I liked this article. I feel like the cat issue is difficult because a lot of people treat cats like wild animals. They claim their animals are unhappy, so they have to be let outside. A lot of cat lovers feel strongly that cats shouldnt be inside only pets. I know in England if you adopt a cat, you have to let it go outside. So it is a very steep cultural problem.
I also live somewhere with a sizable outdoor cat population. I see the same cats everyday and even pet them sometimes! A lot of people are very comfortable with street cats, and dont mind feeding them, etc.
I think the problems surrounding cats are deeply cultural and would need to be actively addressed. People love cats so much. I feel like it shouldnt be hard to figure out solutions but nope! A hundred years later...
Today keeping your cat indoors is one of things we're told we need to do to help birds. It's on every birding or bird conservation organization's list. But I never see cat photos in those campaigns. Plenty of window-sticker photos and bird-friendly coffee photos, but not cat photos. That struck me when I was reading this and seeing all the compelling photos of cats up to no good. Has the social media viral "cat video" phenomenon made it too risky to feature a cat doing something that's not cute? I really like the last photo of the cat that has never caught a bird.
That's a good point, and I think the issue is very political! Researching this article, I was struck that so much more of the language sought to find common ground between bird lovers and cat lovers, rather than accusing cat lovers of being the source of the problem. And I imagine that's still true today.
That photo was my favorite as well - I saved it for the end as a treat for people who finished reading the article 😊
another fantastic post! Not to be the voice of negativity but I have major doubts the last cat pictured has not killed a bird (or other critters for that matter). Research has shown that even well fed cats still kill for fun (it's part of what makes a cat a cat) and cats don't always bring birds back to their owners.
unfortunately the cat problem is hugely political - I find solace in looking to non-American examples where they have confronted the issue pragmatically and successfully - examples from predator-free islands in New Zealand, and what Australia is currently attempting with a new governmental program to cull cats (still TBD on whether it'll be successful).
On my land, I'm the apex predator and the Head Native Bird Tektor (latter is how my rescue conure said "protector," as in "protector parrot" who warned loudly when subsidized and malicious felines were wandering/stalking near his window).
The California suburbanites who invaded our neck of the literal woods these past couple decades have driven out the bobcat and cougar and replaced them with their Fluffins Wuffins. Not a good feline trade in my estimation.
I liked this article. I feel like the cat issue is difficult because a lot of people treat cats like wild animals. They claim their animals are unhappy, so they have to be let outside. A lot of cat lovers feel strongly that cats shouldnt be inside only pets. I know in England if you adopt a cat, you have to let it go outside. So it is a very steep cultural problem.
I also live somewhere with a sizable outdoor cat population. I see the same cats everyday and even pet them sometimes! A lot of people are very comfortable with street cats, and dont mind feeding them, etc.
I think the problems surrounding cats are deeply cultural and would need to be actively addressed. People love cats so much. I feel like it shouldnt be hard to figure out solutions but nope! A hundred years later...
Today keeping your cat indoors is one of things we're told we need to do to help birds. It's on every birding or bird conservation organization's list. But I never see cat photos in those campaigns. Plenty of window-sticker photos and bird-friendly coffee photos, but not cat photos. That struck me when I was reading this and seeing all the compelling photos of cats up to no good. Has the social media viral "cat video" phenomenon made it too risky to feature a cat doing something that's not cute? I really like the last photo of the cat that has never caught a bird.
That's a good point, and I think the issue is very political! Researching this article, I was struck that so much more of the language sought to find common ground between bird lovers and cat lovers, rather than accusing cat lovers of being the source of the problem. And I imagine that's still true today.
That photo was my favorite as well - I saved it for the end as a treat for people who finished reading the article 😊
another fantastic post! Not to be the voice of negativity but I have major doubts the last cat pictured has not killed a bird (or other critters for that matter). Research has shown that even well fed cats still kill for fun (it's part of what makes a cat a cat) and cats don't always bring birds back to their owners.
unfortunately the cat problem is hugely political - I find solace in looking to non-American examples where they have confronted the issue pragmatically and successfully - examples from predator-free islands in New Zealand, and what Australia is currently attempting with a new governmental program to cull cats (still TBD on whether it'll be successful).
I have found this article to be helpful: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10073
On my land, I'm the apex predator and the Head Native Bird Tektor (latter is how my rescue conure said "protector," as in "protector parrot" who warned loudly when subsidized and malicious felines were wandering/stalking near his window).
The California suburbanites who invaded our neck of the literal woods these past couple decades have driven out the bobcat and cougar and replaced them with their Fluffins Wuffins. Not a good feline trade in my estimation.