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).
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