Study: Cats wiping out backyard wildlife
Reptiles are easy prey. (Photo by Amy E. Ford)
Cats can be cuddly, but America’s second most favorite family pet is also an accomplished killer.
Researchers at The University of Georgia have concluded domesticated cats are wiping out neighborhood wildlife.
USA Today sums it up as mundanely as possible: “That mouse carcass Kitty presents you with is just the tip of a very bloody iceberg. When researchers attached kittycams to house cats, they found a secret world of slaughter.” [Video of the carnage]
While icebergs are largely homogeneous in structure, the wildlife gnawed upon by Fluffy is quite diverse.
Mammals’ eternal foe, the reptiles (and their slimy cousins, the amphibians), take the brunt of the feline assault — lizards, snakes and frogs made up 41% of the animals killed by the 60 Athens-area cats equipped with collar cameras.
Cute creatures, such as chipmunks and voles, made up 25% of the tiny corpses; insects and worms 20%; birds 12%.
I’d have thought birds, as tasty as they are, would have been killed more often, but, from a predator’s standpoint they have the annoying ability of flight.
Nevertheless, birding enthusiasts are upset at the nation’s 74 million cats.
“Cat predation is one of the reasons why one in three American birds species are in decline,” said George Fenwick, president of American Bird Conservancy.
Cat lovers are equally upset at the UGA report, which has been called “heavy on errors, misrepresentations, and glaring omissions, and light on defensible claims.”
Here’s some more details from the complete UGA study that will make you think twice about kissing Fluffy:
- About 30% of roaming house cats kill prey — an average of two animals per week
- Cats brought home just under a quarter of what they killed, ate 30% and left 49% at the scene of the crime
- Roaming cats are a lot like roaming people — males were more likely to take risks than females and older cats were more careful than younger ones.
- Favorite risky behaviors include crossing roadways (45%), eating and drinking things they found (25%), exploring storm drains (20%) and entering crawl spaces (20%)
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114 comments Add your comment
TampaDan
August 8th, 2012
11:26 am
Jojosmart, the problem is not that wildlife shows up where people live, it’s that people move in to the wildlife habitat then whine that there is wildlife there.
Karen Rivelli
August 8th, 2012
11:59 am
Ella VonSchnauzhapfen make sure you remember this name as stating she will destroy what ever goes into her yard…..In America that’s called “Animal Abuse” even if they often eat rodens, birds, and such it’s there nature…..as in Mother Nature and it’s not nice to fool around with her………..:)
texacote
August 8th, 2012
12:07 pm
A whole bunch of posts about cats eating the fauna, and the others (and dogs) that have to live with them. No one really talked about the Fauna eating the cats. We had a problem in my neighborhood where several cats were found dismembered in peoples front yards. At first, the activity was blamed on “Cruel” teenagers. After about nine (9) cats were “shredded” on my street, we figured out that “Raptors” were the real culprit. It seems that a couple of Hawks and Owls had found cats quiet tasty. Since I didn’t have a cat, I wasn’t terribly worried, until one Hawk went after my 20lb puppy. Fortunately for me, my 40lb Border Collie took the role of protected and fought off the bird. I saw it happen. So I can only conclude that when ecosystems get out of balance, nature has a way of correcting (if given the opportunity).
Beth Chandler
August 8th, 2012
12:08 pm
This is why I don’t have cats. I like cats and used to keep them, but they are all excellent predators.
It’s just their nature. I tried belling and declawing one and it still managed to kill. I live on a farm out in the country and very much enjoy observing skinks, lizards, toads, chipmunks, birds, rabbits, turtles, and even large insects like cicadas go about their business WITHOUT being molested by cats. I am mystified by people who call themselves “animal lovers” and also rescue stray cats.
Suzy
August 8th, 2012
12:13 pm
During the Middle Ages people would hunt and killed stray cats. It was during this time that there was a boom in the rat population. These same rats introduced the Black Plague into major cities in Europe.
Cats eat pigeons. I hate pigeons, but they eat the spiders that invade my houses. I also hate spiders, but they eat mosquitoes.All animals serve a purpose. (What purpose does the mosquito have?)
Karen Rivelli
August 8th, 2012
12:16 pm
I think it’s very disturbing what so many are writing on this that it’s like a “Third World Country” where they eat dog and kill coons while alive for there fur. At best what I have read is a steady diet of disturbed individuals that have no common concept for the greater good of Human kind. If the shoe’s were turned and the animals got to choose which one of you do you think would be destroyed first? It’s a shame – this is why there is so much animal abuse everywhere…..I am very sadden to read this, and we call this America the land of the “Free”……
Hickory Doc
August 8th, 2012
1:25 pm
Cats are here so kids with slingshots and pellet guns will have their first moving targets. I trap, shot, kill every cat I can. Neutered cats are still a problem. Dead cats are not. And cats killing wildlife is not “part of nature.” House cats do not belong in this environment. Lease laws for cats now!!! I think I’ll go outside with some tuna and bait for the new neighbor’s cat I just saw stalking my bird feeder. Here kitty kitty.
Woodsman
August 8th, 2012
2:13 pm
Licensing and laws do nothing to curb the problem. If cats are required to be licensed then cat-lovers just stop putting collars on their cats, as they did by me. And they won’t even bother getting them micro-chipped, especially not that. They want absolutely nothing that can hold them legally responsible, liable, and accountable for the actions of their cats. We’re not talking about the topmost responsible citizens of the world, you know. They don’t want that responsibility of what their cat has done coming back on them. If they had even one iota of a sense of responsibility and respect for all other lives on this planet we wouldn’t even be having these discussions.
On the other hand, I found something that DOES work and works well. It’s the ONLY thing that works. Where I live cat-lovers quickly learned that, collar or not, their cats get shot on-sight no matter what. Simple as that. 100% effective. Love ‘em or lose ‘em!
They either learn to stop getting more cats that die under the wheels of cars, from animal attacks, rat-poisons under people’s steps, or antifreeze in a gutter or someone’s garage; OR they finally learn how to be a responsible pet owner, respectful neighbor, and learn to keep their deadly-disease spreading, native wildlife destroying, invasive species animal under confined supervision, as it should be. Win win win all around. You can either destroy their cat for them humanely, or let their lack of concern for their cat cause it to inevitably die inhumanely. Your choice. By destroying their cat humanely for them you are actually showing them that you care more about their cat than even they do. They don’t care one bit how their cat might cruelly suffer to death if they let it roam free. Humanly destroy their cat for them before that can happen under their lack of care and concern. No matter HOW an outdoor cat dies, that is the fault of the person that let it roam free. Make no mistake about that. And they can easily be charged with all laws that define animal-neglect, animal-abandonment, and animal-endangerment. They can also be fined and convicted under all invasive-species laws.
You can’t train a cat to stay home but I found that, in time, you CAN train a cat-owner into being a responsible pet-owner and a respectable neighbor. Most of them are so phenomenally stupid, disrespectful, and criminally irresponsible though that you have to make at least 12-15 of their cats permanently disappear before they even start to figure out what they’ve been doing wrong all during their sorry, useless, and pathetic lives.
Beth Chandler
August 8th, 2012
2:19 pm
Human intervention has unbalanced natural populations in many species, but especially in the number of cats. There are too many cats. One can love cats and still recognize that they enjoy unnatural selection benefits by being companion animals to humans. I hope that every so-called “animal lover” posting on here has neutered their cats. I hope that you keep them confined to your own house and yard rather than letting them roam the neighborhood. And I also caution you not to do what was done in Athens, where this study was conducted. Feral cats were trapped, neutered at the vet school, then released back into the wild. This was done to sooth local cat lovers who wouldn’t adopt them, (too many cats already) but also vociferously objected to their euthanasia.
Woodsman
August 8th, 2012
2:22 pm
The law in the USA is that it is perfectly legal to destroy any animal, someone’s pet or not, that is threatening the health, well-being, and safety of yourself, your family, your animals, or even your property. Also true even in most densely populated cities, firearms laws permitting, if not then 700-1200fps air-rifles are commonly used. The only animals exempt from you taking immediate action, legally, are those listed on endangered or threatened species lists, and any bird species under protection of MBTA (the Migratory Bird Treaty Act). Even then variances can be given should there be sufficient problem but this requires further study by authorities. Since cats are listed in the TOP 40 WORST invasive-species of the world in the “Global Invasive Species Database” (www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=24&fr=1&sts=sss), this means they have no protection whatsoever from being shot on sight, they are not on any protected-species list anywhere in the world. Quite the opposite as a matter of fact. And if your area enforces and obeys invasive-species laws — as they should — then it is against the law to NOT destroy any cat on sight, someone’s pet or not. It is your civic and moral responsibility to destroy any invasive-species that is found away from supervised confinement and roaming freely in a non-native habitat.
Shoot to maim is punishable under the laws that define animal-cruelty. But shoot to kill is a perfectly legal way to humanely destroy an animal. The same laws that apply to methods of humanely hunting animals also applies to cats. Unlike cat-lovers’ psychotic beliefs, the reality is that a cat is just another animal. It’s NOT their baby, their child, their offspring. Even if they do view their cats that way, letting them roam free is no less criminally irresponsible than them telling their child to go play in the freeway and then blaming the cars for their child’s death. If they let their cat roam free, NO MATTER HOW IT DIES, that is THEIR fault and they can be charged with all laws that clearly define animal-neglect, animal-abandonment, and animal-endangerment.
In fact, here’s a publication from a study done by the University of Nebraska on the best ways to HUMANELY deal with a feral-cat problem wherever you live. This documentation INCLUDES the best firearms, ammo, and air-rifles required to HUMANELY destroy cats. deenawinter.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/ec1781.pdf
Besides, what difference does it make if the cat gets shot or ran over by a car, attacked by another cat or animal, drowned, or poisoned by plants animals or chemicals (inexpensive 1-adult-strength generic acetaminophen pain-relievers gaining in popularity, for being so species specific). The result is the same. The cause is the same — the fault of the criminally irresponsible pet-owner that let their invasive-species pet roam free. They’ve already proved that their animal is 100% expendable. You can either destroy their cat for them humanely, or let their lack of care cause it to inevitably die inhumanely. They don’t care one bit how their cat might cruelly suffer to death if they let it roam free. Humanely destroy their cat for them before that can happen.