{"id":10750,"date":"2025-02-17T10:38:50","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=10750"},"modified":"2025-02-17T10:38:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:38:50","slug":"outdoor-cats-are-murder-machines-killing-over-1-billion-birds-every-year-say-biologists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2025\/02\/17\/outdoor-cats-are-murder-machines-killing-over-1-billion-birds-every-year-say-biologists\/","title":{"rendered":"Outdoor Cats Are “Murder Machines” Killing Over 1 Billion Birds Every Year, Say Biologists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This has always struck me as bad form as cats are a nuisance to other people and wildlife, with many dying from being ran over. Funny, I had hit two cats with my sportbike, though one was minor and both hit the fairing as they just didn’t judge an approaching motorcycle well, darting right into me. In California we had one that would spray our front door to mark territory, which I only tolerated because they kept rodents away. Consequently, in California a ton of people let their cats roam, and you just didn’t see as many birds as you do here in Wyoming. And the mild climate seemed a favorite of birds of prey, though in the last month I’ve seen two small birds taken by falcons in my back yard, so perhaps not really a factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/cowboystatedaily.com\/2025\/02\/16\/outdoor-cats-are-murder-machines-slaughtering-wildlife-and-spreading-disease\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
Letting pet cats out to roam might seem like it\u2019s doing them a favor, but don\u2019t be fooled \u2014 Fluffy is a murder machine. \u201cThe estimates are that cats in the U.S. kill a billion birds a year. A billion,\u201d one wildlife biologist told Cowboy State Daily.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

By Mark Heinz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"People
People might think letting their cats out helps their pets live their best kitty lives, but they\u2019re actually murder machines, killing billions of birds and small animals.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Letting pet cats out to roam might seem like it\u2019s doing them a favor, but don\u2019t be fooled \u2014 Fluffy is a murder machine, according to biologists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe estimates are that just in the United States, they (cats) kill a billion birds a year. A billion,\u201d retired wildlife biologist Franz Camenzind of Jackson, Wyoming, told Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That estimate is probably low, said Red Desert Audubon Society President Andrea Orabona of Lander. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2013 study indicates that cats slaughter 1.4 billion to 3.7 billion birds and 6.9 billion to 20.7 billion small mammals every year, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are the single greatest human-caused source of mortality among birds and mammals,\u201d Orabona said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Invasive Species With Deadly Poop<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are an estimated 80 million feral cats in the U.S., and countless more pet cats whose owners let them wander freely outside, usually at night, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo matter where you are in the country, there are non-native, invasive species,\u201d Orabona said. \u201cThere\u2019s a natural instinct for a feline to hunt and kill. Even if they are being fed, they will kill. They are a predator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And not only are they really good at killing just about anything they can get their claws on, cats can spread all sorts of nasty diseases to wildlife, and people, she added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cat crap can be deadly, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A parasitic disease called toxoplasmosis can spread through cat feces. Infectious material in cat scat can linger for years wherever a kitty decides to go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll defecate everywhere \u2014 in your garden, in playgrounds, on public parks, in the sand in a horseshoe pit,\u201d Orabona said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toxoplasmosis has been linked to a host of nasty effects \u2013 including blindness, deafness, cognitive disorders, even major organ failure and death, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cats can also spread rabies and other diseases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCat saliva is full of bacteria,\u201d so even if a bird or small mammal survives a cat\u2019s ambush, it might be doomed to a lingering, painful death from infection, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coyotes Can\u2019t Control Them<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a common assumption that if cats wander too far in places like Wyoming, coyotes will gobble them up, thus keeping the wandering feline population in check. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s not true, Camenzind said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTheoretically, yes, coyotes would love to kill cats. And if they get a chance, they will,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut cats, they can climb. If there\u2019s a tree around, they\u2019re going to get away,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Camenzind said he\u2019s seen evidence of cats taking out loads of small wild rodents called water shrews in his area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shrews have a gland in their head that makes them taste awful, to cats, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen a cat catches one, they\u2019ll bite it on the head, kill it and then drop it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve found many dead water shrews with puncture wounds in their heads.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He worries about the long-term effects of cats on wildlife and wishes people would keep their pets inside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA cat is a non-native predator, and that\u2019s the bottom line,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cat Colonies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another misconception about cats is that when they go feral, they\u2019re more or less solitary, Orabona said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They might hunt alone, but they live in colonies that can include dozens of cats, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some have suggested that \u201ctrap neuter release\u201d is the best way to curb the wandering outdoor cat population<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That involves trapping cats, taking them to an animal shelter to be vaccinated, spayed or neutered, and then turned back loose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orabona doesn\u2019t like that idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven if a cat is sterilized and can\u2019t reproduce, it\u2019s still going to be out there killing wildlife for the duration of its lifespan,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, every effort should be made to place captured cats into permanent, indoor homes, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And studies indicate that even if 80% of the cats in a colony are trapped and sterilized, all that does is stabilize the population. It does nothing to actually diminish the overall number of cats in the long term, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing Our Ways<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Orabona added that she\u2019s not a fan of \u201cbarn cats\u201d either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea that barn cats are handy for controlling vermin doesn\u2019t play out in reality, she said \u2013 even though she lives on a rural property. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cats will always kill too much wildlife, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And other wild animals \u2013 such as foxes and snakes \u2013 are left alone to do their thing, they\u2019re good at controlling vermin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you have cats for killing vermin or your property, all you\u2019re doing is taking food away from the wildlife that naturally preys on vermin,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Camenzind said he grew up on a dairy farm, which had barn cats. At the time, that was just accepted as a part of farm life, but looking back, he realizes that his family might not have realized the havoc the cats were wreaking on wildlife. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe cats didn\u2019t just stick to killing mice in the barn, they would wander out afield,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, he\u2019s come to realize that cats shouldn\u2019t be outside pets, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orabona said there\u2019s alternatives for people who want their cats to have an outdoors experience \u2013 such as pet strollers and \u201ccat packs.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people have built \u201ccatios\u201d \u2013 or outdoor patios that keep cats contained in a specific area, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since retiring as a nongame bird biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Orabona said she\u2019s dedicated much of her time to studying the effects of cats on the environment and trying to educate people about keeping them indoors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to educate people. I don\u2019t think the cat owners that let their cats outside realize the ramifications of that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This has always struck me as bad form as cats are a nuisance to other people and wildlife, with many dying from being ran over. Funny, I had hit two cats with my sportbike, though one was minor and both hit the fairing as they just didn’t judge an approaching motorcycle well, darting right into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","category-wyoming"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10756,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10750\/revisions\/10756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}