We all love our songbirds and our pet cats. Our cats love the songbirds too. Really love them. In their mouth.
Recently several neighbors have told me that they have found the remains of birds in their backyards by their bird feeders and have seen a cat or two in the vicinity. Now songbirds are prey for raptors, squirrels, fox, and raccoon, but by far the domestic cat is one of the major reasons we lose so many birds.
Song birds have a tough enough time in this big world of ours and we can certainly help them along by feeding them and by keeping our pets (cats and dogs) under our control. This time of year is an especially vulnerable time for songbirds as there are many many fledglings, young birds, who are easy prey.
This is not to say you must keep your cats indoors if that is not your inclination. If you allow your cat to prowl finding his or her inner tiger or lion, that's fine, but please put a bell or other noisemaker on your cat's collar. And if at all possible please bring your kitty in at night.
Our big cat, Gyro, is an indoor kitty and he has full access to all windows and supervised access to the deck where he can watch birds, squirrels, and chipmunks to his heart's delight. His instincts cause him to "chatter" when he sees a tasty treat with feathers but he must contend himself with his kitty chow and myriad of cat toys.
For further information please see this great article by The Wildlife Management Institute.
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