If you have an outdoor cat, chances are, that cat likes to hunt. New research shows that outdoor cats are having a significant impact on songbird populations.
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Something Wild
4/15/05 Keep that Cat Indoors!
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Many of us have domestic cats and we may believe that it is kind to allow them to roam outdoors rather than keep them confined. But that furry feline friend of yours is also a ferocious predator. By some estimates, free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds and possibly more than a billion small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians in the United States each year. Some experts believe that as many as 4 million songbirds may be killed each day.
Hi, this is Iain McLeod for Something Wild.
According to census data, 60 million households in the United States have pet cats. In addition, there are 60 million stray and feral cats living here as well. With between 60 and 120 million cats hunting in rural, suburban and urban areas, song bird populations have been drastically affected.
A four-year study of cat predation by the University of Wisconsin?s Department of Wildlife Ecology revealed that most bird kills occur in spring and summer. Many of the spring killings include vulnerable nestlings and fledglings. The majority of the kills are song birds, but larger birds are also killed, especially as nestlings.
With songbirds struggling to survive because of other factors such as habitat loss, pesticides and pressure from invasive species, we could at least prevent the unnecessary deaths caused by our pets.
So please consider keeping your feline friend inside. Not only will you help to protect songbirds and other wildlife, but it is much healthier for the cat. Cats allowed to roam free are far more vulnerable to disease, parasites, being hit by cars and may become victims themselves of other predators such as hawks. The United States Humane Society reports that indoor cats live an average of 17 years, while free-roaming cats typically live less than five years.
Something Wild is a joint production of New Hampshire Audubon, New Hampshire Public Radio, and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
For Something Wild, I'm Iain MacLeod.
If you have a natural history question that you would like answered on Something Wild, email us at somethingwild@nhpr.org.
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