Unbelievably there are some people in this world that do not believe that cats are good; that they should no longer be able to be house pets. When I read Michele C. Hollow’s post on Pet News and Views back on January 24th, I was miffed once again.
It seems that now a New Zealand environmental advocate, Gareth Morgan is weighing in on the issue to ban cats as pets. Gareth promoted the fact that feral cats impact bird populations. This coincided with the 20/20 segment entitled Cold Blooded Killers that was featured in the fall of 2012. Wow, what ever happened to the scientific theory about food chains; one animal eating another to survive?
Although no one wants to see the bird population diminish, can we really blame the decline of birds in nature on the housecat? Is the simple housecat living in every environment that birds are?
A lot of this skepticism has to do with TNR (Trap/Neuter/Return) practice in and around big cities. Bird lovers tend to have a lot of issues with the practice and therefore want to diminish the population of cats instead.
Unfortunately hundreds of environmentalists and news organizations are spreading their views and although it is agreed that cats do prey on birds, other experts are countering with the fact that birds are adaptable to predation; the act of preying or plundering – where food is primarily obtained by killing and consuming other animals. It has been reported by Bruce Kornreich, Feline Center of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine that, “In some cases feline predation may impart a survival advantage to native bird populations by controlling rodent or other potential predator populations.” In no uncertain terms, this is a positive aspect of cats.
Cat lovers never want to think that felines have to live as feral beings, that they could all have a home in which they will be loved and cared for. Cats are loving and kind and just want to give and receive love. Cat parents can attest to that.
People that love cats are also concerned about other animals as well. They would never want to see negative effects on our ecosystem or bird populations. If we all work together to make certain that cats have homes, do not overpopulate, and when discovered outside on their own that they are spayed or neutered, we can all live in harmony. As far as cats being banned as house pets, well, that is simply ridiculous!
Comments