Perhaps it’d due to my urban environment, where birds tend to come in the varieties of sparrow, pigeon, and crow, but I’m unable to get my panties in a twist over their impending genocide. :rolleyes:
I’m floored by the attitude that cats should be killed for hunting birds. It’s just what they do. I don’t kill birds for shitting on my porch, windows, and siding, and attempting to nest in my air conditioner, tempting as it is.
For the record, I keep my cat inside, both for his own safety and because his idea of a “present” and mine don’t really coincide. But it occurs to me that the problem here is caused at least as much by birdfeeders as by cats. When you ring the dinner bell for the birds, you ring the dinner bell for everything that eats the birds, too.
Perhaps it’s because stray/feral cats in my mill town environment tend to come in the flea-bitten, scruffy, diseased varieties that I am unable to get my boxers in a knot at the thought of their annihilation. The birds that they kill, even the sparrows, are more aesthetically pleasing.
Fair enough, but in this case, let’s just acknowledge that each of us are defending the species we personally prefer, and not pretend that we’re concerned with any larger environmental issues.
Please don’t start this in IMHO. It just ends up trashing the thread or pushing it into the pit because city people who think cats belong only inside think that everybody else should be like them.
I live 1/2 mile from the nearest paved road. My cats go outside during the day. They don’t bother neighbors, don’t get run over by cars, and keep the mouse population down.
If I lived in New York City, my cats wouldn’t go outside
House sparrows and pigeons are both invasive alien species in America, so they’re actually a great example of why alien species (whether it’s a cat, a bird, or even a non-native plant like the Purple Loosestrife that has choked out many native plants in American wetlands) shouldn’t be allowed to run rampant and push out the native species. Maybe American cities would have more diverse and enjoyable native wildlife in them if the natives hadn’t been largely pushed out by the alien species who were never meant to be here and aren’t subject to the normal checks and balances they’d be exposed to in their native ecosystem.
This issue is a really good example of how so much environmental destruction happens: a lot of people doing some minor damage, taken all together, leads to a huge problem. Some of the people here don’t see the problem with one loose cat killing off a few birds in one guy’s backyard. The problem is that this situation happens over and over again across the country, and the cumulative impact of it is a big deal to the environment.
My family had a cat–mostly indoor, but we let her outside on a leash. Her collar had a bell on it. She had no front claws, but did have back claws. We also had birdfeeders–we had them before we got the cat. Over a span of ten years, the cat killed half a dozen birds, mostly sparrows which didn’t bother us, but at least once she got a prettier bird, and we were unhappy. Not mad at the cat–she was just doing what cats do. And we generally tried to stop her from killing creatures–birds, mice, voles, etc. because we weren’t fond of dealing with dead animals. Especially the messily dead.
But if my cat were routinely killing birds, I’d rethink the feeders, or the cat going outside or something.
And if it were not my cat, I’d really rethink the feeders, or consider doing something about the cat. Of course, my parents present problem is that the cat which enjoys watching birds at their feeder is an outdoor cat belonging to the neighbor.
I didn’t mean to imply that the whole list was attributable to cats - just that the whole list is a sad commentary on how many species are already gone, and that in addition to that there are several examples on there of species that cats helped wipe out.
The ecosystem is complex and when people try to alter it by bringing in new species, the consequences are not often fully predictable.
Cats are all right, but I like dogs even better. I think dogs are happier when they’re allowed to roam free and hunt what they want than they are on a leash, so maybe I should start releasing packs of feral dogs in my neighborhood to help with pest control. :rolleyes:
A cat’s instinct is not a good argument. What if I had a pet dog that went around eating neighbohood cats? What I instinctively do is chase cats out of my fenced-in yard because I don’t like stepping in their crap. I don’t want them killing birds in my yard or peeing in my yard or fighting in my yard or howling in my yard. Do you see a theme here? MY yard. Not YOUR yard.
If I had the time I’d install a cat launcher. It just has to arch high enough to clear traffic. Wouldn’t want someone driving by and have a cat shoot through their window. After all, THEY’RE not driving on my lawn.
I don’t mean spaying/neutering would stop cats from hunting, but it does have an affect on feral cat numbers. The only thing that is 100% effective in stopping cats from killing wild birds is keeping them indoors. Ferals don’t have a home to keep them in. So it is really people to blame, not the cats.
I get a big kick out of watching neighborhood cats facing off against neighborhood squirrels. They dance back and forth and nobody gets hurt. The face-off is priceless.
Everybody on the bus. Cats, non-native birds, all the kudzu plants, white people, black people, europeans, asians, everybody who isn’t an American Indian or Mexican; none of us originally were here, so to be fair, we all have to get the hell out.
I would love to have a birdfeeder, but I’ve got a killer on the loose who goes by the nom de guerre Mr. Kitty, and I refuse to encourage his appetites. However, my other kitty has never caught a bird that I’ve known of. This morning, I watched him kill his first one, and I was so proud of him!
As to the OP, I don’t think it’s too fair if there’s a birdfeeder, but I suppose you’re not really obligated to stop the cat. I think I personally would in that situation, but I’m not holding it against you if you don’t.
This cat is ferrel, and has mastered catching birds. He’s also very fat - so I’m guessing he is actually a she and is very pregnant. I wouldn’t stop her for anything right now. I may once she has her kittens use a few Have-A-Heart traps and catch them and bring them to the humane society, where they will be spayed and neutered.
Qadgop brought up a good point, I live on the edge of a meadow to the north, woodland to the west and south, and Long Island Sound to the East…we have a healthy population of raptors around here, but I’ve yet to see one take anything larger than a juvenile squirrel. I did see a coopers hawk snag a starling the other day though
