Kill the cat that kills the birds?

[birdlady49]

Originally Posted by JavaJoy01

Let's face it, the problem is not the cat's fault, it the bad owners who don't spay or neuter and let their cat's roam. That or decided they no longer want the cat and throw it out.

My cat came from a ferel moma. My parents have been trying to catch her for years with no success. She have had many kittens, all we have managed to handle and tame, so we caught them and found them homes. They called shelters and such and nobody will come to help catch her and they don't want her put down either. My parents were more then willing to have her spayed and released but nobody will come to catch her and they can not do it (They are 70 as well, so it's even harder).

It's not easy, and no one is blaming the cats themselves. We all know it's the homo sapiens who are the problem. (We're ALWAYS the problem!)

[Parrotpeople]

Originally Posted by 4HAND

I love all creatures,even insects but .........non-native invasive species[even if they are kittens or quaker parrots]must be kept in check!The people who release domestic animals into the wild or feed them[thus increasing their numbers]do a huge diservice to all the other species the intruders prey upon or compete with.I don't own a weapon and probably never will but I have taken many stray cats to the Humane Society to protect the hundreds of birds that nest on my land.It's a long drive and costs me $20 each time to surrender each cat but if I don't do it I find feathers and carnage on a daily basis.
Tena

Tena,
How are you catching them? We have bird feeders and have seen many feathers about. In fact that's what ultimately happend to Paris (our tag)! She almost made it back to us after she was out and lost for 11 days ... he cage was still on the patio in hopes she would find her way home, I went calling for her every morning and evening, then one Saturday morning I went out and found the horrible sight of her tell tail feathers. I knew it was a cat because after they catch their feast they take them under our shed to finish them off. I thank God I didn't witness it, but I can't stand it to know that litlle bastard's out there running around now.
We have cats and love them dearly, but these strays are getting out of hand.

[swanwillow]

When I first read the title to this thread, I was thinking 'oh god, someone's parrot got killed-time to go defend the cat' Cause that happened to me.

BUT, this is SO different. Feral cats, dogs, pigs, snakes, EVERYTHING.

I'm a biology major, and I can point out GOOD invasions, and BAD.

Good=quaker. Yup, I said it. We killed the carolina parakeet and the passenger pigeon. SOMETHING is taking over that spot, and its green and grey colored.

Bad=cats and dogs. They kill kill kill, invade EVERYWHERE, there are MULTIPLES of homeless ones, and people keep on breeding them. I'm anti-breeding laws, but I'm also anti-idiots breeding animals. IMO, all feral animals should be either taken in to a large sanctuary, sterilized (spay/neut) or euthanized. WE did it to the world, WE have to fix it, even if it means hurting poor fluffy.

Oh, and heres a quote;

"Where cats sit in this continuum is a huge point of contention. Over the past 10 years or so, however, a growing body of research has implicated cats as a serious factor in the loss of native birds in specific habitats — mostly islands, often shorelines and sometimes inland areas. The World Conservation Union now lists the domestic cat as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species."

[birdlady49]

Great message! But don't forget that it's usually been humans who bring the invaders to foreign shores. Or humans themselves who hunt a species to extinction, i.e., the dodo bird. Humans are the worst thing that ever happened to this planet.

[Valo's Moirana]

Originally Posted by birdlady49

Humans are the worst thing that ever happened to this planet.

sad, but true....

[Oviraptor]

If there was a species that would truly be in dire need to be "fixed", it would be humans.

I'm sorry to say it, but everything was fine until we came along.

[flight_of_the_wing]

it is sad that those birds die because of cats, but face it. it was a very rash decision for that man to shoot the cat. why kill? it could of been delt with in a much more sensible way. humans kill more animals than cats do birds so it was definetely not in the man's place to kill the cat. it seems that it's just the way of the world that humans kill so many animals for all sorts of reasons. food, bags, makeup, clothes, decoration and plenty more. humans also kill animals for sport, like cats do with birds at times. the other sad truth is, if the world ends, i'm pretty sure we would probably be responsible for it and it wouldn't be the fault of the animals. you may not agree, but that's just my point of view.

[flight_of_the_wing]

it is sad that those birds die because of cats, but face it. it was a very rash decision for that man to shoot the cat. why kill? it could of been delt with in a much more sensible way. humans kill more animals than cats do birds so it was definetely not in the man's place to kill the cat. it seems that it's just the way of the world that humans kill so many animals for all sorts of reasons. food, bags, makeup, clothes, decoration and plenty more. humans also kill animals for sport, like cats do with birds at times. the other sad truth is, if the world ends, i'm pretty sure we would probably be responsible for it and it wouldn't be the fault of the animals. you may not agree, but that's just my point of view.

[flight_of_the_wing]

not again...sorry...

[prettybird3]

The TNR (trap, neuter, release) programs that are set up will often times try to tame and re-home young kittens instead of releasing them back into the environment they came from. This isn`t usually tried with adult ferals however, as the adults tend to be much harder to tame and can revert easily. If thousands of sweet, tame housecats are put to death every year in shelters across the nation because of lack of good homes, how in the heck are semi- wild cats going to have any hopes of ending up in a good home? That`s pretty much a pipe dream. And even the wild kittens that are taken in and tamed still don`t really have any more of a chance of getting adopted for the same reason: lack of enough homes.

I can see something positive to this program, especially in urban areas. Cats do help keep down the rodent population, and have been used for this purpose for thousands of years.

People letting their pet cats roam are a different story, although that`s how ferals became a problem in the first place. In the case of an island where ferals are threatening a native species, I agree something should be done to remove the ferals from the environment. This goes for feral parrots, also. But I really do think it would be cool to look out my window and see a family of little Quakers or budgies nesting in a tree! That still doesn`t make it right, though, unfortunately.