Helping Wildlife – Keep Your Cat Indoors
Camouflaged Kitty
I have friends who have cats; some are outdoor cats, some are always indoors. The truth is, cats are predators and love to hunt. So when you let your cat out of the house, it will hunt small birds. In North America alone, the number of birds lost to cats is 500 million a year!
Some people put bells on their cats thinking that will help protect the birds from the predator, your pet cat. But by the time the bird hears the bell, it is too late; the cat is close enough to grab the bird.
As for the cat, it is also in danger of being attacked by larger wildlife such as the raccoon, the weasel, and the fisher, to name a few. There are also any number of diseases that your cat can pick up and injuries from fighting with wildlife that has much longer claws to defend themselves. And then of course, there is the car that cats are often hit by when they run out in the street. A lot of dangers for a little house cat.
If you have a cat, for its safety and the safety of all the native birds in your area, keep it indoors. Give it lots of, and a variety of, toys and it will be entertained for years to come.
“Camouflaged Kitty” painting by DJ Geribo