{"id":65171,"date":"2018-10-31T05:50:14","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T11:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=65171"},"modified":"2018-10-31T10:26:25","modified_gmt":"2018-10-31T16:26:25","slug":"yesterday-i-got-angry-at-the-presence-of-a-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/31\/yesterday-i-got-angry-at-the-presence-of-a-cat\/","title":{"rendered":"Yesterday I Got Angry At The Presence Of A Cat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let me be clear. I wasn’t angry at the cat. Instead I was angry at the people responsible for it being where it was. I still am.<\/p>\n

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This feral cat (domestic cats are officially an invasive species)\u00a0was stalking birds in a tree yesterday morning on Goose Egg Island\u00a0within Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management area.\u00a0I commonly\u00a0see feral cats on the refuge despite\u00a0their shy, secretive habits and the tall vegetation covering most of the refuge that they slink around in while searching for birds and small mammals to kill.<\/p>\n

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The goal of the cat\u00a0was\u00a0feline mayhem\u00a0directed at\u00a0this male American Kestrel at upper right. In this case its chances of success were probably nil but the photo visually demonstrates the determination of the cat high in the tree\u00a0and the\u00a0huge problem for native wildlife in North America caused by feral cats.<\/p>\n

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In the past I’ve been reluctant to bring this subject up because so many folks who love cats and supposedly care about their welfare let their cats run free and support and\/or practice programs like “Trap, Neuter and Release” (TNR) for feral cats\u00a0become so\u00a0upset and defensive\u00a0by any\u00a0critical look at those practices. But my experience yesterday finally\u00a0put me over the edge. Cat owners who let their pets run free are a significant\u00a0part of the problem but today I’m going to largely focus on TNR.<\/p>\n

Feral cats have been a problem for\u00a0a long time\u00a0at Farmington Bay WMA and\u00a0they’ve created a real headache for refuge managers. But it was\u00a0greatly exacerbated\u00a0when TNR became commonly practiced in the area. As part of the TNR program cats were captured and neutered and then released in\u00a0areas adjacent to the refuge – particularly\u00a0near Glover’s Pond but elsewhere too. Then other folks who would see cats running wild and no longer wanted their own family pet would release their cats to be\u00a0with the others. At one point TNR advocates even constructed a rudimentary cat shelter and placed it\u00a0right next\u00a0to Glover\u00a0Pond of all places! It goes without saying that many of those cats invaded the nearby refuge and nature center property\u00a0for reasons that are obvious. They have a field day out there, especially during nesting season.<\/p>\n

The purpose of TNR was supposed to be to eliminate or significantly reduce populations of feral cats but research over time has indicated that it seldom works for a variety of reasons (see the link in the notes). Farmington is a perfect example of that failure.<\/p>\n

So why are feral cats such a huge problem? The list of reasons is a long one but I’m personally most concerned about their\u00a0effects on native wildlife populations.\u00a0 A fairly recent study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that feral cats when combined with pet cats that are allowed to roam outdoors kill from 1.4 – 3.7 billion birds annually in the contiguous 48 states alone. They also estimate that feral cats kill from 6.9 – 20.7 billion mammals, mainly mice, shrews, rabbits and voles which are prime raptor food. Cats running loose are often and rightfully called an ecological disaster.<\/p>\n

In my opinion all cat owners should keep their cats inside or restrained in some way at all times and that includes farm cats (maybe especially<\/em> farm cats). And TNR should be mostly abandoned as a strategy to control feral\u00a0cat populations because it\u00a0seldom works and\u00a0just creates more problems. Many veterinarian groups, birding organizations, wilderness societies, wildlife rehabilitation organizations and state parks and wildlife\u00a0departments also oppose TNR (see the link in my notes below).<\/p>\n

I realize this is a hot topic for some\u00a0and not everyone will agree with me (including several of my good friends). So be it. If you disagree and\u00a0feel the\u00a0need\u00a0to express your views in opposition\u00a0you’re welcome to do so\u00a0– all I ask is that you be rational and polite about it. But I’ve done\u00a0considerable research on the subject and I’m unlikely to change my mind or\u00a0even respond to your comment\u00a0unless presented with significant and reliable evidence to the contrary because…<\/p>\n

I’ve already had my say.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n