Today is National Feral Cat Day, which is meant to highlight the needs of stray and feral cats. But National Feral Cat Day is also an opportunity for Audubon New York to ”(call) on cat and bird lovers to work together to protect both the birds and cats.”

“With millions of birds headed south on their fall migration, it’s not only the bird watchers who are eagerly awaiting their return: a silent and stealthy invasive predator sits, grooming paws and claws in anticipation.  In cities, suburbs and rural areas across New York and the nation, feral and free-roaming cats are having an untold and profound impact on bird populations already in steep decline.  And now with colonies of feral cats growing on public parklands and open spaces, so are the concerns over the health and safety of the cats and birds alike.  On National Feral Cat Day, Audubon New York is calling on cat and bird lovers to work together to protect both the birds and cats.”

You can read Audubon New York’s entire press release after the break.

Give Birds a Break on National Feral Cat Day

Audubon urges pet owners to keep their cats indoors; calls for state and local measures to reduce cat colonies and license cats

Albany, NY – October 16, 2009 – With millions of birds headed south on their fall migration, it’s not only the bird watchers who are eagerly awaiting their return: a silent and stealthy invasive predator sits, grooming paws and claws in anticipation.  In cities, suburbs and rural areas across New York and the nation, feral and free-roaming cats are having an untold and profound impact on bird populations already in steep decline.  And now with colonies of feral cats growing on public parklands and open spaces, so are the concerns over the health and safety of the cats and birds alike.  On National Feral Cat Day, Audubon New York is calling on cat and bird lovers to work together to protect both the birds and cats.

Nationwide, it is estimated that every year feral and free-roaming domestic cats kill hundreds of millions of protected birds, including rare and endangered species such as the Piping Plover.  Feral and free-roaming domestic cats have also been estimated to kill more than a billion small mammals, some of which, like field mice and shrews, are important prey for raptors such as Great Horned Owls and Red-tailed Hawks.  As habitat loss is eating up habitat for bird species, the direct and indirect threats caused by these introduced predators are putting serious strain on already fragile avian populations.

“The best approach to help both the birds and cats is for all pet owners to keep their cats indoors,” said Albert E. Caccese, Executive Director of Audubon New York. “An inside life is healthier for cats as feral and free-roaming cats are highly susceptible to diseases, mortality from cars and abuse, and they pose a health risk to humans, wildlife, and other pets.”

In addition to keeping cats inside, Audubon New York also urges cat owners to not feed feral or free-roaming domestic cats, have their pets spayed or neutered and vaccinated, and to support measures to license or register their cats.  “Cat caretakers must take responsibility for their cats and take steps to ensure they don’t contribute to the growing feral cat epidemic,” added Caccese.  “Because even well-fed and cared for cats will prey on birds and other wildlife and bells on collars do not prevent cat predation, the responsible thing to do is keep cats inside, or take them out on leashes or in an outdoor enclosure.”

Unfortunately many pet owners are not heeding this simple call, and now there are numerous unlawful colonies of feral and free-roaming domestic cats that are ballooning out of control in many state and local parks.  Many of these colonies are being “managed” by cat enthusiasts using a controversial and untested program called Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR), in which the cats are captured, spayed or neutered and then released to the public parks.  In theory, this program is designed to reduce populations of cats by eliminating reproduction; in actuality though, with many people now feeding the cats in these large colonies, this program only encourages the abandonment of more cats and TNR has not been proven effective at reducing feral cat populations.  And as these populations increase, so do the threats to birds and other wildlife.

“Maintaining these invasive species on public lands through TNR programs only further exacerbates the problems facing our native birds and wildlife.  The real solution is to remove introduced predators from our state and local parks,” continued Caccese.

Recently, efforts to control burgeoning populations of feral cats on Long Island have yielded some positive conservation gains.  At Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai, NY a colony of feral cats grew from 7 to 33 individuals over the last several years while being actively “managed” using TNR.  During this period, Piping Plovers that nested on the nearby beach were unable to reproduce due to predation and harassment by the feral cats.  In 2008, the Town of Brookhaven acted to remove cats from the park and immediate positive impacts on the endangered species were observed. Due to the removal of these cats, a pair of Piping Plovers was able to successfully nest, hatch and fledge one chick for the first time in seven years.

“This successful nesting clearly shows the environmental benefits of removing feral cats from public parks,” said Carolyn Spilman, Long Island Bird Conservation Coordinator for Audubon New York. “We urge other parks throughout Long Island and the rest of the state to follow the lead of the Town of Brookhaven and implement strategies to remove these invasive predators before it’s too late.”

For more information and tips on keeping your cat healthy and happy indoors, visit the American Bird Conservancy’s “Cats Indoors!” website.

Audubon New York, the 50,000-member state program of the National Audubon Society representing 27 local Audubon Chapters, is dedicated to protecting birds and other wildlife and the habitat that supports them. Our national network of community-based nature centers and chapters, scientific and educational programs, and advocacy on behalf of areas sustaining important bird populations, engage millions of people of all ages and backgrounds in conservation.