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.
The copyright of the article Feral Cats Kill Birds in Birds is owned by Rosemary Drisdelle. Permission to republish Feral Cats Kill Birds must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Dec 31, 2006 4:23 PM
Jennifer W. Miner
:
THis is a massive, massive problem here in SoCal, where it never gets cold enough to entice feral cats (and semi-wild ones) into a warm place. Unfortunately, there are also as many warm-hearted but misguided people around as there are cats - or so it seems - who vote down plans for trap-and-release sterilization. It's really upsetting to those of us who see the big picture. thank you, Rosemary!
Jan 2, 2007 5:05 AM
Rosemary Drisdelle
:
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for your comments. Attitudes can change but it happens slowly. I'm afraid this is a case of trying to close the barn door after the horses have already left - I wonder if the birds have enough time to wait for us all to come to our senses.
Jan 3, 2007 2:29 PM
Jill Florio
:
this is one of those topics most people don't see clearly. I think the educating part is a long haul...and in the meantime, cats have more litters. :(
Jan 4, 2007 4:00 AM
Rosemary Drisdelle
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Even without the bird issue, it's a puzzle to me why people don't support trap and release sterilization for the sake of the cats themselves. Do they really believe that a population of wild (feral) cats suffering from hunger and disease is a good thing? I met very few feral cats, but the ones I've come across weren't cuddly...
Jan 7, 2007 3:53 AM
BirdAdvocate
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Exactly what is our priority here? Do we enjoy watching cats suffer in the wild while they decimate our wildlife? Do we want to visit our parks to see the colonies of deserted cats lounging around? That is what trap, neuter, and abandon accomplishes, perpetuation of the status quo, while our bird numbers continue to dwindle. We have to stop, cease, and desist pandering to the kitty crowd. No more enabling the cute feral kitties. There is no place for them in our ecology! Lobby Congress to enforce the laws we have in place to protect our vanishing wildlife. Demand they make stronger laws against abandoning destructive pests that kill billions of birds and animals each year. A zero tolerance policy is the only hope we have at this late date, there are too many millions of cats killing birds to perpetuate it with trap, neuter, abandon.
Jan 7, 2007 4:29 AM
bo beolens
:
A number of correspondence are critiscising well meaning people for not supporting the trap-neuter-reurn policy for feral cats. I'm sorry to say this is very mis-guided. These correspondents are very well meaning but returning feral cats to the wild still means death for countless small mammals, reptiles and millions of songbirds birds. The ONLY humane solution is to trap and re-home and, where this is not possible, trap and put to sleep. If well meaning cat lovers cannot accept this then they must keep the feral cats in compounds and pay for their keep etc. Until people wake up to this reality our environment will continue to be impoverished
Jan 7, 2007 6:27 AM
Rosemary Drisdelle
:
I don't think we are at cross purposes here - the literature I've read indicates that trap-neuter-release works better to reduce the numbers of feral cats because it prevents the "overflowing bathtub" situation where more cats just pour over into an eradicated area, breed unchecked and restore the former numbers. I would be most interested to read any solid documentation that refutes this. Eradication has only worked on islands where new arrivals can be prevented. I don't think it's reasonable to suggest that we can eradicate hundreds of millions of feral cats overnight - how would this be accomplished? For the moment, isn't a 50% reduction (see my recent article http://birds.suite101.com/article.cfm/feral_cats_kill_birds) in feral cats better than no reduction, given that North American society as a whole is - so far - not with the program?
Jan 7, 2007 11:26 AM
BirdAdvocate
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I would suggest we get behind the National Audubon Society and The Wildlife Society in opposing any abandonment of ferals into the wild.
Jan 8, 2007 4:42 AM
Rosemary Drisdelle
:
Many thanks for that sensible comment. For anyone who's interested, the National Audubon Society's resolution regarding feral cats (1998) can be found at http://www.audubon.org/local/cn/98march/nasr.html
It's important that we realize what we're up against. On Ascension Island, an isolated island with an area of about 91 sq mi (35 sq km), an eradication program required more than three years, over a million dollars, and the complete cooperation of the island residents. There were an estimated 600-800 feral cats on the island. This example clearly illustrates that we face a challenge of staggering proportions in North America. Eradication is even more probematic in such a large area for reasons already stated.
In my area, I'd support an eradication program (provided the eradication area was inclusive and the design included public education and incentive for domestic cat owners to have their pets neutered and registered), but if a trap, neuter, release program was the attainable compromise, I certainly wouldn't oppose it.
Jan 26, 2007 10:19 PM
Alan Sorum
:
I don't see the problem with reducing the number of feral cats. It is pretty clear they have a major impact on bird populations. Alaska has had similiar problems with ground nesting birds on islands that accidently receive rats. After a few years, the birds are gone.
