Editor:
Pussycats and baby birds. Sounds cute but it’s a lethal combination. Many baby birds leave the nest before they can fly. They flutter to the ground to hide in the underbrush until their feathers are fully formed. Their unique chirps tell the parents foraging for their dinner where they are and that they are safe. This chirp, as well as their unwitting movements, also attracts prowling pussycats. This story ends badly. The babies are killed. If instead the cat kills the parents, the dependent babies will probably still not survive.
Repeat this story in millions of backyards and natural areas across North America and billions of birds die. Songbird populations are collapsing and over 30 bird species are extinct due to kills by domestic cats, which are considered by North American scientists to be an invasive species.
There is an environmental solution that is absolutely within the control of every pet owner. As their wilderness homes are destroyed, our backyards become important wildlife refuges. For the sake of our (rapidly disappearing) wild birds and our grandchildren who might some day want to see them, let’s keep our cats indoors or in confined outdoor spaces where they cannot attack vulnerable nesting birds that, just like us, are working hard to raise their families in safety.
Nicola Kozakiewicz, Roberts Creek
