It is little secret that I have something that might be called outright contempt for feral cats.
I don’t necessarily hate the cats.
But they are essentially living pollution.
If a business released a chemical pollution that caused that much carnage among small wildlife as feral cats do, it would be fined out of existence.
I do not agree with nor do I support TNR. I also don’t support allowing owned cats to roam or to be left outside unsupervised.
I have lost subscribers, and I have lost links on blogrolls for having this position.
I don’t care.
The biggest weakness of the No Kill Movement is its adherence to TNR as a population control mechanism.
It doesn’t work. Indeed, it only works with fuzzy math.
Unfortunately, there is no solution for the feral cat problem other than trapping and euthanizing the adults and trying to capture and socialize the kittens that are young enough to be socialized to people. In rural areas, it should just be expected that landowners are going to shoot cats, especially if the cats are killing game birds or rabbits.
Most of the focus on feral cats on this blog have been a discussion about their impact to birds. It’s enough that cats cause $17 billion in damages to bird populations each year.
But it turns out that the impact of cats on birds may be nothing compare to their impact upon lizards, frogs, and snakes.
The study was able to make these findings through attaching little cameras to the cats. The cameras recorded the cats’ activities, and they were able to find out what animals these cats were targeting on their nightly forays.
Only 12 percent of their targeted quarry wound up being birds. They were mostly targeting either frogs, lizards, or snakes or small mammals (25% of their quarry).
This sort of makes sense.
Birds are damn hard to catch. Cats don’t fly, so they would have to be expert stalkers to get close enough to birds to make a kill.
They wouldn’t have the same problem targeting green tree frogs or Carolina anoles or cotton mice.
Now, we need a broader sample of free roaming cats to make generalizations, but if these trends apply across the continent, frogs could be in real trouble.
Well, even worse trouble.
We are currently experiencing a massive die-off of frogs.
Frogs are very sensitive to environmental changes, and many are dying off as the result of increased pollution and climate change.
The last thing they need is a large number of introduced predators targeting them.
And unfortunately, that’s what we’re getting with feral cats.
And also unfortunately, we have a feral cat cult that denounces any scientific evidence that shows that feral cats are to blame for endangering wildlife.
The arguments they tend to bring up are something in the vein of “Cats is cute” and “Your a monster.”
A few will point to a New Zealand study that found that cats kept down rats at a sea bird colony. When the cats were removed, the rat population shot up, and the birds suffered as the result of increased rat predation.
That’s an interesting find, but it does not mitigate all the birds that cats have killed off in New Zealand.
In fact, people who use that finding to denounce those who think feral cat controls are necessary are being intellectually dishonest.
To save biodiversity, the cats have got to go.
And there must be stricter laws on cat ownership– including laws that make it illegal to let them roam.
Dog people have dealt with those laws for a very long time. Cats are no more special than dogs. Why should cats be given carte blanche to wander around killing our native wildlife?
My stance may not be with some people, but those are the facts.
It’s also intellectually vapid to defend feral cats by saying that predators have colonized new areas for millions of years and have changed whole ecosystems through their colonization.
It is certainly true that predators have been colonizing new ecosystems throughout the history of life on this planet.
However, no introduced predator has been given the ability to colonize so many places as the feral cat has.
Cats have been introduced all over the world through trade.
Natural introductions of mammalian predators have almost always involved a land bridge. These introductions have been relatively uncommon– at least when compared to how cats and other introduced predators have been able to expand their ranges in the past 400 to 500 years.
Ecosystems usually have had time to adapt to during more conventional introductions.
These ecosystems really cannot handle such a rapid and expansive introduction as has been the case with feral cats.
Ultimately, I’ve not seen a single argument in favor of allowing feral colonies to exist that can’t be reduced to “Cats is cute” and “Your evil.”
Unfortunately, that’s the mentality we’re up against.
***
Thanks to Pai for posting this link on the blog readers’ group on Facebook!
See related post:
This is one Pussy Riot that doesn’t need to be freed.
Many farms in this rural area have resident barn cats, which are kept in order to help control mice/rats that otherwise would thrive there. These are not feral cats, nor are they pets. They have a job and they do it. Very often they are neutered, just to avoid the annoyance of kittens.
I knew a horseman, years ago, who didn’t like cats, but allowed a resident black snake to live in the barn, under the tackroom floor, for the control of rodents. Not “cute”, but effective. People were instructed not to bother the snake if they saw it.
Those are actually not without ecological consequence. I am not really a supporter of this “low tech” pest control. They’d be better off encouraging foxes to live nearby, or consulting someone with terriers or ferrets to do the job. (Assuming using ferrets in this manner is legal in one’s particular area.). You can control dogs and ferrets, but letting cats roam around is really not good for the ecology of any given area.
How do you encourage foxes to take up residence?
I don’t have a barn or a rodent problem, just curious. My cat goes outside with me on a leash.
If you leave brushy areas on the edge of pastures, they might find that a good place to den.
But the chances are they are already there. You just haven’t seen them.
“intellectually vapid” is my new favorite descriptor.
When I saw this article, the first thing I thought was “Scottie will want to see this.” I have to say that I 100% agree with you that letting pet cats roam outside needs to be made illegal. The double standard used for cats vs dogs really irritates me.
strong words, Scottie.. can’t say I disagree.
I can tell you that the TNR proponents say “lethal control doesn’t work”
Also they that none of the scientific studies that indicate the amount of damage birds do to native wildlife is valid.
But the psychological reality is that they do believe that cats are different (“they’re not domestic animals”) and that the rules for dogs shouldn’t apply.
meh
If they are not domestic animals, then why is it ever justified to release non-native wild predators into an ecosystem?
you know what else chaps my hide: cats can kill any number of other creatures with impunity. Should a dog kill a cat… in many states that dog is targeted as “vicious” and “dangerous”, is impounded and killed.
People expect cats to ‘act like animals’ but dogs get humanized to the point where if one dares to act like an animal it’s called a dangerous psychopath that needs to be put down.
I think we all know that a law to control cats would be impossible to police in most areas, which is presumably why no government ever tries to bring in such controls – except on offshore islands (for example in New Zealand) to protect wildlife. Does someone know about any other exceptions?
The way you enforce it is that any cat that is found roaming with no collar is automatically euthanized.
It’s illegal to let your cat roam where I live. They must be licensed annually and when outdoors, tethered or caged. I assume most big cities have the same laws, but as with where I live, they most often aren’t followed.
I still see many, many cats all over the streets here, however, animal control doesn’t actually go out looking for infractions. A complaint must be made for anyone to do anything. =/
Excellent write-up. I experienced this problem firsthand, when local cat-lovers kept releasing more and more cats onto my land. I tried to reason with them for 15 YEARS, 15 years of my life wasted. Until all the wildlife on my land was totally annihilated by their cats. From smallest of prey that was gutted-alive and skinned alive by their cats for their play-toys, up to the top predators that were starved-to-death from cats destroying their only foods The problem wasn’t solved until, on advice of the sheriff, to just shoot every last one of their cats. You will NEVER solve this problem by being “nice” to cat lovers. Asking any cat-lover for advice on how to solve the problem that they created and perpetuate is like asking your local career-thieves where to hide your valuables. Ignore every last thing that a cat-lover might say and you too will be able to fix the problem.
Hundreds of their cats were shot and buried. And no cats have replaced them for over 2 years now. Simple reason being: cats attract cats. Get rid of every last one and there’s none there to attract more. Should even ONE cat step paw on your land ever again? Shoot on sight A.S.A.P. Or you’ll be up to your a** in cats again in no time, with them destroying all your wildlife and spreading their deadly diseases again — and worse, attracting even MORE cat-dumpers.
But some of you are mistaken about laws being the answer …
Licensing and laws do nothing to curb the problem. If cats are required to be licensed then cat-lovers just stop putting collars on their cats, as they did by me. And they won’t even bother getting them micro-chipped, especially not that They want absolutely nothing that can hold them legally responsible, liable, and accountable for the actions of their cats. It’s why many of them even keep cats in the first place. We’re not talking about the topmost responsible citizens of the world, you know. They don’t want that responsibility of what their cat has done coming back on them. If they had even one iota of a sense of responsibility and respect for all other lives on this planet we wouldn’t even be having these discussions.
On the other hand, I found something that DOES work, and works well, and works fast (well, relative to the years it takes trying to reason with deceitful and lying cat-lovers that accomplishes ABSOLUTELY NOTHING). Where I live cat-lovers have learned that _ALL_ cats, stray and feral, collared or not, ear-tipped or not (because TNR con-artist liars now just clip cats’ ears only without sterilizing or vaccinating them, to protect their hoarded cats from being trapped and euthanized), _ALL_ their cats are humanely shot on sight and buried whenever found away from supervised confinement. (Buried or incinerated to protect our valuable native wildlife from all the deadly diseases these invasive species cats spread today, even after they are dead.)
The ONLY thing that works is destroying any of their cats found outdoors on your property. They either learn to stop getting more cats that die under the wheels of cars or from animal attacks, or they finally learn how to be a responsible pet owner, respectful neighbor, and learn to keep their invasive species animal under confined supervision, as it should be. Win win win all around. You can either destroy their cat for them humanely, or let their lack of concern for their cat cause it to die inhumanely. Your choice. By destroying their cat for them humanely you are showing them that you care more about their cat than even they do. A bullet is by far the most humane death that any free-roaming cat will ever meet. Their only other options are being hit by cars, environmental poisons, cat & animal attacks, disease and parasites, freezing to death, baking to death, etc. etc.
You can’t train a cat to stay home but I found that, in time, you CAN train a cat-owner into being a responsible pet-owner and a respectable neighbor. Most of them are so phenomenally stupid, disrespectful, and criminally irresponsible though that you have to make at least 12-15 of their cats permanently disappear before they even start to figure out what they’ve been doing wrong all during their sorry, useless, and pathetic lives.
If you live in an area where its not legal to use firearms to destroy any animal that is harming the health, safety, and well-being of you, your family, your own animals, or property (as it *IS* legal in most every area of the nation); then check into laws regarding air-rifles. Ones with ballistics speeds of 700-1200 fps and using pointed vermin-pellets are often prescribed for use on vermin in no-firearms zones. Many of the newer ones even come with their own sound-suppressor designs built-in. Failing that, then there’s always the SSS and TDSS Cat Management Programs that are exploding in popularity worldwide. Shoot, Shovel, & Shut-Up; or Trap, Drown, Shovel, & Shut-Up. Both methods are legal on every square foot of this earth. No local laws were violated if it never happened! (In the cases where cats have already learned to evade all trapping methods, then inexpensive generic 1-adult-strength acetaminophen (overseas a.k.a. paracetamol) pain-relievers are a more species specific vermin poison. But you really need to collect and dispose of that carcass safely so that native wildlife won’t die from the many deadly diseases cats spread — even after their death.)
Good luck!
how is the way cats hunt different than the way other small mammalian predators hunt? How much difference does it make to introduce feral cats to an ecosystem that already has such animals, such as foxes, raccoons, bobcats, etc? Personally I have always seen feral cats as just another wild animal- not special little cyoot and fuzzies, but not vermin either. They live like wild animals, they can die like wild animals. While I can see that introducing them to say, an island habitat with no terrestrial predators at all has terrible consequences, adding them to your typical suburban or agricultural area doesn’t seem like it would make a big difference, since the wildlife presumably is already adapted to being preyed upon. Of course, people don’t prop up the possum and fox population by feeding, protecting, or even bringing in extra ones, so probably the cat population is exceeding its natural carrying capacity in such places.
The very simple answer is that feral cats can exist at densities much, much higher than any native predators. They are also much more fertile.
You never hear of colonies of raccoons or foxes or bobcats.
Cats create the effects of mesopredator release on steroids.
They hunt for fun, and they are well-fed.
So they have plenty of time to kill lots of things.
People go out of their way to feed them, too.
A big problem is fertility. Cats can become pregnant at 8 months, and have 2 or 3 litters a year, of 4 or 5 kittens. Fertility may not decrease until 10 years old (!). Go figure!
Elizabeth
Can an argument be made that even if you s/n large numbers, the ones that are left will produce so many kittens that your s/n effort just won’t matter? All that will happen is a slight narrowing of the gene pool. Wish I knew how to do the math.
You are VERY much correct!!!
After analyzing over 100 “successful” TNR programs AROUND THE GLOBE, only ONE of them managed to trap as much as 4.9% of them. Oregon’s amazing 50,000 TNR’ed cats. Yet if we do a population growth analysis on the 95.1% unsterilized cats, by the end of this year, they will have only trapped 0.35% of feral-cats in Oregon. Why is this? Because cats reproduce faster than you can ever trap them. Another in Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas) only trapped 3.3% (10,000 cats in 2 years out of 300,000 feral cats). But their preexisting population of unsterilized cats are popping out an average of 7,900 NEW CATS PER DAY (exponentially increasing as the months go on). They haven’t even trapped as many as are needed to be trapped in 2 days in over 2 years now. Unless you can AT LEAST trap as many as are being born per-day, you are nowhere near to reducing the population growth. All the rest of the TNR programs I’ve studied have always trapped and sterilized fewer than 0.4% of them (that seems to be a magical constant for some reason, almost always trapping less than 0.4% of feral cats in any region). Alley-Cat-All-Lies of NY City, the biggest promoters of TNR, being the most ridiculous one of all. They’ve only reduced the population of feral cats by 0.08% within their own city’s limits (127 per year out of a feral population of over 1.8 million). And this year that dropped to 0.024%, and by year’s end only 0.008%, not even 1/100th of 1%.
This is the VERY SAME REASON why Trap & Kill programs failed. Traps are the weakest link, and can NEVER catch up to cats’ breeding rates.
If you’d like, you can (for most people) try climbing a steep education curve, by learning how to use a population-growth program called “Populus”
http://www.mndaily.com/2009/10/08/populus-software-helps-professors-teach-biology
More info here: http://www.cbs.umn.edu/populus
You can get all the population densities of feral cats of any state, county, or city from one of TNR-advocates OWN resources here: http://www.guerrillaeconomics.biz/communitycats/ The very same one they use for handing out PDF flyers to all communities in the USA. (Their TNR cost analysis coming in most handy when trying to explain to a community that, for example, in Las Vegas, they will have to divert community resources (i.e. con people out of their money and time) for $160 per cat, a cost in excess of AT LEAST $1,260,160.00 PER DAY or $459,958,400.00 (yes, almost 1/2 $BILLION) PER YEAR just to make TNR work to keep feral cat population growth stable. A cost that MUST BE SUSTAINED INTO PERPETUITY if they can’t trap & sterilize faster than that. It will cost MORE THAN that to reduce their population growth by trapping at a faster rate. Mind you, those are just the costs needed this week. If they don’t match them this week, exponentially increase it next week. :-)
If you don’t want to learn how to use Populus, then you can use a quick & dirty online calculus pop-growth calculator at haywood.freeshell.org/cgi/cat-population.php That one will suffice for most purposes, because by the time anyone gets around to doing anything about the problem, the margin of error has already been exceeded. :-) But be sure to change their defaults. NO TNR PROGRAM ON EARTH, ANYWHERE, HAS EVER MANAGED TO STERILIZE THE PERCENTAGES THEY USE AS DEFAULTS. For all intents and purposes you can drop the preexisting sterilized population to 0% (<0.4% being a norm), instead of their lowest option being 5% (that being only useful on Oregon's TNR efforts).
This plain as day FACT that cats breed faster than they can EVER be trapped seems to be lost on the general population. Frustrating to say the least when what I've discovered isn't apparent to the rest. Trying to correct myths, misinformation, and lies on the internet is …. well … sometimes futile.
The absolute absurdity and hypocrisy of EVERY aspect of this TNR religious movement makes a sane person's head spin.
:-)
In addition to being a very fecund invasive predator, the house cat, being domesticated, does have some behavioral differences from its wild kin and competitors. For one thing, it kills w/o being hungry–in fact its more effective at mousing if well-fed. Also, cats enjoy the protection of a whole lot of big mean predators–aka people– who bring them into the environment in huge numbers and then try to destroy anything that might threaten them or their large litters of young. Thirdly, these same people inoculate the cats against the very diseases most likely to curb their numbers, and they feed them to boot. The deck is definitely stacked in their favor.
I, like you, believe they are now an inevitable part of the environment, but in the absence of cat-people, their numbers would soon crash to more moderate levels. The root of this problem, as Woodsman has said many times, is with the people who own them, feed them, and protect them. The answer, is predation–in most cases the most effective being a human w/ a gun.
Don’t get me wrong, I like cats, but only in their proper place, which is inside the home. As for mouse control in barns, if cats and people would leave the local black snakes (and other native predators) alone, they’d do a decent job of curbing rodent numbers.
Another thought, if farmers, thru say a grange organization, were to reintroduce Barn Owls, rodent populations in their out-buildings and fields would plummet. They could also encourage other species, such as the Great Horned Owl, which has proven especially adept at preying on rats.
[...] Cats might prey on mice and young rats, but they also prey on birds and amphibians and reptiles. [...]