Very interesting piece of research.

From The New York Times:

That Cuddly Kitty Is Deadlier Than You Think

Domestic cats in the United States kill billions of birds and mammals a year, according to a new report, a rate that is much higher than previous estimates.

http://nyti.ms/X6pW84






http://nyti.ms/X6pW84

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Kathleen, mom to one human, age 17, three canines, and a bunch of fish.

If by mammals that means mice and bats? More cats need to be released!

As a gardener - I 100% encourage my cat to hunt chipmunks and voles in my garden.

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Always loved, never forgotten, all our previous boys -

I'm this close to letting my big ole neutered tom out to hunt up my stupid gopher.


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I just read that article before coming to the forum. Did anyone read the comments section? Someone wrote that his dog killed a bird. Does that make him a copy cat killer?
Pretty funny

I agree completely. And RATS!

What a stupid thing to fret about, cats keep the small mammal & bird population down, small mammals & birds keep the insect populations down, and so it goes.

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**Fraulein "Maggie" Louise 8/2/95 - 7/20/09**
*At Rainbow Bridge but Forever in Our Hearts*

I am not a cat lover, but them eating mice, moles,ect. is okay, but i hate seeing them get birds.

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WHEN SOMEONE YOU LOVE BECOMES A MEMORY,THE MEMORIES BECOME TREASURES,OF THE HEART.

Yea but all of these animals they kill can drastically effect the ecosystem. I know that the salamander population has been drastically effected, and its suspected even the eastern blue bird has had great losses due to both domestic and stray cats


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This is just 1 more reason mine are indoor only! (although it is tempting to let them after the gopher in my front yard!)

I believe the domestic cat is technically considered an invasive species and can do the same damage as other invasive species.
I love cats, but they are deadly predators

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Bear 6/2000-5/27/2012

I could be wrong, but the bluebirds have more problems with starlings than cats. Over here where I live everyone puts out nest boxes to encourage the bluebird population. The problem is that starlings are pretty nasty, and they will literally nest over the nestlings. House sparrows do the same thing.

The starlings too compete directly with the bluebirds for food sources.

^ I had this drilled in my head by the resident "bird guy" at my work when I was standing by a window watching and admiring a starling hopping around in the rain.

I own an indoor/outdoor cat, and he has NEVER caught any bluebirds. We have them on our property (we have a lot of dead old trees where they nest). The type of birds he zeroes in on are those that hop around close to the ground. These would be juncos, chickadees, sparrows, and wrens - which are all plentiful here.

And cats in general predate on ground hoppers/lowfliers like starlings and house sparrows - which actually DOES a favor to the bluebird population.

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Always loved, never forgotten, all our previous boys -