild predators out there which
do more damage to birds than cats? Absolutely, but if we keep our cats
indoors that's one less predator for the wild birds and small mammals.
That's reason enough for me to not have an outdoor cat.
Good birding,
Mark Greene
Trenton, TN
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