Feral Cats Kill Birds
The Issue of Feral and Roaming Domestic Cats and the Birds That They Kill
Feral cats exist in the wild in enormous numbers. They kill hundreds of millions of birds and other wildlife, and it's not going to be easy to get rid of them.
In November of 2006, a man was arrested in Galveston and charged with animal cruelty. He allegedly shot a feral cat that was hunting wild birds in an area that threatened and endangered species of birds frequent. The event sparked a furious debate between extremists on both sides and everyone in between – not a new debate, but an eruption of an issue that has been ongoing for many years.
What is a feral cat?
A feral cat is a domestic cat, Felis silvestris, that lives in the wild, unattached to any human “owner.” Felis silvestris, a cat species created by humans and introduced into the wild all over the world, has no natural place in the ecosystem. Some feral cats have strayed or gotten lost while roaming outside. Some have been deliberately released or abandoned because they are not wanted. Some are the offspring of feral parents, born in the wild.
What is the problem with feral cats?
Because of their relationship with humans, feral cats are able to multiply to incredible numbers in close proximity to human communities. Humans feed feral cats, both deliberately and inadvertently, but the cats also take a toll on wildlife, particularly small mammals and birds. Not only is this hard on the animals they kill, it puts pressure on other predator species that must compete for food.
How many feral cats are there?
It’s hard to get an accurate estimate of the number of feral cats in the environment. One estimate puts the number of feral cats in the state of Wisconsin alone at 2 million or more. In some parts of the state, researchers counted up to 114 feral cats per square mile. Another study estimated 500,000 feral cats in Chicago. Though an accurate total eludes us, it’s safe to say there are hundreds of millions of feral cats in North America.
How many birds do feral cats kill?
Again, estimates vary, but even if each cat killed only one bird each year (studies have shown that some cats kill up to 1000 animals each year), it’s clear that hundreds of millions of birds are dying. Add to this the toll taken by roaming domestic cats (pets that are allowed to roam out of doors), thought to also be in the hundreds of millions, and you begin to comprehend the catastrophic effect that Felis silvestris is having on bird populations. If you also consider all the other threats to birds created by humans – habitat destruction, pollution, automobiles, cell phone towers, wind turbines, tall buildings, airplanes etc. – it seems a miracle we have any birds at all.
What about eradication of feral cats?
Eradication of feral cats is a controversial approach to say the least. The bottom line, however, is that unless the eradication area is an island, it doesn’t work. Killing all the feral cats in one locality simply results in more cats moving in from outlying areas – the animals breed unchecked and the population quickly reverts to its former levels. Eradication can only work if it is applied everywhere at once – not a reasonable objective. Some success has been achieved, however, with trap and release programs, where feral cats are captured, neutered, and returned to the wild. Again, in order to reduce feral cat numbers over all, this approach would have to be applied consistently and in a widespread fashion, but it does seem to keep feral cat numbers down in limited areas much more effectively than eradication efforts. In San Diego, the number of feral cats caught and euthanized by animal control offices dropped by 50% after a trap and release program was started.
Clearly, there’s no quick fix for the feral cat problem. It’s a problem created by people, and it’s going to take a lot of time, effort, and cooperation to clean up the mess – if we ever do.
Sources for this article:
Coleman, John S., Stanley A. Temple, and Scott R. Craven. “Cats and Wildlife. A Conservation Dilemma. 1997.
Feral Cat Coalition, San Diego CA.
Related content:
The Feral Cats and Birds Debate
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