An Open Letter to Outdoor/Feral Cat Supporters

[XemaSab]

Dear Outdoor Cat Owners/Feral Cat Supporters,

Does the photo above sicken you? It sickens me. I have been rescuing animals, both wild and domestic, since I was a child. I’ve rescued field mice to horses, and everything in between. I’m allergic to cats, but in my lifetime I’ve rescued five of them. The last one, who took up residence under my house on a frigid January afternoon, is now a friend’s happy, healthy indoor cat. I look at the photo, and am enraged by how cruel and callous human beings can be.

I have been a wild bird rehabilitator for 25 years. I have received countless numbers of wild birds mangled and/or killed by outdoor/feral cats, such as the Orange-crowned Warbler pictured here. Is it the fault of the cats? No: it is the fault of their owners, their former owners, or the Trap-Neuter-Release crowd. I look at these birds, and am enraged by how cruel and callous human beings can be.

When you allow your cats outside, or feed and sterilize ferals (but don’t actually rescue them), you are essentially doing the same thing to wild birds that the unknown monster did to the cat hanging from the tree. No, you are not actually torturing and killing birds with your own two hands; but you are completely responsible, just as if you allowed a child with a penchant for killing animals to continue (and explained it by saying, “It’s too bad for the animals, but that’s what kids do. It’s natural.”)

Can your hearts be so species-specific? Can you talk about how much you love your cat, and ignore the shredded bodies of the birds it mutilates? Can you convince yourselves that your cat does not kill birds, when statistics show pet cats only bring home 23% of their kills? If that’s the case, then let me show you what happens to outdoor cats.

http://10000birds.com/an-open-letter-to-outdoorferal-cat-supporters.htm

Important read.

[Iliyah]

1. Ugh

Dogs and cats somehow seek my home. Tree full birds, and have raccoons and possums here in Los Angeles county not too far from Los Angeles the city.

I do what I can and get at least the dogs and cats to a shelter that do not kill, or a good home.

Some people are so cruel.

[Trillo]

2. "Amazing Photo Of Owl Catching A Cat To Eat (PICTURE)"

In our area, Southern California, owls kill cats, and the feral colonies tend to not live very long, particularly if they spend much time on house roofs. Palm trimmers have told me they've found owl nests with bunches of cat collars, and if they have collars, that means they weren't feral. Nor are owls the biggest birds we have....

Amazing Photo Of Owl Catching A Cat To Eat (PICTURE)
The Huffington Post UK | By Chris York

This incredible photo shows the moment an owl swooped on a family cat and flew off with it.

It is well known that owls are capable of attacking cats and even small dogs but rarely is the event caught on film.

Owls fly high up into the air, then drop their prey and snack on the corpse.



more...

[yellowdogintexas]

3. and then there is this from Texas

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/17/vet-kristen-lindsey-kills-cat-with-arrow_n_7090630.html

So I guess it can go both ways. Coyotes are coming into cities, due to lack of water in their habitat and encroaching civilization. They kill cats and small dogs. Predatory raptor birds kill small mammals too
Cars hit them. Packs of dogs attack and kill them. People poison them or set harmful traps, and the occasional despicable veterinarian shoots them with a bow and arrow.

The best one can do with ferals is get in touch with a rescue group and humanely trap them and get them neutered. Many areas have very reduced price spay/neuter services for ferals and participate in TNR. If you can get a colony all neutered, then there are no more kittens so the colony stays small, plus the
unneutered cats will leave the area seeking mating partners. Result: fewer ferals to kill birds, dig beds and otherwise do harm. Plus they will help keep down the rat and mouse population.

[Duppers]

8. ^^^

Great post. Thanks.

[flvegan]

4. Species-specific? Welcome to veganism, XemaSab.

I mean that in every way you might see it.

[BrotherIvan]

5. I trap and release feral cats in my urban neighborhood

There really is no other option in order to keep the population down/stable. I have adopted out any cats that were friendly, but some cats are caught too late and there is no way they can be homed. When I started, I had new cats coming through every week or so. Females in heat would attract roving males and new litters would be born. Since I worked very hard to get them all fixed, there is now a very stable population of five. Some have been killed by I presume coyotes or cars as my neighborhood is full of fast drivers and we have coyotes from the hills. I make sure they are well fed and have water.

Cats are very territorial and will fight off any new cats coming into the neighborhood. This is what keeps populations stable. If the cats are spayed/neutered, they will not have more litters. Do they catch birds, likely they have though I have never seen the evidence. They also catch lots of rodents because that would be the only food source here in the city. But as I said, they are well fed, so that cuts down the drive to hunt.

I don't really know any other answer. My feral population started when a neighbor abandoned her pregnant cat when they moved. The population exploded. Other than euthanizing every cat, and then doing it again and again as new ones try to move into unoccupied territory, there is no other option.

My pet cats are both fixed and indoor only. I believe that pet animals should be indoors with access to a small, fenced in area if that is possible. Letting pet cats roam is dangerous. But as far as killing every feral in the world, that is also a very cruel notion. People need to make sure they spay/neuter their animals, same for dogs. I believe all pets should be licensed with proof they have been fixed.

[davidpdx]

6. The bigger problem is people dumping their pets

(in this case cats) and treating them as disposable. I lived in a small city growing up and we did have outdoor cats. Occasionally one of them would kill a bird, but I don't how often. These days I live in the city (in a different country) and my cats are indoor only). My wife rescued a cat and unfortunately she has behavioral problems (mainly she won't come around anyone but my wife).

The other issue worth bringing up (and is often mentioned on DU) is the feeding of feral cats. By feeding feral cats you are contributing to pollution from the waste of the feral cats that goes into the storm drains and into our waterways. My wife feeds them and I have urged her not to. While I feel very badly for stray animals, feeding them is not the answer.

We need to look at the reasons why animals end up on the streets in the first place and that is a human problem.

[Duppers]

7. your wife is a compassionate person.

If you would like to help, start a TnR program. It works.

[davidpdx]

9. Yes, but it would have to be a large scale

to make a difference with the number of animals dumped. I also really don't think re-releasing them is exactly human. The winters here can get pretty cold (maybe like the upper mid-west and northeast in the US except we don't get as much snow as they do). The people who drive don't have a tendency to watch out for animals on the road. There are quite a few animal shelters, many of which are supported by foreigners (my wife and I have donated to them). Thankfully the internet has become a good resource to get pets up for adoption. It's never enough though.

[oneshooter]

10. I live 35 miles from town.

I have 40 acres of land and have been killing cats, with collars, on my land for over 30 years. When I first moved here there were six coveys of Quail here. ten years ago there were none. Cats had gotten them. Since then I have made it a practice to eliminate feral cats whenever I see them. I have reintroduced quail to the land and have had great luck maintaining the four known coveys that now live here.

I will continue to eradicate vermin, both feral dogs and cats from my property. My neighbors do the same.

[Tom Ripley]

15. Wow

Just wow

[oneshooter]

16. Whats wrong?

Are you disgusted by my behavior? Do you want me to live trap them and then find good loving homes for them?

they were at a"good loving home" before being left by the side of the road.

[riderinthestorm]

11. 25+ years as a barn cat owner (3-5 cats at any given time)

the last barn cat died at 18 yrs old of liver failure when 3 years of twice daily thyroid meds finally stopped working.

I have three barn cats now: all were dumped here and were promptly vaxxed, neutered and socialized ranging in age from @ 4 yrs old to 7 yrs old (best guesstimate by my vet). They have a place in my farmyard ecosystem and do their job keeping the rodent population at bay.




(I thought the "outdoor cats bad" thread had already occurred for this year. Are we doing more than that now?)

[NV Whino]

12. Xemasab has a mission

And neither rain nor sleet nor neutered cats will deter her.

[TeeYiYi]

13. It's like Deja Vu...

...all over again.

TYY

[In_The_Wind]

14. Before I turned my home into a house full of birds I rescued feral cats.

My last two were over 25 years ago. We were a happy family except for the mornings they brought me presents like bunnies.


We've watched the well fed neighbor's cat loves to sleep on the edge of my very small koi pond. I doubt that cat is fast enough to catch anything wild.