I am so sick of the feral cat colonies that infest so many locations that I like to bird. And while I am sick of the cat colonies I am even more sick of the deluded people who believe that by feeding feral cats they are somehow helping them. Outdoor cats live short, ugly, violent lives. They get hit by cars, suffer from parasites, predated upon by coyotes, and die from disease. Of course, the deluded folks just spin and lie and make stuff up. For example, how many lies can you find in the quote below from this article?

Mr Kerridge says it is a misconception that cats kill a huge number of birds. Birds are a long way down a cat’s food chain so well-fed cats tend not to hunt at all, he says.

Feral cats kill huge numbers of birds. Birds are, with reptiles amphibians, and mammals, the prey that feral cats kill. And cats, regardless of the amount of food provided for them,  hunt instinctually. The fact that they have supplemental food means nothing in terms of their hunting as even well-fed pets hunt and damage bird populations.

It would be amusing if it wasn’t so sad that Alley Cat Allies is desperate enough to get their propaganda out that when you Google “domestic cats kill birds” or other similar search terms their paid advertising comes up and leads you to lies like this:

Cats have lived outdoors for more than 10,000 years—they are a natural part of the landscape. Today, they live healthy lives outdoors and play important roles in the ecosystem—as they did thousands of years ago and as all domestic cats are biologically adapted to do.

Of course, we really shouldn’t hold the lies that “cat advocates” tell against them. After all, they are just victims of the mind-control parasites that they catch from their cat’s feces. No, really.

Keep your cat indoors. For help on how to make an outdoor cat an indoor cat check out this post.

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.