I am writing in response to the letter published June 22 regarding a Smithsonian study of the effects of cat predation on birds and the assertion that cats should all be kept indoors or under supervision.
The authors of the Smithsonian paper used studies from around the world, all from different contexts, to determine the number of birds killed by cats each year in the U.S. Yet the authors admit in their paper that the most basic number in the equation, how many cats there are, is a guess.
“No empirically-derived estimate of unowned cat abundance exists for the contiguous U.S.” they say.
This estimation is what leads to the supposedly shocking number of birds killed by cats each year (1.4–3.7 billion.) Researchers Arnold and Link have estimated the entire North American breeding population of birds at 4.9 billion. Are we to believe that cats in the U.S. are responsible for up to 75% of bird deaths on the whole continent?
Surely ornithologists across the country would be shouting from the rooftops if the entire population of birds in North America was on the verge of extinction.
Practicing Trap-Netuer-Return on a managed colony of feral cats is the best humane solution to reducing their numbers while leaving outdoor cats where they’re most comfortable. TNR reduces colony size by placing kittens and cats that can be socialized into adoption programs.
The remaining feral cats are sterilized, vaccinated, and returned to their homes. Colony size does not increase because the breeding process has been stopped, and sickness and disease are kept at bay with vet treatment. TNR also keeps outdoor cats out of shelters, thus saving space, time and resources at often over-burdened municipal shelters.
It is a fact of life that there will be cats living outdoors. Truly feral cats are not social with people, in fact are frightened, and would never take to an indoor lifestyle. Their home is in the outdoors where they prefer to be, and we should allow their presence there. We must accept that we cannot force all cats to conform to an indoor lifestyle convenient for humans, and we should do what we can to facilitate the best life for the cats, even un-owned or stray cats, as their origins can always be traced back to a broken human-animal bond.
Adam Jablonski
Alley Cat Rescue
