Bird Population and Feral Cats

There are more than 90 million pet cats in the U.S., the majority of which roam outside at least part of the time. In addition, there are an estimated 60 million stray and feral cats that roam our cities, suburbs, and rural areas. So, how much of a problem are these feline predators to our feathered friends? Well, quite a bit. However, individual cats differ in their threat to birds. Cats that are house bound are no menace (although my wife’s cat ate my cockatiel years ago); domestic cats that have access to the outdoors have little need for wild food sources; feral cats, on the other hand, are totally dependent on wild food.

Feral cats’ diets are about 70 % small mammals, about 20 % birds, and 10 % other animals. There isn’t any clear data, but it appears that cats, feral and domestic, kill 1.3 to 4 billion birds a year in the U.S. A study in England in which cameras were put on cats demonstrated that for every prey object brought home to present to the cat owner, at least one other animal was killed. Feral cats kill about 500 million birds a year and billions more mice, moles, voles, squirrels, chipmunks, reptiles, and amphibians.

There are more than 80 million pet cats in the U.S., and only 35% of them are restricted to the indoors. My wife and I have had cats that roamed outside, and a few of them did a bit of hunting, which annoyed me, but it was rare. We had one cat that simply caught a bird occasionally and never hurt it. A mysterious buzzing in the garage one day turned out to be Bob the Cat holding a hummingbird by the bill, wings buzzing. It was released unharmed.

So what can cat owners do? Wild birds are pretty good at avoiding predators under natural circumstances. But bird feeders concentrate birds in a small area and provide good hunting. So, put the feeder several feet from the house (to avoid bird collisions with windows), at least four to five feet high on a post a cat can’t climb, and near some bushes or dense trees where the birds can hide. Access to the feeder should be open so the birds can see any approaching cats. Bells on a cat’s collar have been determined to be useless as birds do not interpret a tinkling bell as danger, and cats approach prey stealthily anyway.

I think declawing cats is cruel, but if a cat is a serious bird killer, you might consider alternatives such as trimming the nails short or covering them with acrylic or vinyl pads.

Feral cats, though, are the biggest predatory threat to birds. I have trapped several feral cats in my backyard, and some were the biggest, nastiest cats I have ever seen. One was so strong I watched it bend the bars of the trap and escape—the same trap a 20-pound raccoon could not escape from. These are predators that do not belong in the environment. Keep them inside if you can.