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Some clouds. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.
I feel like I need to speak out about the feral cats killing birds. These cats are feral and can only depend on themselves to survive.
Yes, cats kill birds, however, they also help to keep the rodents, mice, snakes, gophers, cockroaches, etc. out of your houses.
There are many other types of wildlife that kill birds including other birds, like hawks and owls, etc. Let us please give all wildlife a break for a better life.
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Cats--feral and otherwise allowed outside--are second only to habitat loss when it comes to the loss of songbirds. When you read about yet another species of songbird nearing extinction, thank cats. They are non-native, wildly invasive, and cause the loss of not only birds, but various reptiles and small mammals. Killing snakes isn't a good thing, it's a bad thing--snakes are what keep rodents under control, and, unlike cats, they belong. They are part of the ecosystem, not a destructive foreign army.
In addition, many cats are hosts to various parasitic infections, including toxoplasmosis. When cats wander about, using people's gardens as litterboxes (and you know they do), they spread those diseases. Read up on what toxoplasmosis does in human pregnancy.
Beyond that, roaming cats in coastal areas? Shed their parasites with their feces into the ground water, which flows to the ocean. Guess what those parasites do there? They kill seals, sea lions, otters, etc. Including the endangered Steller Sea Lions.
On top of ALL of this? Indoor cats live, on average, FOUR TIMES as long as cats allowed outside. So, when people say they love their kitty so much that they let him outside?
Yeah, no. That's not love. That's not caring about your cat, your neighbors, or your world.
Me? I trap cats in humane traps and take them to the shelter. Every time. I see a cat in my yard, that trap goes out. I recommend everyone do the same. Feral/roaming cats don't serve a positive purpose, they aren't an environmental plus. They don't belong, and they do nothing but harm. Considering the emergency spotted lantern flies are viewed as, surely we can address feral cats in the same way.
The point is that feral cats are an invasive form of "wildlife" that distort the natural balance. They also kill wildlife just for the sake of killing wildlife and are thus destructive to the natural order. Their devastating effect on natural bird populations have been well documented (see link). There are plenty of other ways to keep rodents out of one's house that are not destructive to the ecosystem.https://abcbirds.org/article/jones-beach-feral-cats-pose-threat-to-endangered-birds-and-potential-health-threat-to-beachgoers/
Animals providing for themselves in an environment are usually self regulating re: population. The much bigger problem is stopping people from "enabling" that population, usually resulting a pop explosion and all the correlating issues.
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