# Are Feral Cats the Real Threat to Birds?



## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Save the Birds - YouTube

Watch Alley Cat Allies short video.

Cats have lived outdoors as part of the natural landscape for more than 10,000 years. In recent years, some people have misguidedly blamed cats for declining bird populations, but it isn’t the relationship between cats and birds that has changed—it’s the relationship between humans and the environment. Condemning cats is nothing more than a dangerous distraction from the real threat—human impact.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

I have never bought into the argument that cats are responsible for the demise of our feathered friends. Do they attack some, sure. Do they decimate their numbers? I doubt it. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people have bird feeders. Did you know that you are supposed to clean out and sanitize your bird feeder regularly? No? Most don't know that. If you do not occasionally sanitize the feeders then mold and all sorts of nasties live in the rotting seeds that the birds eat, spreading disease and killing untold millions of birds annually. Cats are only a very small part of the problem. Humans - albeit well meaning humans cause more carnage to songbirds than cats.


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## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

If cats are killing all the birds, mine aren't doing their part. My hunter catches mostly lizards and gophers with a mouse thrown in now and then. They wish they can catch the birds but not so easy.


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## bobbycos (Aug 5, 2013)

people have also blamed cats for carrying plagues and being familiars of the devil

i agree with marcia that humans do 10,000 times more damage to animal populations than cats could ever do


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## Cat'sHouse (Apr 5, 2012)

only if they catch them.


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