Save the planet: Get rid of your cat
Evidence is mounting that having a cat isn't very green: Along with humans, they are having a devastating impact on birds and marine life.
We're willing to tax plastic bags to save the planet, but are we willing to give up our pets? There's increasing evidence that our love of cats and dogs is having an adverse impact on the earth. Sure, pet owners experience joy and even the release of endorphins when they cuddle with Fluffy, but benign Fluffy is not.
A new report on the state of bird populations in the United States paints a grim picturefor the future diversity of bird species. The State of Birds survey indicates that fully one third of U.S. species are in decline. There are many pressures, most of them human, including habitat destruction. But the second biggest reason for the decline of birds: non-native species predation, which includes invasive critters, domestic animals, and house pets. Among pets, cats are the major threat. There are an estimated 77 million pet cats (pdf) in the U.S. (that doesn't count feral or stray populations which could more than double that number). Numbers vary but experts believe pet cats kill millions of birds in this country each year.
Urban cats are part of the problem in part because habitat fragmentation turns your yard from part of the larger wild system into an ecological island. Visiting birds are more isolated and vulnerable and can be more easily picked off by hunting cats who have the place staked out. Islands are particularly rough on stressed species: The place native birds are doing the worst is Hawaii. Another problem: despite best intentions, keeping cats indoors is problematic. since only about a third (35%) of pet cats are kept exclusively indoors, according to the American Bird Conservancy. Well-fed cats hunt. Cats with bells on their necks are successful predators too.
Then there's the problem of cat food. The New York had a recent column on the earth-devastating, or more accurately, sea-devastating, impact of cat food. In an op/ed, author Paul Greenberg, writes about the problem with his cat:
Coco, like most American cats, ate fish. And a great deal of them — more in a year than the average African human, according to Jason Clay at the World Wildlife Fund. And unlike the chicken or beef Coco also gobbled up, all those fish were wild animals, scooped out of the sea and flown thousands of carbon-belching miles to reach his little blue bowl....
The pet food industry now uses about 10 percent of the global supply of forage fish. The swine industry consumes 24 percent of fish meal and oil — fish oil being considered the best way to wean piglets. Poultry meanwhile takes as much as 22 percent, which means that even when Coco ate chicken, indirectly he was still eating fish.
The bottom line is that wild fish runs, on which whales, seals, orcas and other species depend, is being radically depleted worldwide, and much of the catch winds up in your cat's bowl. Many of the same arguments in favor of veganism for people apply to your pets. So does the idea of feeding pets locally with only land-based animals or crops.
But there's still another issue. Our pets, especially cats, are spreading diseases to wild species. Here's an example that's right in our front yard. Many people have heard that sea otters in California have tested positive for parasites spread by cat feces and kitty litter that makes its way to the ocean via run-off and sewer systems. But it also appears that this is also happening in Puget Sound.
The parasite is Toxoplasma gondii, and cats are the main carrier. A 2007 paper in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases found the parasite in river otters in the San Juan Islands. They had higher rates than otters tested in Alaska, which suggests that human proximity (and therefore domestic cat proximity) is a factor in spreading it. And previously, a 2001 study in the Journal of Parasitology (now there's some bathroom reading!) of harbor seals in the South Sound (Gertrude Island, near McNeil Island) found they also had the cat parasite.
In short: cat poop is one of the many contaminants that is poisoning the Puget Sound ecosystem and its wild inhabitants.
I love cats and have owned cats (outdoor and indoor), though not for many years now. I relished some for their ability as ratters to help keep my home rodent free. (This in itself has a downside as conservationists point out that in some places, cats out-compete owls and other native predators for prey, though I have no regrets about trying to keep my basement rat-free.) Others cats I loved simply for who they were. But the recent news about cats and their ecological impact is pretty appalling &mdash not to mention the size of Fluffy's carbon paw print! Who knew that Kibbles could be so costly?
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Comments:
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 8:38 a.m. inappropriate
Good article, Knute. And good advice. But I do question whether cats present much threat to birds. We also no longer keep a cat but for the twenty years or so when we did
I think one of our cats got maybe a couple of birds (through no lack of trying). Judging from the amount of bird shit on my car I would estimate that the bird population around here is increasing robustly.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 8:55 a.m. inappropriate
I love cats. I volunteer with a local shelter. We strongly urge our adopters to keep their cats indoors. We ask if they do take them outdoors, they keep the cat either on a leash or in an outdoor enclosure. I have read about the damage to the environment caused by cat feces. I also support people's choice not to have pets, or not to have pet cats. But I take issue with the phrase "get rid of". All too often, a pet that is "gotten rid of" ends up dying a miserable death as a stray, or being taken to a publicly run shelter and put to sleep.
All the cats that my shelter adopts out have been spayed or neutered. A cat owner can have their current pet spayed or neutered -- either at their vet or at a spay-neuter clinic. Some of these clinics are mobile, and travel to different neighborhoods. Feral cat colonies can be managed safely with a strategy of trap-neuter-return (TNR). Cats are firmly integrated into our society, and compassionate care along with spay and neuter policies can deal with over-population.
As far as a vegan diet goes, cats are obligate carnivores. People are willing to argue that, but I myself believe that the healthiest cats are those who eat an obligate carnivore's diet.
I guess if someone looks hard enough, he or she can find something ecological to object to in everything. I also believe that there are many other sources of ecological damage that need attention. If a person feels compelled to focus on pets as a source of ecological damage, let that person first educate himself or herself on compassionate care of those pets. A first step might be considering one's choice of words when discussing them.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 9:45 a.m. inappropriate
Screw this noise...Just one more assault on our freedoms and liberty all in the name of the new high god environmentalism.
If we succumb to every environmentalist demand forced upon us, we will become serfs in what once was a free country. Our rights and freedoms will evaporate - no more freedom to move about because transportation options are foreclosed to us, no more freedom to be economically independant because that will have been regulated out of existence, and now no freedom to own a pet because it will be seen as another great-satan-like environmental crime.
In a word: Baloney!
The rights, freedoms, and liberty of the people come first. Period! Everything else is secondary to them and to their preservation, which, frankly, is the highest purpose of government. Still...how soon before the Washington State Legislature takes up this issue with its usual and unctuous breast beating, moralizing, and sky-is-falling hysteria? Tailor made for Sen. Rosa Franklin...
Anyone with designs on coming after my Kitty, better be packin' heavy, because they will rue the day they tried to molest a member of my family.
The Piper
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 10:05 a.m. inappropriate
I agree with SMullen above. If we look hard enough, we can find something ecological to object to in everything.
I’m an environmentalist, but there is such a thing as going too far. I don’t think getting rid of our pet cats is the answer to whatever environmental destruction they cause. And if we really want to do the planet a favor, we would just get rid of ourselves.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 10:05 a.m. inappropriate
Good job of highlighting a problem, but what do you propose as a solution? In the words of Bob Barker, Spay and Neuter your pets and support low cost programs. We already euthanize far too many cats in our shelters, yet we underfund preventative programs - scratch that - we have no interest in even creating preventative programs to spay and neuter both domestic and feral cats.
BTW we could also save the planet by "getting rid" of every grouchy person over 50. That's the tipping point between solving problems and simply complaining about them :)
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 10:06 a.m. inappropriate
Erica,
Great minds think alike. ;)
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 10:09 a.m. inappropriate
Alright, Skip, now you've gone too far. Get rid of cats? That might save the bird population--although all my cat does is look fondly out the window at his elusive, would-be prey--but it would decimate the number of happy, single gay men. And I won't have it.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 11:11 a.m. inappropriate
Puh-leeze. As an early adopter of the environmental edict (thanks Gramma, for signing me up with Kids' Audubon in the 60s), I became aware of the cycle of life. This is not just a song from "The Lion King"; I watched Marlon Perkins TV show and learned decades ago that cats eat prey. Most of our urban cats are indoor creatures, and most, like mine are a bit on the hefty side and would have serious trouble catching ground-feeding robins. But even my 28 pound Chives managed to take out a crow, and for that, I erected him an altar.
But the true calling of Chives, and his housemate, the ever-elegant Tsing Mao (rhymes with the Thai beer), is the catching of rats. Hundreds of them -- the small, native field rats and the disgusting Norway rats. These rats carry disease and mess up people's lives, their homes, and their health. And my cats are cleaning up our local environment in their daily slaughter, improving the environment of our neighborhood one vermin at a time.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 11:12 a.m. inappropriate
I don't like cats, "cat people" impress me as being a little weird, and cats are the one thing in the world I'm allergic to. So for personally selfish reasons, I say outlaw them. Put a bounty on them and pay people $10 for every carcass they turn in. Now, in making this statement, I'm concerned only with what would most benefit me personally. But, since politics today is more and more concerned with people using the force of the state to impose their personal preferences on others, why the hell not?! Felix: Enemy of the State! Your days are numbered! Throw down the feline oppressor and live free!
Did I mention that I don't like cats?
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 11:14 a.m. inappropriate
Actually it is illegal under Seattle city and other codes for your pet, be it a dog OR cat, to be out of your yard when not on a leash. Thus, people who let their cats out to roam are violating the law (and allowing their cats to poop in everyone's yard at night), and any effect on the environment is also at these people's feet.
That said, cats in urban environments are much more focused on rats and mice than birds, and rats and mice are bountiful in most cities, so I think the effect on endangered species is probably more than a bit overblown...
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 11:18 a.m. inappropriate
There's a special place in the sewers of hell for people who don't like cats.
The Piper
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 11:23 a.m. inappropriate
I think this is a bit of subterfuge about where the birds are going. Read the classic Silent Spring to get a better idea of what is really threatening our wildlife... and our own lives!
Focusing on cats as an issue is like saying the dust from 9/11 is the issue and not the buildings collapsing or the loss of life.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 11:52 a.m. inappropriate
Is the place in hell for people who don't like cats within earshot of the one for players of bagpipes?
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 12:44 p.m. inappropriate
Gee, I'm embarrassed. I chuckled when I read this. I took it for a joke. A local wag getting off an S.J.Perelman riff. But other commenters are taking him at his word. Wow.
Am I wrong? You mean this guy is actually serious about destroying cats?
If so, he might want to consider what happens to public figures who offend animal rights people. Enviromentalists are live-and-let-live, free love bohemians compared to that crowd.
No,it's too ridiculous. This essay is a joke - a stab at ironical humor. A bit of Dario Fo perhaps.
Besides, a 400 lb man wouldn't actual criticise the 'carbon footprint' of cats. After all, who is the bigger abomination to the natural world?
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 12:45 p.m. inappropriate
GOOD GAWD! WHAT'S NEXT? MOSBACKS ARE BAD FOR YOUR BRAIN???
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 12:46 p.m. inappropriate
Seems you've never heard of the CatBib. It's a product that stops cats from catching birds.
Independent field trial results were published in Biological Conservation (a peer-reviewed scientific journal) July, 2007. Summary: "The CatBib stopped 81% of cats from catching birds (4 out of 5 cats) and 45% of cats from catching small mammals."
Recommended by Audubon: Audubon magazine article, Disarming Cats, Jan-Feb 2008 "Wearing a bib....would be good for the estimated millions of birds and other animals killed each year by domestic cats."
All those millions of birds reportedly killed by cats could be reduced by at least 72%, if only more people knew about it and used it. www.catgoods.com
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 12:54 p.m. inappropriate
This is just Knute trying to get a rise out of people, just as he did with his last piece on soccer. I enjoyed both.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 1:10 p.m. inappropriate
What about mandatory treating cats for the parasite to eventually remove it from the environment. Of course no one has probably done the research to develop the treatment because no profit motive.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 2:09 p.m. inappropriate
Gosh, Knute, what's next? The only way to achieve the allegedly pristine environmental state you seem to aspire to is for all humans to kill themselves off, like lemmings. Except the millions of decomposing bodies would release billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere...
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 3:16 p.m. inappropriate
Nice April Fools joke, Mr. Berger. Only you're a day late.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 4:58 p.m. inappropriate
I have, and have always had, cats. While it may not be "green" to own a cat, it will not save the planet if we were to get rid of them. I would suspect you drive a car? Give up your car. I drive a luxury car that burns more gas than a compact and I'm not trading it in for a Kia. My point is, if we are forced to give up everything we love, we will be a bitter society.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 8:36 p.m. inappropriate
Excellent article Mr. Berger. This topic hardly ever gets coverage outside of bird-nerd circles and it has a huge impact on one of the most vulnerable parts of our ecosystem. The attitudes expressed in the comments are all too typical of the self-indulgent Homo sapiens americanus (did P-diddy St. Clair really suggest that enslaving other living creatures is one of his perceived "freedoms"??) but that's par for the course.
Aside from the food issue, keeping cats indoors addresses most of the environmental problems. To encourage your neighbors that compliance would be wise, simply drop them a helpful note warning them that you are planting your yard with plants known to be poisonous to cats and you'd just *hate* it if one of their pets happened to turn up dead because of something it ate in your yard.
Here are a few cat-unfriendly plants: Azalea, Honeysuckle, Foxglove, Daffodil, Elderberry. Many more can be found here: . Happy Gardening!
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 8:37 p.m. inappropriate
Link omitted from previous post:
http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 8:43 p.m. inappropriate
Maybe we can send cats to poop in the Columbia below Bonneville, to get rid of the sea lions.
Posted Thu, Apr 2, 9:21 p.m. inappropriate
This was a day late and a dollar short for April Fools, though foolish it is.
The writing here is so pitiful it could have been written by George Bush. Oh yes, cats are the cause of global warming - cats and their canned fish are the cause of world hunger - housecats are the cause of the decling and seal populations.
Cats caused the war in Iraq while we are at it, cats caused the recession with all their wasteful spending, put them in gas chambers and have rid of them all - oh that's right we already do that to household pets in our "shelters" already...and when we are done with the cats we can blame it on the dogs, then the birds, when all the animals are gone then we will have to blame Jews, people with green eyes, Catholics...
Not worthy writing even for April Fools, not worthy of Crosscut.
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 2:12 a.m. inappropriate
One of the masters (one of two house cats ) commanded me to chastise Mr Berger, and to inform him that cats have long played an important role in human history, from ancient Egypt and Rome, to medieval whitchcraft, to modern market capitalism. Furthermore, they dont mind if we give up plastic bags, are required to give up smoking, fried food, meat, or even reading our news on paper. They just want me to remind everyone that if the masters leave, we humans will have to contend with other furry, though much less aggreable creatures.
And rats dont purr.
For my own input, might I mention the growing similarities between early 21st century Seattle, and much of the cautionary early 20th century
Sci-Fi? Must we become that dystopic? Really?
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 4:49 a.m. inappropriate
Sacre bleu!
The Great Cat Massacre: And Other Episodes in French Cultural History
By Robert Darnton
1984..
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 7:01 a.m. inappropriate
Wow. 27 posts on the cat opinion piece. You wouldn't get half that many on a child abuse story. People value their stupid pets more than they value other people. I hope the Seahawks trade for Michael Vick.
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 7:41 a.m. inappropriate
You might want to consider writing a piece on obesity and the environment.
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 7:43 a.m. inappropriate
My wife and I have 3 cats (thanks to a daughter who kept bringing them home during summer visits while in college. Thankfully, all are neutered.
This is the single best thing any cat owner can do: have the thing spayed or neutered. People who keep non-sterilized cats around, letting females produce litter after litter of kittens, are totally irresponsible and thoughtless.
Cats ARE extremely hard on the environment, from the commercial stuff we feed them, to the birds and other small critters they kill and often eat.
One of our cats, from an animal shelter, had been de-clawed by a previous owner, and catches birds only in her dreams, but the other two, a brother and sister, efficiently destroy dozens of birds every summer, despite our efforts to control them. Though we love them, when gone, they will not be replaced. Their lives are worth less than the scores of brown creepers, golden-crowned kinglets, and rufus-sided towhees they have destroyed.
As I am a deer hunter, I always save venison scraps and organ meats for these killers, who devour it with gusto. Sadly, there's never enough to feed them for a year.
Toxoplasmosis: Sadly, it is an endemic parasite, quite natural to be found in cats (initially picked up from eating infected raw meat...generally wild birds and small mammals). Once infected, a cat cannot be "cured;" it is infected for life, as will be any other animal infected, generally from oral contact with cat feces. Wear rubber gloves when cleaning the cat box! and wash well when done!
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 8:30 a.m. inappropriate
Housepets certainly cause a lot of environmental problems. It's good to point that out.
A lot of "environmentalists" drive to the mountains every weekend, have big houses, and use massive amounts of resources. It's pure hypocrisy.
I'm not calling for any huge measures to address this. Just calling it.
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 11:26 a.m. inappropriate
This article recycles all the old anti-cat arguments, including the so-called bird population depletion. I have seen some of the research, and its sketchy at best. If there have been good, comprehensive studies I'd appreciate a review of those, or a link to them, otherwise I'll continue to think its a lot of bunk.
I can never figure out why no one talks about the impact of dogs on wildlife populations. I've never seen a cat bring down a fawn, eat a baby rabbit, or corner a marmot. But I've seen dogs do all these things, and more --grab a squirrel off the low power lines, a bird from a bush etc. And no one ever says--get rid of the dogs, don't let them out etc. Why is that?
Dogs, like cats are carnivores. I don't think we should confine either one to solely an indoor life, but would appreciate a bit more even-handedness on the part of those advocating such ideas.
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 11:54 a.m. inappropriate
Uh, how about just keep the cat inside and properly dispose of its feces?
Responsible behavior is what's required, not bans. Otherwise we might as well ban having children, having cars, having clothes, anything but organic farming, etc. Everything about our lives is contributing to environmental degradation. The only solution is to find ways to get people to live more responsibly.
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 12:37 p.m. inappropriate
I would feel very sorry for single guys if cats vanished. The demographic reality (without generalizing) is that every single woman between 29-45 has two cats and every single guy has to feign interest in those cats to get anywhere with said woman. Imagine a cat-loving single woman who no longer has cat-access. Now THAT's a scary thought.
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 2:23 p.m. inappropriate
There was some research done about two years ago in England that each domestic cat during its lifetime killed over 75 birds.
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 8:21 p.m. inappropriate
What a STUPID article! Cats have an adverse effect on the earth? Are you kidding me!? How about all of our gas guzzling cars, the balzillion dirty disposal diapers in our landfill. How about some of these people who over populate the earth like bunny rabbitts. These are just a few of the major polutants. Get real! Cats eating birds and fish, Seals eating fish, cougars eating deer, coyotes eating rabitts and cats, it's called the circle of life. Get over yourself Knute!
Posted Fri, Apr 3, 10:10 p.m. inappropriate
I thought when I read this piece yesterday that it would whip people up, but wow! It's a factually accurate commentary, for sure. I appreciate the fact that Knute does not call for mass feline-icide though (who would?). Do a little research and you will find that there are all kinds of impacts we have on the environment, introduced/exotic species (cats included) being a pretty big one. The matter is no doubt worthy of attention.
Posted Sat, Apr 4, 6:25 a.m. inappropriate
Piper, the problem with your manifesto is that there are limits in the natural world. You have the freedom to want whatever you want, but you don't have the freedom to have your cats and sea otters, too. At least, not unless you come up with a way to keep kitty litter out of the Sound.
By the way, toxoplasmosis is a problem for people as well, with sometimes fatal consequences. (It can rule out organ transplant, for example.)
I think it's possible to love cats (and people) and still be aware of the environmental problems we're causing with our current lifestyles.
Posted Sat, Apr 4, 10:31 p.m. inappropriate
Not to wrestle with a pig, but the data currently available on the cat impact on birds and the environment is specious at best. I know this makes the bird geeks shudder, but what you find on the internet is ... well typical of what you find on the internet.
Posted Sat, Apr 4, 11:54 p.m. inappropriate
I am so grateful to Pearl for mentioning the CatBib, available via CatBib, or Audubon Society. Between domestic cats, and reflective windows, our bird populations are being dangerously decimated. Anyone who questions this should do the research. Audubon Society has now provided my new remedy for my pet problem, with CatBib as well as window decals. Hopefully, I'll never have to bury another bird or field mouse in my yard! Thanks, Pearl! Perhaps some letters to the editor would be worthwhile, because, though a longtime member of the Audubon Society, I'd never heard of CatBib, and all the jingle bells, harnesses, leashes and cables were no more than entertainment for neighbors and a huge source of stress to boomeranging Morris... We all need to remember that nature is a web and we have done more than enough to disturb its balance.
Posted Sun, Apr 5, 7:37 p.m. inappropriate
Interesting point of view on this one. But I would have to say, as Pascal said, "The more I see of man the more I love my dog."
Posted Mon, Apr 6, 10:32 a.m. inappropriate
Wait...there are myriad large-scale environmental issues, myriad important ways in which people need to make their daily lives greener, and you're focusing on PETS? Can you just not find anything else new to say? Or is this a search for shock value?
I'll grant that people need to be more aware of the environmental impact of companion animals, but you immediately go from "be more aware" to "get rid of," even in the headline. Do you have any awareness of audience, or do they not teach that where you come from? Honestly, I'd fail one of my students for that move.
This is not simply because I'm a cat owner who is personally annoyed with this piece (although I am); it's because I'm a tree-hugging lefty who's tired of this kind of piece making the rest of us look silly.
Posted Mon, Apr 6, 11:09 a.m. inappropriate
I am a cat and I take offense to fat, over consuming humans telling me that I am an environmental danger. I personally don't kill birds but take great enjoyment watching them through the window. The amount of fish product in our canned and dry food is minimal and nonexistent in many cases. Just read the labels of even the premium brand cat foods. Corn-meal,water, chicken meal or chicken by-products. No wonder we are getting as fat and out of shape as you humans. You sterilize us (at least the responsible guardians do). Why not try it on yourselves and get a little greener.
-Dominic the cat
Posted Mon, Apr 6, 5:19 p.m. inappropriate
I think you (and when I say you I mean everyone) will find that the reason for the decline of birds, and sea creatures is going to be: primary productivity reduction, caused by HUMANS.
Also, would you guys care to describe the enviro impact of dogs, which are usually bigger and eat more meat products than cats and there are more of them? I thought this article very biased.
Posted Mon, Apr 6, 5:49 p.m. inappropriate
Oops...someone forgot to post this article on April 1st.
I am a Behavioral/Crisis Counselor at a public high school, and I have permission from our administration to bring one of my cats to school to keep in my office as a therapy pet. You have no idea what a positive impact my cat has on highly anxious and distraught teenagers. Give her up??? Not on your life. She, like all other sentient beings, has VALUE.
M.A.
Posted Mon, Apr 6, 10:22 p.m. inappropriate
green shmeen...this guy is just being humourous while trying to keep our brains working...OBVIOUSLY domestic pets are not the cause of the downfall of the planet...that being said, it's important to understand and accept that everything has an impact...kitty litter and prozac do indeed create a biological presence that must be acknowledged...however, i'd go after seal hunters, privatized water and nuclear weapons before i'd go after a 'bad cat' doing what it was bred and encouraged to do...remember the plague...and remember the witch hunts...let's all just get involved in a food bank or growing an organic garden,mentoring a kid, or fostering a litter of baby domestic pets that never did ask to be born, shall we?
Posted Tue, Apr 7, 1:31 p.m. inappropriate
Umm... this article is a parody, right? The idea of a bunch of humans keyboarding away on power-sucking computers about how housecats are upsetting the ecosystem ought to make you helpless with laughter.
I recall a UK study a few years back which demonstrated that domestic housecats were crucial to keeping the English ecosystem / food chain in balances; without them, the rodent population would literally overwhelm human infrastructure.
The suggestion that we should be tinkering with inter-species biosystems to "improve" the environment is ridiculous.
Posted Tue, Apr 7, 10:56 p.m. inappropriate
Is there a solution to the problem of cat predation on our wildlife?
The problem of cat predation is becoming dire everywhere, and will continue to become more so until ecologists and birders organize and put up a united front with our votes! Some of our present organizations are so diluted by the cat enablers all they do is meekly "study" the situation or reluctantly agree to TNR plans. Meanwhile the cat enablers "experts" are lobbying our politicians.
We hold the winning cards in these facts. There is nothing moral, ethical, lawful, or humane about abandoning a domestic animal into the wild and enabling it to suffer while decimating our wildlife!
Posted Wed, Apr 8, noon inappropriate
Claiming that TNR cats are "suffering" is banal.
Posted Wed, Apr 8, 4:29 p.m. inappropriate
"Claiming that TNR cats are "suffering" is banal.
— Arie_v"
Oh? What about the TNR cat that lost a leg in my fan belt last winter? I took the day off work and drove it to the vet, but the poor cat was too mangled to repair. He still may have been luckier than the ones who have blundered into my dog's six foot high kennels. There's the one I found coughing and strangling by my front door, too. That one cost me another trip to the vet.
TNR cats don't suffer? Hell, I'm suffering just being humane to the neighbor's TNR cats!
Posted Thu, Apr 9, 11:32 a.m. inappropriate
I recycle obsessively, buy products made from post-consumer recycled content whenever possible, purchase food that was sustainably raised as much as possible, minimize my driving, AND I have four indoor-only cats who are not a detriment to the environment. They are really indoor-only and have never caught a bird, mouse or rat. They don't have the parasite since they have never eaten a wild animal, but I still don't flush their litter down the toilet so it wouldn't infect the otters anyway. I will be looking at the impact of my cats' food on the environment, but I'll bet since I buy high quality cat food, it is not as unsustainable as the stuff that the majority of people buy at Walmart. Next time you decide to write an article, title it appropriately. This one would be much better titled "Save the Planet: Educate Stupid Cat Owners." Oh, but that wouldn't have been as inflammatory, would it?
Posted Sat, Apr 11, 6:28 p.m. inappropriate
All things in moderation. We have nice cat. She has caught a couple of field mice in her time, but we have owls and hawks in our neighborhood and theire numbers do not seem to be declining. By the way we used to have two cats, but one night a coyote got our poorly outdoor adapted manx. So, I think the ecyosystem here is prety safe. As to food, proper modern agricultural techniques and moderation in family size will feed our cats and the people of Africa.
Posted Sat, Apr 11, 9:23 p.m. inappropriate
How can a cat be bad for the environment? Cats are animals; they are PART of the environment. MY cats don't catch birds or any of that stuff because they STAY inside. Also, the birds around here (Hawks, Eagles) are actually dangerous to my cats, which is why we keep them in.
Angela
Backlinks
Posted Mon, Apr 13, 11:52 a.m. inappropriate
As far as impacts on birds, perhaps a solution would be for everyone who owns a yard to put in trees & bushes that would provide cover/habitat/homes/year-round food for the birds.
If we supported them by doing this, perhaps our impact on their #'s (and the cat population's impacts) would be reduced.