Some bird populations are invasive. European starlings aren't from North America but there is estimated over 100 million. Feral pigeons too. So I only see it as a problem for threatened or endangered species of bird. Also as a tangent, some birds eat cats! Owls, hawks, birds of prey will absolutely snipe cats!
Cats kill a staggering number of species across the world
41–50 of 96 posts
Re: Cats kill a staggering number of species across the world
#42No kidding. Where I live, we had many different kinds of small birds and bunnies in our yard. A couple of years ago, 2 Neighbors got a cat and they let them out. After 6 months, no birds and no rabbits. Now all I see are crows and an occasional Blue Jay. All the small song birds are gone. IMO, there should be a $2000 USD tax per year on owning cats. If you do not register the cat, you get a hefty fine. Also dog catch…
Even for indoor cats? Responsible indoor-only cat owners cause none of these problems
Cats get out, I know plenty of people who's cats escaped and they spend a day or two looking for them.
Re: Cats kill a staggering number of species across the world
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pretty sure it’s just bad logic informed by propaganda.
Excuse me what propaganda? This is informed opinion.
If one was to replace "cats/dogs/animals/horses" in your statements with "humans", one could get another informed opinion. A bit cynical perhaps, but informed nonetheless.
Re: Cats kill a staggering number of species across the world
#44I've read multiple times that there've been discussions in a few places around the world to ban cats, or certain breeding of cats to save wildlife, or birds specifically. But I haven't heard any law become real, anyone?
Canberra requires cats born from 1 July 2022 to be kept indoors.
https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/pets-and-wildlife/domest...
Re: Cats kill a staggering number of species across the world
#45No kidding. Where I live, we had many different kinds of small birds and bunnies in our yard. A couple of years ago, 2 Neighbors got a cat and they let them out. After 6 months, no birds and no rabbits. Now all I see are crows and an occasional Blue Jay. All the small song birds are gone. IMO, there should be a $2000 USD tax per year on owning cats. If you do not register the cat, you get a hefty fine. Also dog catch…
I don’t know why it happened in your neighbourhood but when I lived in Monschau, I had a Freiganger and there were at least five other cats outdoor all the time. We had plenty of birds. But we took care of our gardens so there were so many insects. Bees, wasps, hornets, flies, mosquitoes of various kinds, ants, spiders, occasional hummingbird, everything. Not many rats. Some mice. Those cats kill a ton of mice.
Now I live in the city. No cats but rats and people walking dogs dumping on the sidewalk.
I take a suburb with cats.
Edit: of course, I don’t deny that cats kill a staggering number of birds.
Re: Cats kill a staggering number of species across the world
#46I've read multiple times that there've been discussions in a few places around the world to ban cats, or certain breeding of cats to save wildlife, or birds specifically. But I haven't heard any law become real, anyone?
I think at least one small town in New Zealand has banned domestic cats specifically because of the impact on flightless birds.
Cats also devour New Zealand’s indigenous ground bats.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_lesser_short-tai...
> The bat roosts are very vulnerable, as they contain more potential prey within a single area. If these roosts were found by a predator, they could experience mass mortality events; in one incident, 102 lesser short-tailed bat deaths were caused by a single house cat in central North Island.
Re: Cats kill a staggering number of species across the world
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
The UK is more resistant to change than even we Americans are (except for units of measurement). Just because something has been one way for a long time doesn’t mean it’s good. Cats kill lots of native wild animals, and whether those animal populations would be similar without them is entirely beside the point. In the same way it is inhumane to have dogs rip foxes apart for sport, it is inhumane to allow pet cats to…
There is barely any "wilderness" in the UK. The landscape has been transformed, species have been introduced, other killed off, especially predators. In suburban areas there are also many birdfeeders in gardens. Does that mean additional birds without natural predators? I am sure that cats can have a negative impact in countries where they have been introduced more recently and where there is still true wilderness bu…
Cats kill wildlife in the UK
They also shit in people gardens and veg patches, and spread toxic parasites
Re: Cats kill a staggering number of species across the world
#48This reminds me of an old comic from The Oatmeal:
https://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill
Re: Cats kill a staggering number of species across the world
#49I've read multiple times that there've been discussions in a few places around the world to ban cats, or certain breeding of cats to save wildlife, or birds specifically. But I haven't heard any law become real, anyone?
Cats roamed free for hundreds and hundreds years now. It is not like their presence was a new change.
A primary difference is that cats were introduced into environments as a non-native species and have become the apex predator. This is especially true in New Zealand and Australia. Unlike native carnivorous mammals such as the Tasmanian Devil, Quall's, and Bandicoots, cats hunt for food and sport rather than act as scavengers. Cats in Tasmania have no natural predators other than humans. I've had many cats for pets and yet in an unbalanced environment short of predators, they really can cause tremendous damage.
Short of an all out ban, keeping them indoors or in a catery or controlled in some manner seems reasonable.
Re: Cats kill a staggering number of species across the world
#50No kidding. Where I live, we had many different kinds of small birds and bunnies in our yard. A couple of years ago, 2 Neighbors got a cat and they let them out. After 6 months, no birds and no rabbits. Now all I see are crows and an occasional Blue Jay. All the small song birds are gone. IMO, there should be a $2000 USD tax per year on owning cats. If you do not register the cat, you get a hefty fine. Also dog catch…
Hard to believe that this would be caused by two cats. I live in a village (south east Germany) which had plenty of free-roaming and stray cats for decades (or rather, centuries I'd guess) and wildlife seems to manage just fine.