People who bitch about cats killing birds are slightly silly(I hesitate to use the word idiot, perhaps because it is used so much on FR). Birds are wild, they take their chances. There has never been a bird species that has become extinct because of feral cats. They catch rodents far more frequently than birds.
I have to species in my area I wish the cats would take down, black birds, both red wing and ordinary, and Canada geese.
I have two cats, I love them so I let them roam at certain periods of the day. If you cat cooped up all the time you don't love them much, cats are made to roam, that is what they are born for and most of them pine for the outside.
Keeping a cat, or dog for that matter, cooped up all the time is animal abuse, IMO.
I accept the risk that one of my two cats may become road kill, that is the price I pay for allowing them to be their own cat for about 3 hours every night. I also don't declaw my cats, what a terrible thing to do to a cat!
People who confine their pets trying to keep them safe are analogous to people who want to wrap their children in plastic. When I was young we were allowed to roam because we had to learn about taking risks and how to survive in life, adults knew that then, they don't now, and because of that we have a generations of children who will never grow up and will want mommy and daddy to take care of them(in the form of the government)for ever.
People who confine pets are doing the same thing, trading a somewhat free existence for safety. No thanks, and when my cats die I know they will have lived a full life, regardless of how they go, and I won't condemn anyone if they happen to run over them, as long as it is an accident. I have seen people deliberately run down a couple cats just because they thought it was great fun.
blackbirds and canada geese don’t have much to fear
esp from cats. there are some bird species that beotchslap cats (mockingbirds for one).
But they do take out far too many of the smaller birds
and thats a reason why cats should be indoors.
Wow. Your cats are people, and you can read their minds. I’m impressed.
Most people fence their yards for their dogs. Don’t put try to put one over on people that cooping pets up is inhumane. Only a small percentage of pet owners neglect their pets. Remember, these are DOMESTICATED animals and they are not needing 24/7 open country to roam. Now go ahead and let your cats roam at will, messing with people’s yards, sandboxes, upsetting dogs in fenced yards so the whole neighborhood is blaming the dog for barking but it is because your darn cat is trappsing across HIS yard. As far as birds; city birds have lost a lot of fear because people are feeding them and they do not have anywhere near the predators stalking them that they have in the wild. A house cat can easily destroy nests filled with young birds and you would never know, other than to think your cat has lost it’s appetite for some reason.... Keep your CAT ON A LEASH!!!