uh-oh.
I’m presently feeding a feral kitcat.
I did notice the mouse population dwindling.
I haven’t noticed less birds.
Seriously, how many birds can a cat eat per day?
I had a male Maine Coon who would bring grouse inside, cripple one of their legs and then keep it around to play with, until, of course, we put it out of it’s misery and out of the house.
40 years ago, my inside only apartment cat somehow found a dormouse. It ruled the roost until we got rid of it. It would get up on its hind legs and chitter at the cat, who just sat there, watching it.
Don’t tell the PETAs, but most Northern Spitz dogs will devour entire mouse & bunny nests every Spring. Still, there is no shortage.
I have one cat, one Akita and we occasionally get feral cats on the farm. I have all sorts of song birds, from oriels to bluebirds to thrush and finch. They thrive on wild thistle and invade the wild junipers for the berries.
Rabbits do more plant damage than cats in the flower bed, as far as that complaint goes. I have noticed that the same folks who rant about cats think coyotes have a right to life, yet coyotes will decimate bird nests, as will fox.
Mr. Mercat, famous for being a zoologist, says that cats serve the necessary roll of predator. Without predators, the prey population becomes weak and destroys the environment. So we feed the birds because it entertains us but we have an out door cat because they are welfare birds and nasty dirty things.
Cats don’t necessarily eat their kills, they just enjoy watching them die.They play with their food often.
This article is no great revelation. Notice a few cats around and soon the rabbits grow less.
My cats don’t eat birds, when the cats are out the birds fly away.
I have 3 cats that never go outside...I,too, have fed feral strays...if they caught a bird, it was a stupid bird....they rarely were able to catch birds...but my dog killed a squirrel the other day, I guess that doesn’t count...