Letter: Cats belong indoors

For the Monitor

Friday, March 8, 2013

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Unfortunately, cats are basically bad for the environment. They don’t catch “only the sick and wounded.” Also, huge numbers of nestlings and fledglings never survive to grow up due to cats. Ground-nesting birds don’t stand a chance, and their species numbers have plummeted. Birds or animals that do escape a cat often die later from infection.

Cats are not a natural part of the ecosystem, depriving natural wildlife of their prey and transmitting diseases to them. Cats kill everything they can, just because they can, not for food to survive. Scientists estimate that nationwide, cats kill between 500 million and 1 billion birds and billions more small mammals such as rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks each year.

I truly love cats. My own cats are rescues, and they stay inside. In the past my cats went outside. I was “gifted” with many dead or dying birds, chipmunks, baby rabbits, flying squirrels, snakes, etc. I also got to find my past cats dead due to cars or a neighbor’s dog.

Keep your cats indoors, for their sake and wildlife’s. Spay, neuter and don’t ever just cruelly abandon them.

DIANE PERRY-MANN

Chichester

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Comments 2

RabbitNH wrote:

09/03/2013

I have 2 cats in my neighborhood that have been camping out at my birdfeeders since last summer. They have caught birds and squirrels. I shew them away. I think when you allow any of your pets to be outdoors you are asking your neighbors to put up with them. For me that is wrong. You decide to have pets, it is your responsibility to make sure they do not impose on your neighbors. Not my responsibility to clean up after your pets or have my birds chased away. I think that is a lot to ask of your neighbors.