[Summit] a suggestion for cat owners

Tue Jun 17 20:09:14 UTC 2025

Muskrats are vegetarians and live in water...  they are not normally
predators.  I wonder if it could have been rabid.  Groundhogs (also
vegetarians) are considered vectors of rabies because they can survive some
bites and live long enough to pass the rabies on.

Elva

On Tue, Jun 17, 2025 at 3:46 PM James Kelley <jameskelley4444 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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 *
>>
>> ethan at ethangilsdorf.com | ethangilsdorf.com
>> <http://www.ethangilsdorf.com/> | YouTube
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>> “[writing is] a medium of understanding suffering.”—Ocean Vuong
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 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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