Hi All, I'm a cat lover myself, but because I love my cat, It is an indoor cat, no fleas, ticks, cars, strange foods, I love my cat.
People who have outdoor cats, unless say on a farm where they are working animals for rodent abatement, don't really have a pet they love, they are just owning an animal that is low maintenance. They love the low maintenance. I've weighed this a great deal with "cat" people for many many years. I don't believe you can love a pet if you are not responsible about your relationship with it. Cats are feral as soon as they hit your door to the outside, feral cats are a very serious threat to wildlife. Will, with an Opinion! On 11/21/07, Warren W. Aney <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Yes, feral cats are considered an unwelcome invasive. Just ask any field > biologist or the Audubon Society > http://www.audubon.org/local/cn/98march/nasr.html > > Warren W. Aney > Senior Wildlife Ecologist > Tigard, OR 97223 > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Blanc, Lori > Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 12:30 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: invasive species and cats > > > Hi all -- > > In all the discussion so far about introduced/invasive/non-native > species, I don't recall seeing any mention of cats. > > I've heard a lot about the impacts of cats on wildlife in Australia, but > not as much about cats here in the U.S. Indeed - this can be a > sensitive issue, since so many people have cats for pets, and let the > cats have free roam outside. For example, I recently saw an article in > the New York Times (Nov 13), which presented the case of a birder in > Texas who shot a feral cat, which he had observed stalking endangered > piping plovers. This case is in court, with many people upset about the > cruel treatment (i.e. shooting) of the cat. The person who shot the cat > faces up to 2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for shooting the cat. > > So, this raises a few questions: > > 1) Are house cats considered an invasive species in North America? > 2) Do cats have a significant negative impact on avian populations in > North America? > > I realize that I can do a quick literature search on this topic to learn > more, but I'm also curious to see what the general opinions are of the > ecologists on this listserv, especially within the context of the recent > invasive species discussion. > > Thanks, > > Lori > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Lori Blanc, Ph.D. > Dept. of Biological Sciences > Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University > 540-231-5256 >
