They going to euthanize the hawks next?
Cats are carnivores and birds are good food, and mice and buffalo.
Posted on 06/02/2009 3:03:35 PM PDT by JoeProBono
The topic of wildlife predation by cats is usually a very emotional issue between cat lovers and bird lovers. The books listed in the bibliography will help you become more informed about the issue. As illustrated by this material, many studies have been done worldwide on continents and islands since the early 1940s'. However, much of this information is either ignored or unavailable to researchers in the U.S. More often quoted are two studies in which the numbers have been extrapolated across a state or a country. The results of such extrapolation are deceptive and add up to the impression of tremendous numbers of birds and small mammals killed by cats each year. Cats are carnivores, equipped with highly developed senses, sharp teeth and claws. Wild cats are the supreme predators among terrestrial mammals and although they have a reputation for wanton slaughter, only well fed domestic cats can possibly be accused of this, as they often do not eat their prey. They hunt, in essence, because they are compelled to do so by nature. Even in such cases, scientific evidence shows cats mostly catch small mammals, such as rodents, and insects. Feral cats who rely solely on hunting for food, as with all other wild cats, spend much of their time seeking food and stalking it. They often have to wait for hours for potential prey to come by and often are unsuccessful at making a kill. Many zoologists have observed that feral cats are mostly scavengers, hanging out next to dumpsters to wait for a hand out. Peter Neville, a pet behaviorist and author of many books on cats, worked in England for two decades with feral colonies. Neville states, "a deliberate strategy of scavenging has enabled many feral cats almost to give up hunting altogether. They may learn instead to lie around waste bins of hotels for fresh supplies or to cadge from well-meaning human providers in urban areas." This "begging" and opportunistic behavior started with the domestication of the cat approximately 4,000 years ago. Cats congregated around grain storage barrels, attracted by the rodents who fed off the spilled grain. Cats are opportunistic feeders and hunters, living off the easiest source of available food and will scavenge from human refuse and carrion.
Double Standards
At this time in history when the human population causes so much destruction to the earth, we need to remind ourselves of our species' responsibility and consider our "double standards." We often excuse or ignore the devastation done to the environment by humans and the results of this destruction on our wildlife. Urban sprawl, shopping malls, road building, golf courses, etc. all play a part in reducing habitat and food sources and all have negative effects on wildlife. We poison our air with exhaust fumes from over 120 million automobiles and spray 4 billion pounds of pesticides into the atmosphere annually. The WorldWatch Institute cites deforestation due to razing of forests for croplands, pastures and real estate as one of the major factors contributing to the loss of all birds, including songbirds. There are 14,136 golf courses nationwide, each of which uses 150 acres of land. Each acre is treated with 18 pounds of pesticides annually. Pesticide use causes enormous losses in bird populations. In the U.S., 220 million acres have been deforested for livestock production, yet environmentalists are eager to eradicate all alien and introduced species except cattle. Rather than blaming cats for so many of our problems, perhaps we should look toward modifying our lifestyles and animal-based agriculture, so destructive to natural ecosystems, and move toward methods which are less damaging to our environment.
Why American Songbirds Have Vanished
Although songbird populations are declining, other birds such as blackbirds and greenfinches, blue jays and brown-headed cowbirds (both nestling-eating predators) are exploding. Year-round U.S. bird residents are stable or increasing in numbers, indicating the need for serious consideration and urgent attention to reasons why songbirds are in decline. Blaming cats for songbird decline is a facile and simplistic solution to a complex problem. Professor John Terborgh of Duke University reports in the May 1992 issue of Scientific American that little can be done about restoring songbirds in rural and suburban areas and conservation efforts should be directed towards consolidating and expanding large tracts of forest, such as the Smokies and Adirondacks, to maximize habitat for nesting birds. Another suggestion is for farmers to practice fallowing their fields every two to three years. He also mentions the damage done by clear-cutting national forests and overgrazing federal lands. More than 250 species of song birds migrate south of U.S. borders. Tropical deforestation is occurring at the rate of 142,000 to 200,000 square kilometers each year, an area roughly the size of Florida. At this rate the world's remaining tropical forests will be depleted by 2030 and many species of songbirds will disappear along with them.
I have more info on my Freep page about this. People also forget that birds carry and bring over 60 diseases to your back yard.
I dislike birds and love cats so it’s a win-win for me. I keep our herd in the house constantly.
I hate people who let their cats out to crap on my lawn or to caterwall at all hours. It’s not the cat’s fault, it’s the idiots owner’s fault. Cats are predators and if they weighed 50 pounds, we’d see a lot more missing kids around.
And finally, get off my lawn!
Oh, but that's different, dontchaknow.
I do deny what they do to bird population because it is grossly exagerated. Chemicals, other birds, raccoons, traffic, loss of habitat, hurricanes, storms, pesticieds dropped from airplanes twice a year in the south....TOTALLY outweigh what a cat will kill. Keep in mind that most cats kill the rodents first, then seek the dumpsters and now most are fed by kind-hearted people. The total of all the killers above I posted are 100-1 cat. Birds bring over 60 diseases....
There is no natural niche where a feral house cat fits, and the balance is very delicate. Development has stressed things pretty bad as it is.
I hate to shoot cats, can't eat them, but there isn't any other reasonable solution. The 6 house cats we have run this place, they are spoiled rotten. They never go outside. they are all raised from kittens abandoned along the road.
I'll just have to keep on handling things myself, there doesn't seem to be an end to it.
BTW. I have feral cats behind my home, and I have TONS of bluejays, some cardinals, Pidgoens/doves, hawks, parrots, etc.
It has nothing to do with “civilized”. You are a good example of a dysfunctional urb! What you mean is that you prefer to have some government agency handle unpleasant tasks for you. That may be your choice, but it’s not mine. When I shoot something it is dead, instantly. It is a lot less traumatic than being held down and jabbed with a needle.
You need to realize that not everyone lives just exactly the way that you do.
Your food chain idea is all wrong, we do have a food chain, a natural one, and feral cats are not a normal part of it.
They going to euthanize the hawks next?
Cats are carnivores and birds are good food, and mice and buffalo.
The reality of the situation proves otherwise. Deer are pests. Cats are not. People that get into shooting them strike me as wierdos trying to get their rocks off.
I've spent most of 66 years outdoors, and involved with animals, from hamsters to horses, and I'm really not looking for input from urban Yankees! You sound a heck of a lot like the liberals!
Disagree. From my neck of the woods in rural PA, deer are just rodents with four hooves.
I’ve seen the terrain up there, it is nothing like Florida at all. If you have that many deer in the yard you should be eating pretty good.
I’M ON UR BUFALO, KILLN U WIF CUTE
No—the needles is far more humane. Shooting has a high risk of maiming. How anyone could do that is just amazing to me to begin with...what kind of person would want to just shoot to kill an animal like a cat becuase they don’t want it around? It’s a horrible thought. As I explained...let’s take it out of the governments hands and rely on everyone being a responsible pet owner....requiring they spay/neuter their pets. Then we can save thousands of tax dollars all the way around and keep gov’t agencies out of it. How about that? What? People aren’t responsible, informed about the problem or care? Well..then we will continue to have the humane civilized people like me trying to help the problem hunmanly...or uncivilized people who take the cruel easy route and shoot them.
Maybe that’s your problem...you need to get out of a swamp.
Not knowing a thing about your circumstances, I was just generally trying to help those who see people dumping pets and were complaining about the problems caused by the strays. I intended no insult, nor did I wish to annoy you as much as you obviously are. Please ignore my post and do not assume it was directed only at you.
Of course I would never suggest that anyone sit among the gators and mocs to catch a pet dumper. Why would you even consider it or think I would expect it of you?
Of course I know that not everyone lives as I do. Not too many people live in the middle of a forest in the middle of a corn field in rural Ohio. I have taken in the strays from someone around here, but their queen seems to have died because they stopped coming around about a year ago. If there had been any more, I was fixing to go door to door (all four or five doors) to confront the perp.
I beg to differ about the food chain. The cats are here and have been for hundreds of years, and as has been mentioned here, they are identical to the big cats all over the world except for size, so cats are definitely part of the food chain here. Think pumas.
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