DUers: Domestic House Cats vs Song Birds?

[ceile]

You decide....

Eat your neighbor's cat to save the song bird population?

We need a poll.
:eyes:

[rug]

1. Cats are harmless.

[ceile]

2. well, they have no thumbs

so they couldn't possibly have photoshopped that pic....

[rug]

3. I think the worms are more at risk from the birds than the birds are from the cats.

[ceile]

4. !

:thumbsup:

[XemaSab]

24. Earthworms aren't native to North America and they should be extirpated

n/t

[astral]

21. Remeber birds that prey on cats

and that one sure looke like he could carry a cat, or at least kill a cat trying!

I am sure it is a problem, but still think cats need to be allowed outdoors if you live in a place where it is safe to allow your cat out. I think they are healthier and live longer, but again, it depends on where you live.

[elocs]

5. Let's face it. As much as we love them cats are really very efficient killing machines.

I once had a cat that was old and overweight, had no claws and was out in the yard on a leash and she still managed to catch a bird.

I also have a friend who once had a cat that was big and well muscled and put out in the yard on a leash. There was a big tree nearby and the squirrels would get all pissed off at the cat and chew it out, teasing it because they knew it was on a leash and couldn't get them. Unfortunately one of them misgauged the leash length and that cat had it by the throat and killed it like a terrier shaking a rat. You wouldn't think a squirrel could let out such a shrill shriek like that one did.

[REP]

Pesticides, pollution kill more songbirds than cats do

Now, give a cat a pesticide sprayer mounted on a Hummer and there's going to be problems.

[Gormy Cuss]

10. And loss of habitat and other human caused threats like tall buildings and towers

Not to mention other mammals who live in the habitat like raccoons and skunks who at the very least are nest raiders, insects, and other birds.

Cats are only one threat, and even among cats there are different threat levels based on ferals vs. housed cats.

[XemaSab]

6. Cats kill hundreds of millions of small birds every year in the US

How about a compromise?

When I let my dogs roam the neighborhood at will, you're welcome to do what you will with them.

Until then, keep your cat in the house.

http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/index.html

[mattvermont]

8. thank xenasab

The Ill. research pretty much closed the book on the 'harmless cat' it is difficult to assess the cumulative harm from pesticides to birds or the numbers lost to cats, but they are both devastating.

[tigereye]

18. yeah or put a bell on em

besides a lot of vets don't want cats outside in the first place!

[Crystal Clarity]

20. Your dogs can come over for a visit anytime

and run unleashed all over the place here in the boonies (as long as they don't chase deer...BIG no-no). My dog loves other dogs.

The only issue would be my cat. She tolerates our German Shepard but will chase other people's dogs (<-- plural on purpose). It's happened enough over her 18 years w/friends and their dogs, that everyone knows not to let them out to play, until I've got her IN the house.

Oddly though, she's never been interested in the birds and squirrels at the feeders, but my dog goes nuts over them. In fact, I'm watching her out on the deck this very moment. There's a woodpecker eating the suet, a pair of mourning doves cleaning up some dropped seed and a chickadee within feet of her head. The dog is inside, otherwise those birds would be outta here.

Come visit me and my dog in our parallel universe! I'll keep my cat named Mouse in just for you and your dogs. :crazy:...:hi:

[TZ]

29. disease bearing rodents are more likely prey to outdoor cats

But hey, if you are okay drowning in your own fluid in your lungs, I guess I'll tell the farmers to not let their barn cats do their jobs..... Up with Hantaa virus!!!! Oy vey.

[cwydro]

7. My cat hunts shoes.

The only thing she can catch. Not making this up...I can never find a complete pair.

My other cat once watched a mouse scurry across the porch, stopped licking herself long enough to think...wonder what the fuck that is? and went back to cleaning.

[madinmaryland]

9. As long as they are not breast feeding while smoking at an Olive Garden in New York City.

:shrug:

[Rhythm]

11. I torture my feline friends... i put the bird feeders within sightlines of the windows...

There is nothing funnier than watching my cats sit at the window sills making those chirpy 'bird want' noises while thrashing their tails back and forth!

I'm sure deep down they are ferocious killers...
However, the only things subject to their razor-sharp claws seem to be my ferns.

[AlienGirl]

17. After bird-watching, they'll have a great time playing "kitty-fishing"!

Get one of those things that look like fish-poles with a feathered "lure" on an elastic cord. After the cats get all worked up watching birds at the feeder, they will be bouncing off the walls chasing the "lure" and it will be hilariously fun! :D

Tucker

[Lisa0825]

12. Cats belong indoors. nt

[KamaAina]

13. As long as the poll doesn't have a "Robb is a dingbat" option

he's a mod again, you see. :-)

[Bertha Venation]

14. I say this as one who has several indoor- outdoor cats:

:popcorn:

[Gormy Cuss]

35. Bertha! Pass that box.

:popcorn:


:hi:

[exman]

15. Check it out, good video on hunting ...

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/secret_life_of_cats/

[Withywindle]

16. Not a choice.

KEEP YOUR CATS INSIDE.

No, it's not "cruel." It's safety. Cats are very vulnerable to roaming dogs, traffic, coyotes, and neighborhood sick fucks. They also can do damage to their environments.

Yes, cats like to "explore" and "hunt." That's where you come in - they need play and stimulation and quality time. WITH YOU. So play with the little bastards, even if it's at inconvenient times, even if it hurts. If you do that, they'll be perfectly happy sleeping and living in their own heads whenever they're not molesting you.

Cats aren't necessarily an "easier" pet than dogs. They're just demanding in very different ways.

[tigereye]

19. to be fair, cats go in the litter box, and few dogs will do that

[Lisa0825]

22. One of my cats sneaked out 2 weeks ago, and I found her in the road dead this morning :-(

Cats belong indoors. :cry:

[Curmudgeoness]

23. I am so sorry. That had to be very difficult. Cats do belong indoors.

:hug:

[Withywindle]

25. Oh no. Oh no. I am so sorry.

:hug:

[applegrove]

34. So sorry.

[jobycom]

26. I figure a couple of songbirds here and there probably reduce the deaths of whatever animals

are killed for the cat food. And a songbird dumb enough to get near a cat probably needs culling from the evolutionary chain, anyway.

So, let your cats out, evolve a smarter song bird, that's my motto.

Of course, I keep my cats inside, but that's another story.

[denbot]

27. Our male cat Dingo brought in a dwarf hamster.

She (the hamster) was uninjured and we named her Lucky. Our hammy now taunts our cats from the safety of her multi-room tube connected alcove. I wonder if we have a wild population of Campbell's dwarf hamsters living near our house? :shrug:

[LynneSin]

28. After 8 years, Evita the songbird killer is still alive but no longer killing songbirds

Mind you, Evita was able to kill the songbirds from the confines of her indoor perch on the window sill. Quite the skilled cat.

[TZ]

30. I guess I'm okay with letting bubonic plague, Hantaa virus and other rodent borne diseases

run out of control. Because you know, outdoor cats ONLY eat endangered song birds, not actual rodents who destroy crops and carry disease.
I swear to god, some of these CATS ARE TEH EVIL posts remind me of the middle ages when the cats were hunted as witches familiars and allowed the plague (which btw is still around) to spread.

[woo me with science]

31. I killed all my cats

because XemaSab told me it was the right thing to do.

Now my family contracted psittacosis! :banghead:

[Brewman_Jax]

32. This kills more songbirds

BTW, pick up behind your dog.

[suninvited]

33. what is the number one killer of birds in the US?

according to this site, glass windows are.

http://www.currykerlinger.com/birds.htm