| | | Looks to me like a double edge sword. The person stated that they had started feeding the feral cat out of sympathy. If they had not, then the feral cat would continue to depend on predation for meals. By feeding the cat, it probably started getting lazy and laid around his or her house waiting for the next meal of kibble or canned wet cat food made from slaughter house scraps.
Also, countering the bird death rate from predation by cats is an unnatural habit by many people of keeping bird feeders stocked year round. This creates an abundant local food supply, which drives the bird population up in two ways. More food makes healthier birds with more time to nest, reproduce and feed young. Healthier birds are more disease resistant. It also concentrates populations in closer proximity, which increases the possibility of disease transfer.
Point is, quoting national statistics makes an unnatural situation sound alarming, but the reality is much more complicated that a single statistic can portray.
While cats are "not invented here" when found in Nature, they are natural animals with very natural needs for sustenance. And, that's the way Nature works. It is by nature the law of survival of the fittest. We may not like what one species does to another, but policing it is expensive and time consuming. |
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