Keeping Cats Indoors

http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/rouge_river/cats.html

Keep Cats Indoors!

There
are 60 to 90  million pet cats in the United States
today [1], and it is
estimated that 25 to 66% of cat
owners allow their cats outdoors [2].  
Add
to that the tens
of millions of strays and feral cats, and there is certainly
a sizable
population of free-ranging cats in our country.  Studies [3]
have
indicated that 60 to 70% of a cat’s prey
is small mammals, 20 to 30% birds, and 10% other animals including
reptiles,
amphibians, and insects.

Free-roaming
cats clearly have an impact on wildlife! 
If each outdoor cat only killed one bird per year, it would equal over
60 million birds annually.  Here are some references:

• The
  University of Wisconsin’s
  Dr. Stanley Temple estimates
  that rural cats kill
  39 million birds every year in Wisconsin alone.
• Here’s
  is another well-reasoned calculation, by one of Audubon’s senior
  scientists,  where the estimate is  over
  a billion birds per year.
• This
  January 2003 paper to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers
  detailed discussion on
  the impact
  of
  free-roaming cats in Florida (requires Adobe
  Acrobat reader to view).  
• Here
  is the abstract of another paper,
  written by Michigan State University researchers:

Fluctuations of bird abundances have been
attributed to such factors as supplemental feeding, landscape change,
and
habitat fragmentation. Notably absent from consideration, however, is
the
role of private landowners and their actions, such as owning
free-ranging
domestic cats (Felis catus; cats allowed free access
to the outdoors).
To understand the impacts of cat predation on birds, we surveyed all
1694
private landowners living on three breeding bird survey (BBS) routes
(~120
km) that represent a continuum of rural-to-urban landscapes in
Southeastern
Michigan, where the majority (>90%) of land is privately owned.
Our data
indicate that among the 58.5% of landowners that responded, one quarter
of them owned outdoor cats. On average a cat depredated between 0.7 and
1.4 birds per week. A total of 23+ species (12.5% of breeding species)
were on the list of being killed, including two species of conservation
concern (Eastern Bluebirds and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds). Across
the
three landscapes there were ~800 to ~3100 cats, which kill between
~16,000
and ~47,000 birds during the breeding season, resulting in a
minimum
of ~1 bird killed/km/day. While the number and density (no./ha) of
free-ranging
cats per landowner differed across the rural to urban landscapes,
depredation
rates were similar. Landowner participation in bird feeding showed no
relationship
with the number of free-ranging cats owned. Similarly, selected
demographic
characteristics of landowners were not significantly related to the
number
of free-ranging cats owned. Our results, even taken conservatively,
indicate
that cat predation most likely plays an important role in fluctuations
of
bird populations and should receive more attention in wildlife
conservation
and landscape studies. 

(Reprinted
from Biological
Conservation 155:191-201, Lepczyk et al. “Landowners and cat
predation
across rural-to-urban landscapes,” 2003, with permission from Elsevier.)

As
The Wildlife Society in its position statement notes (PDF):

“Extensive
popular debate over absolute numbers or types of prey taken
is not productive. The number of cats is undeniably large. Even if
conservative
estimates of prey taken are considered, the number of prey animals
killed
is immense.”

Sandy
Beck, a journalist with the Tallahassee Democrat,
asked
an Internet wildlife rehabilitation chat group: “What percentage of
your
wildlife patients are victims of outdoor cats?” Responses from
professional
rehabbers around the country ranged from 14 to 30 percent.

The American
Bird Conservancy has launched a national campaign to educate
cat owners
and encourage them to keep their cats indoors.  No only does
wildlife
benefit, so do the cats:  While outdoor cats commonly have a
life
expectancy of fewer than 5 years, indoor cats can live for up to 17
years.
With less exposure to disease, other cats and animals, and fewer
opportunities
to have accidents (1.5 million cats are killed by autos annually), vet
bills are less and cats
live healthier lives!

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