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The Nugget Newspaper
Sisters, Oregon
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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

Killer cats are hard on wildlife

The National Audubon Society recently accumulated data regarding the impact of feral and free-roaming cats on wildlife:

• Feral and free-roaming cats destroy millions of birds and small animals annually;
• Birds make up 20-30 percent of the prey of feral and free-roaming cats;
• The American Ornithologists' Union, American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians, International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and more have concluded that feral, homeless, lost, abandoned, or free-ranging domestic cats are proven to have serious negative impacts on bird populations.
• Worldwide, cats may have been involved in the extinction of more bird species than any other cause, except habitat destruction;
• Feral cat colony management programs (trap, neuter and release) are not effective solutions to the problem. Feeding stray and feral cats does not prevent them from hunting; it only maintains high densities of cats that dramatically increase predation on and competition with native wildlife populations;
• Free-roaming cats are likely to come in contact with rabid wild animals and thus spread the disease to people.

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