A cat forum. CatBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » CatBanter forum » Cat Newsgroups » Cat health & behaviour
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Give Birds a Break. Lock Up the Cat.



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old October 2nd 09, 01:32 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
chatnoir
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 110
Default Give Birds a Break. Lock Up the Cat.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/sc...pagewanted=all

headline:

Give Birds a Break. Lock Up the Cat.

excerpt:

Peter P. Marra, a research scientist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird
Center at the National Zoo, pointed out that cats were the only
domesticated animal permitted to roam. “Pigs have to stay in pens,
chickens have to stay in pens,” he said. “Why are cats allowed to run
around and do what their instincts tell them to do, which is rampage?”

It isn’t fair to the cat. Regular stints outdoors are estimated to
knock three or more years off a pet cat’s life. “No parent would let a
toddler outside the house to run free in traffic,” said Darin
Schroeder, vice president for conservation advocacy at the American
Bird Conservancy in Washington. “A responsible owner shouldn’t do it
with a pet.”

In the view of many wildlife researchers, a pet cat on a lap may be a
piece of self-cleaning perfection, but a pet cat on the loose is like
a snakefish or English ivy: an invasive species. Although domestic
cats have been in this country since the colonial era, they are
thought to be the descendants of a Middle Eastern species of wild cat,
and there is nothing quite like them native to North America. As a
result, many local prey species are poorly equipped to parry a
domestic cat’s stealth approach. “People fool themselves into
believing that by simply putting a bell on a cat they could prevent
mortality to birds,” Mr. Schroeder said. “But a bell ringing means
nothing to a bird.”

Moreover, free-ranging domestic cats are considered subsidized
predators. They eat cat food at home, and then hunt just for sport, a
strategy that allows them to exist at densities far greater than
carnivores achieve in nature. “It’s estimated that there are 117
million to 150 million free-ranging cats” in the United States, Dr.
Marra said. “They’re the most abundant carnivore in North America
today.”

Yet for all their indefatigable stalking, cats will rarely take on the
most cursed vermin in our midst. “The myth has been propagated that
urban roaming cats do a lot to control the rat population,” Mr.
Schroeder said. “But science has shown that cats don’t predate on
rats, especially not the rather large variety seen in our cities.”

Cats’ toll on birds is a less mythical matter. In one famous study
reported in the journal Nature, Kevin R. Crooks of the University of
California, Santa Cruz, and Michael E. Soulé of the Wildlands Project
in Colorado looked at the population dynamics among cats, coyotes and
scrub birds in 28 “urban habitat fragments” of Southern California. In
the developments to which coyotes had access, free-ranging cats were
rare and avian diversity high. The coyotes ate cats but rarely
bothered with birds. Where coyotes were excluded, cats ranged free and
bird diversity dropped.
....
  #2  
Old October 3rd 09, 05:15 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Give Birds a Break. Lock Up the Cat.

"chatnoir" wrote in message
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/sc...pagewanted=all

headline:

Give Birds a Break. Lock Up the Cat.

excerpt:

Peter P. Marra, a research scientist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird
Center at the National Zoo, pointed out that cats were the only
domesticated animal permitted to roam. “Pigs have to stay in pens,
chickens have to stay in pens,” he said. “Why are cats allowed to run
around and do what their instincts tell them to do, which is rampage?”

It isn’t fair to the cat. Regular stints outdoors are estimated to
knock three or more years off a pet cat’s life. “No parent would let a
toddler outside the house to run free in traffic,” said Darin
Schroeder, vice president for conservation advocacy at the American
Bird Conservancy in Washington. “A responsible owner shouldn’t do it
with a pet.”

In the view of many wildlife researchers, a pet cat on a lap may be a
piece of self-cleaning perfection, but a pet cat on the loose is like
a snakefish or English ivy: an invasive species. Although domestic
cats have been in this country since the colonial era, they are
thought to be the descendants of a Middle Eastern species of wild cat,
and there is nothing quite like them native to North America. As a
result, many local prey species are poorly equipped to parry a
domestic cat’s stealth approach. “People fool themselves into
believing that by simply putting a bell on a cat they could prevent
mortality to birds,” Mr. Schroeder said. “But a bell ringing means
nothing to a bird.”

Moreover, free-ranging domestic cats are considered subsidized
predators. They eat cat food at home, and then hunt just for sport, a
strategy that allows them to exist at densities far greater than
carnivores achieve in nature. “It’s estimated that there are 117
million to 150 million free-ranging cats” in the United States, Dr.
Marra said. “They’re the most abundant carnivore in North America
today.”

Yet for all their indefatigable stalking, cats will rarely take on the
most cursed vermin in our midst. “The myth has been propagated that
urban roaming cats do a lot to control the rat population,” Mr.
Schroeder said. “But science has shown that cats don’t predate on
rats, especially not the rather large variety seen in our cities.”

Cats’ toll on birds is a less mythical matter. In one famous study
reported in the journal Nature, Kevin R. Crooks of the University of
California, Santa Cruz, and Michael E. Soulé of the Wildlands Project
in Colorado looked at the population dynamics among cats, coyotes and
scrub birds in 28 “urban habitat fragments” of Southern California. In
the developments to which coyotes had access, free-ranging cats were
rare and avian diversity high. The coyotes ate cats but rarely
bothered with birds. Where coyotes were excluded, cats ranged free and
bird diversity dropped.
....

nature = varied and some times dangerous.

 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Electronic cat doors that lock both ways [email protected] Cat health & behaviour 4 December 30th 07 06:58 PM
Taking a Break! cybercat Cat health & behaviour 3 December 12th 05 06:13 PM
Peeing on couch - time to lock him up? korey99 Cat health & behaviour 118 May 22nd 05 11:25 PM
Break a leg, Shadow guynoir Cat health & behaviour 6 May 7th 04 06:27 AM
Kitten break! Dennis Carr Cat health & behaviour 8 April 28th 04 06:06 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:32 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CatBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.