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only once and it t --001a1134d43c8b7387052a16a0b9 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 I agree with Darrell. Having a pet means being responsible for its actions, and cats bring home only 24% of what they nab. The others are left at the capture site or eaten. They kill 100s of millions of birds in Canada yearly, including species at risk. If any group on here would like a presentation on the science of the bird/ cat issue and ways to keep both safe...let me know. I personally see at my rehabilitation centre the devastation of outdoor cats on birds. ..including a nighthawk with a brood patch that the owners saw their cat rip one wing off of before I then had to euthanize the bird. Disclaimer...I love cats and have one. ..she is 100% indoors. Helene Helene Van Doninck DVM Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre Hilden Nova Scotia www.cwrc.net helene.birdvet@gmail.com 902-893-0253 On Jan 24, 2016 11:52 AM, "David & Alison Webster" <dwebster@glinx.com> wrote: > Hi Nick & All, Jan 24, 2016 > I agree Nick. As you likely are aware, cat is a four letter word on > Naturens for many flawed reasons. Some cats are, without doubt, born > hunters and this trait was at one time highly regarded as in "the mother is > a great mouser". But most current cats are born couch potatoes. > > In our own yard we have had shortening available year round for 4 > (?) years (and over winter for >45 years), within easy leap of an > interested cat, and about 10 neighbourhood cats who wander in and out from > time to time. But I have seen a cat expressing interest in birds only once > and it took off like a scared cat when I tapped on the window. > > Apart from the odd Shrew dropped on the doorstep the only cat/other > animal interaction I have observed in our yard is our cat being hounded > indoors many times one summer by a Blue Jay with a nearby nest and out cat > being attacked by a Raccoon who had apparently forgotten to go back home > before dawn. > > And yes it is best all round to keep cats in at night and harmless to > let them run in the daytime but punish if necessary undue interest in > birds. > > This would a wonderful world, that beats even the song of that name, > if our worst problem was cats snoring in some patch of sunlight outdoors. > > Yt, DW, Kentville > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > *From:* Nicholas Hill <fernhillns@gmail.com> > *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca > *Sent:* Sunday, January 24, 2016 10:37 AM > *Subject:* Re: [NatureNS] Vancouver has new "bird strategy" > > Grayson and Calver (2004, Regulation of cat ownership to protect urban > wildlife: a justification based on the precautionary approach. Royal > Zoological Society NSW 169-178) found previously that Cat Density was not > a predictor of passerine numbers but that distance to bushland and the > density of urban housing were (both negative factors). In the study cited > above (regulation of cat ownership etc), they conclude that "cat welfare is > the key issue in a precautionary approach for protection which respects > interests of cat owners". Cat welfare means keeping the beasts in at night > and desexing them so that we do not have a feral cat problem. In the > country here, people let cats breed in outbuildings and this leads to a > desperate situation for these cats and for wildlife. > Other authors warned that conclusions drawn in Britain over the impact of > cats (million birds and small mammals killed) were drawn from data on one > single village study in Felmersham. This author (BM Fitzgerald, 1990. is > cat control needed to protect wildlife? Environmental Conservation 17: > 168-169) questioned the extrapolation which we should in a rural area like > NS where birdlife is spread widely over woodland and clearings > > We have 3 desexed rescue cats that are in at night and well fed. There is > a local impact on mouse, vole and shrew (no birds seen taken yet) but the > population of these animals is greatly increased by the landuse round the > house..as was observed in Felmersham (rodents and house sparrows there). > > Surely all of the following factors need to be considered before we > relegate the cat to the indoors: > > woodland edges..plant more trees > brush piles..dont be tidy, a pile of woody debris is a refuge for small > birds and voles > sustainable agriculture..minimize use of pesticide sprays (see the " > Declines in insectivorous birds associated w hi levels of neonicotinoid" in > Nature 511: 341-3 (2014) and > http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140709-birds-insects-pesticides-insecticides-neonicotinoids-silent-spring/ > ) > > Cats connect people to nature, to animals that still have independence and > aloofness and are not wholly removed from primary adaptations. This makes > them attractive in connecting and grounding us but it also is why I might > be hammering away in their defense as they are still predators. The elderly > are given robotic substitutes for pets which only reinforces our need of > connection with the rest of the living world. > > Nick > > > > > On Sat, Jan 23, 2016 at 11:41 PM, Helene Van Doninck < > helene.birdvet@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Nice to see the endorsement for keeping cats indoors! >> >> Helene >> >> Helene Van Doninck DVM >> Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre >> 2220 Irwin Lake Rd Brookfield NS Canada B0N1C0 >> 902-893-0253 >> helene.birdvet@gmail.com <birdvet@hotmail.com> >> www.cwrc.net >> Find us on Facebook >> <https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cobequid-Wildlife-Rehabilitation-Centre/134671693239334> and >> Twitter <https://twitter.com/CobequiWildlife> >> >> >> On Sat, Jan 23, 2016 at 11:35 PM, N Robinson <nrobbyn@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> >>> http://www.vancouversun.com/travel/city+vancouver+hopes+bird+strategy+will+take+flight/10438095/story.html >>> >> >> > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2016.0.7294 / Virus Database: 4522/11472 - Release Date: 01/24/16 > > --001a1134d43c8b7387052a16a0b9 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <p dir=3D"ltr">I agree with Darrell. Having a pet means being responsible f= or its actions, and cats bring home only 24% of what they nab. The others a= re left at the capture=C2=A0 site or eaten. They kill 100s of millions of b= irds in Canada yearly, including species at risk. If any group on here woul= d like a presentation on the science of the bird/ cat issue and ways to kee= p both safe...let me know. I personally see at my rehabilitation centre the=