Rodents destroying the garden

[digitS']

Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute:

The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States

"We estimate that cats in the contiguous United States annually kill between 1.3 and 4.0 billion birds (median=2.4 billion), with ∼69% of this mortality caused by un-owned cats."

"Free-ranging cats on islands have caused or contributed to 33 (14%) of the modern bird, mammal and reptile extinctions recorded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List."

https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380

Steve

 

[Beekissed]

Some animals are just meant to go extinct during the course of this Earth. It happens. Can't prevent that by keeping all cats indoors and spaying and neutering them all....then pretty soon the domestic cat becomes extinct. Cats are hunters, meant to be outdoors...it's human intervention that causes the cat population to increase, rather than be controlled by natural processes.

Around here an outside cat's natural life span is around 5-6 yrs before it's picked off by owls, coyotes or killed by another cat. That's nature and that's life.

 

[digitS']

You are defining all human intervention on Earth as natural?

 

[Beekissed]

You are defining all human intervention on Earth as natural?

Nope....never said that once. I said that it's natural for cats to live outdoors and hunt birds. When humans get in the way of that by spaying and neutering, feeding the cats too much or wanting them to all live indoors for some weird reasoning, then that natural process of the cat population being self controlled goes awry.

It's human intervention that has contributed to the over population of cats in the first place, our treating them like humans and trying to preserve their lives at all costs. When they lived a natural life out of doors, intact and acting like natural animals, their populations were well controlled and they didn't threaten any other species into extinction. It's fuzzy headed thinking of humans that put this balance out of control in the first place.

 

[digitS']

The domestic cat is not a North American native species.

If they are roaming about at will it is because they were brought here. Their presence in whatever circumstance is a result of human intervention.

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

I am SURE that your dogs have good outdoor housing. I believe that my dog's primary mission is to protect ME, so she sleeps inside at night. I keep 6 cats bc they do their job, hunt mice and sometimes birds. Most of the birds that they kill are in no way endangered. We don't run out of robins and starlings are a European introduced nuisance species. Occasionally they will kill a cardinal or jay, as evidenced by the feathers. The never seem to get a barn swallow, and NOBODY gets to kill a "fuzzy egg", (aka baby chicken.)

 

[Nyboy]

Bee nothing makes my blood boil then cat urine marking on the patio furniture. You have a lot of space for your outside cats. Here in city we live close togather, cats do not stay in their own yards but wander. If I wanted my backyard used as a litter box I would get my own cat. That being said I can also understand a cat being a working animal as such needs to be outside

 

[digitS']

I commend someone who keeps cats in doors. I commend someone who provides care for an otherwise unwanted cat.

Humans have drastically changed the environment wherever they have gone. They have done that here in North America. I try to protect my garden. Just this year, I killed a hoary marmot (Marmota caligata) Conservation status International Union for Conservation of Nature status: least concern. It had taken up residence only about 15' from my garden.

We should take measures to preserve what was here before we arrived. If for no other reason, because that environment that drew us and our ancestors here may otherwise be lost to future human generations.

This is something I put together 7 years ago, just kind of an early playing around on YouTube. I'm sorry if the audio isn't so great. The paintings are by John J. Audubon who made them between 1827 and 1838. ALL of the species represented are now extinct - I don't believe that I can blame a cat for anything having to do with that .

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

bring back wolves, would take care of too many deer, pigs, dogs, cats, etc.

 

[digitS']

Here are some colorful native birds. It's only a very simple 30 seconds of pictures and birdsong that I put together.

I have seen all of them and more in my gardens except the Western Tanager. I visited Tanagers on Granite Lake, which was only a few miles from where I used to live (& only a stone's throw from @thistlebloom 's home).

There were Wood Ducks that lived on Granite Lake. I hope that they are all still there and that Thistle' is protecting all of them from stone throwers.

Steve