By Susan Hagood
As I type this, one of my cats—the only kitten of a stray who turned up one winter sheltering in a woodchuck hole under our cow shed—lies on the desk next to my keyboard and contemplates a finger attack. Another is grooming herself nearby and watching the birds at the feeder outside. Two more are somewhere else in the house, no doubt keeping track of outside activities from their own window perches. But despite their fascination with the goings-on outside, I think they are happy to be safe and warm while the wind howls and snow from our first real winter storm blankets the ground.
To paraphrase James Herriott, no creature loves comfort like a cat. And this is a great time of year, perhaps the best time, to ensure the safety and comfort of yours by bringing her inside. And by keeping her inside as winter wanes—or letting her out only under supervision—you can ensure the safety of the wildlife who depend on your yard and neighborhood for their lives.
Every year, the estimated 40 million cats whose owners allow them outdoors, and even more who are strays, abandoned, or feral, kill millions of wild animals. Studies have shown that the most popular prey are small mammals—meadow voles, white-footed mice, chipmunks, and ground squirrels—and about 25% are birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Wild animals are almost certainly killed in direct proportion to their abundance, and thus cat predation may not, in most cases, have a long-term negative effect on the prey population.* Regardless, it certainly has a negative effect on the individual animal, who suffers and dies as a result of this natural predator who has no place in nature.
At the risk of stating the obvious, let's get one thing straight right now: Cats are wonderful. Affectionate, playful, contemplative, squirmy, and, along with a good book, a warm blanket, and a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon, they're a key ingredient in a first-class nap. It's no wonder they've surpassed dogs as the most popular companion animal in the United States.
What cats are not, however, is self-sufficient survivors, possessors of nine lives and street smarts. Though society has long accepted the need to protect our dogs from the world at large, millions of American households let their cat out the back door, even though the fence that keeps Fido safe poses no obstacle at all to Fluffy
Four thousand years ago, Egyptians captured and began breeding the wild cat (Felis silvestris libyca) to grace their palaces and accompany their royalty into the hereafter. The resulting domestic cat (Felis catus) has long since lost the ability to survive in the wild, but not the instinct to hunt. Those who hold that cats are predators and that their destruction of wildlife is a part of nature ignore the fact that domestic cats—unlike bobcats, mountain lions, and other wild felids—do not establish long-term, self-sustaining populations independent of human activities and support. If cats could make it in the wild, we'd see them (or evidence of them) deep in the San Juan or Great Smokey Mountains instead of only lurking around campground and visitor center dumpsters. That we don't is testament to the fact that these animals are indeed domesticated. They may not have lost the instinct to hunt, but they can no longer rely on their ability to hunt to survive and prosper.
Otherwise responsible cat owners—owners who provide routine veterinary care, including protection from parasites, disease, and the stress of breeding, protect them from extremes of weather, and provide abundant artificial food—are, when they allow their beloved felines outside, unleashing upon the natural world a highly subsidized predator in numbers far exceeding what natural systems could support. As a predator, the domestic cat may indirectly and negatively affect the native predator populations with which they compete, including owls, raptors and several mid-sized mammals.
Though domestic cats may have no long-term effect on the population levels of their most common prey, the tragedy of the common victims—the white-footed mice, gold finches, tiger salamanders, and the odd milk snake—is no more acceptable because these animals are abundant. Their suffering and death are both avoidable and unnecessary.
In these winter months, provide your cat with the safety and security of your home 24 hours a day and seven days a week. In so doing, you'll be protecting your wild neighbors as well.
The HSUS has many tips to help your cat make the transition from outdoor cat to happy indoor companion.
Susan Hagood is a Wildlife Issues specialist for The HSUS.
*Domestic cats can affect wildlife confined to small areas by habitat fragmentation and wildlife on islands. For instance, cats are considered primarily responsible for the extinction of several island nesters including Stephen's Island Wren, South Island Thrush, Chatham Island Rail, Steward Island Snipe, and the Auckland Island Merganser.
