[Summit] a suggestion for cat owners

[James Kelley]

It would be interesting to see statistics of harm (or lack of) by cause to
wayward cats. My pet cat dies from an attack by a muskrat.

On Tue, Jun 17, 2025, 2:57 PM Madeline Klein via Summit <
summit at sna.providence.ri.us> wrote:

> I’d say that cars, more than coyotes, are everywhere and not going away,
> and dangerous to cats and other animals.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 17, 2025, at 2:36 PM, Greg Gerritt <gerritt at mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> 
>
> Coyotes are everywhere and not going away.  Do not feed them or leave
> smelly stuff around and pets should be indoors except when walking with
> you.  greg
>
>
>
> *From: *Summit <summit-bounces at sna.providence.ri.us> on behalf of Ethan
> Gilsdorf <ethangilsdorf at gmail.com>
> *Date: *Tuesday, June 17, 2025 at 2:20 PM
> *To: *Art Norwalk <art at norwalkcom.com>
> *Cc: *Summit Neighborhood <summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
> *Subject: *Re: [Summit] a suggestion for cat owners
>
>
>
> Good point Art. I agree!  I can’t tell you how many times I see “lost cat”
> signs on telephone poles in the neighborhood and I imagine to myself “Yep I
> think a coyote got that one…” I’ve seen coyotes out hunting in my
> neighborhood, even in the daytime.
>
> With kindness,
> Ethan
>
>
>
> *Ethan Gilsdorf*
>
> *writer | teacher | critic | nerd *
>
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>
> On Tue, Jun 17, 2025 at 1:46 PM Art Norwalk <art at norwalkcom.com> wrote:
>
> 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/> |
>
>
>
>
>
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