Scientists now believe that the increasing toxicity and strength of catnip is responsible for a sharp uptick in press coverage of cats killing prey. Birds! And mammals! And snakes! (But not marsupials, or honey badgers, thank goodness.)
There ougta be a law!
Feral cats do want to be loved. And they do want to eat – birds – mammals – snakes.
Outdoor cats account for the leading cause of death among both birds and mammals in the United States, according to a new study, killing anywhere between 1.4 billion and 3.7 billion birds each year.
The mammalian toll is even higher, concluded researchers from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ranging between 6.9 billion and 20.7 billion annually.
The analysis, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, suggests feral and owned cats pose a far greater threat than previously thought. One study in 2011 estimated cats in the United States kill roughly half a billion birds annually.
“I was stunned,” said ornithologist Peter Marra of the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute. He and Smithsonian colleague Scott Loss, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Tom Will conducted the study.
. . .
They defined “unowned” as farm cats living in barns, strays living outdoors that may be fed by humans, and feral cats that fend for themselves — all of which might live alone or in colonies. The study notes that Washington, D.C., alone has an estimated 300 outdoor cat colonies.
Life in the City is good … now that we’ve caught all the mice … I’m reduced to chasing red laser dots and dust bunnies … can’t help myself …
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Posted 2006/05/13, 8:37 am
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Category: Catblogging ·
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