[Summit] a suggestion for cat owners

[Art Norwalk]

There's no doubt cats are predators in the outdoors. But they're also prey,
particularly for coyotes.

Best solution -- keep them indoors.

-- Art

On Tue, Jun 17, 2025 at 10:52 AM Ethan Gilsdorf <ethangilsdorf at gmail.com>
wrote:

> hi neighbors:
>
> I love cats. But in the past few days, I've seen the carnage from what I
> believe are three cat attacks on wildlife: one dead baby rabbit, one
> mangled mourning dove in my backyard, and one crime scene: an explosion of
> feathers under my bird feeder. The dove was barely alive, so I brought it
> to the wonderful bird rehab organization Congress of the Birds (in the West
> Side), but they could not save it and it died later that night.
>
> One study showed that domestic cats kill 1.4 to 3.7 BILLION birds and
> 6.9–20.7 BILLION mammals in the lower 48 states each year --- more than
> from collisions with buildings, towers, vehicles, or pesticide poisoning.
>
> I would ask all cat owners who let their cats roam freely outdoors to
> please consider taking preventative measures to stop the killing. A cat
> collar called BirdBeSafe --- which, yes, looks like a ridiculous clown
> accessory --- has been shown to work. Birds can see bright colors, and when
> a cat wears one of these colorful collars, they are easier to see, which
> gives birds time to fly away in time. This company also sells a
> "breakaway buckle" for the collar, which will open under pressure if you
> cat ever gets caught in a sticky situation. Putting a bell on your cat's
> collar has been shown to not be as effective.
>
> Thanks for considering the welfare of our neighborhood wildlife as you
> make choices for your cats.
>
> Links below.
>
> https://www.audubon.org/news/how-stop-cats-killing-birds
>
> https://www.birdsbesafe.com/
>
>
> https://www.audubon.org/news/cats-pose-even-bigger-threat-birds-previously-thought
>
> With kindness,
>
> Ethan Gilsdorf
> 10th Street
>
>
> *Ethan Gilsdorf*
> *writer | teacher | critic | nerd *
> ethan at ethangilsdorf.com | ethangilsdorf.com
> <http://www.ethangilsdorf.com/> |
> <https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0IW6ldnGAgXgshIsB2c1sF2viMsYy5FD>
>
>
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