I need volunteers to help with educational campaign

ldg

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The American Bird Conservancy (http://www.abcbirds.org/) runs a campaign called "Cats Indoors!" http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/...ats/index.html

Most of us support indoor-only pet cats, and this aspect of their campaign does not bother me in the least.

What does bother me is their active campaign to attack TNR programs in whole, not just in habitats where there are endangered ecosystems/species. In this aspect of their campaign, they use misinformation as their weapon.

Specifically, they state, "Scientists estimate that free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians each year."

In their informational they cite only cat predation studies that indicate the worst possible scenarios. One study in particular, "The Wisconsin Study" took things a step further - the "scientists" extrapolated data in a non-scientific manner from a very small study, and published an article referencing their own work (making it appear as if there was a basis for the information). This work has done more damage than any other, with the extrapolation indicating that free-roaming cats may kill as many as 217 million birds in Wisconsin alone.

In fact, in an article, “The Accused,†(The Sonoma County Independent, March 3-16, 1994), author Jeff Elliot quoted Dr. Temple. "Dr. Stanley Temple, co-author of this frequently quoted work, seemed exasperated when asked again to rehash his findings. ‘The media has had a field day with this since we started,â€[emoji]8482[/emoji] he sighed. ‘Those figures were from our proposal. They aren't actual data; that was just our projection to show how bad it might be.â€[emoji]8482[/emoji] â€

The numbers published and so frequently referenced "aren't actual data."

Obviously the issue of cat predation is not cut and dry. In fact, a member of TCS, Dr. Christie O'Keefe wrote an excellent unbiased article reviewing the body of studies available at the time - more information is available, here: http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/html/cat_predation.html

The American Bird Conservancy has an annual budget in excess of $6M.
Alley Cat Allies has an annual budget of approximately $4M.

The American Bird Conservancy runs/co-ordinates the Bird Conservation Alliance. The membership is extensive and includes ornithological and Audobon societies all over the U.S. Many of these societies are really well funded. In fact, one filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles requiring them to review the environmental impact of establishing a TNR program. It took years, but a precedent-setting decision was recently made - and that was to halt approval of the program for an environmental review. I'm not sure this is a bad thing, quite frankly - but I am worried that the basis of such a review would not be unbiased.

Further, many State Fish & Wildlife agencies list feral cats as an "invasive" or "nuisance" species. Some, like California, provide links to references. Again, only negative studies on the impact of cat predation are provided.

While I agree with the basic premise that there is no point in arguing actual numbers of how many birds cats kill, the facts of the matter are that feral cats do not generally present an environmental danger, nor do they generally present a health risk to humans.

What is at the heart of the matter is - what is the science used? I do know that the "science" used in determining the impact of cats on birds has been exaggerated by these organizations. I am not familiar with some of the other environmental impact studies that ABC/Bird organizations are using, but they attack the "science" used by Alley Cat Allies and cat lovers as not being valid.

The anti-feral-cat bird organizations are now campaigning to public officials in environmental programs and public health programs. People involved in the anti-feral cat campaigns - and perhaps, more importantly - people in the Federal and State agencies need to be presented "the other side" of the science that they are taking as "fact."

I need help doing this on a number of fronts.

The most basic is finding the people and how to contact them via e-mail. An example? The membership list of the Bird Conservation Alliance is public: http://www.birdconservationalliance....ut/memlist.cfm To find the contact information, each organization needs to be clicked on to go to the website - that then needs to be searched to locate the appropriate contact information.

State Departments are not too difficult to locate through web searches, and they generally have contact information. But it is also time consuming work.

I also need help conducting the research - and reviewing the research these people are using. For instance, some of the cat predation studies are conducted by examining the excrement of feral cats. This can provide misleading results when extrapolated to animals feral cats are killing - cats are opportunistic carnivores, and will eat already dead animals.

If anyone wants to help, please let me know!!!!!

Thank you!
 

c1atsite

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Originally Posted by LDG

and will eat already dead animals.
or animals that are old/senior. we don't need to pose/pretend to be cat-haters do we? (many of those folks are, (deep down) i suspect) ...that'd be nearly impossible for me
 
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ldg

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I'm not sure I understand the question. Are you asking if we're going to present information to these people indicating we are anti-cat?

Definitely not. Personally, I love both cats and birds, and I do a lot of bird watching. I want to see both get their fair shake, so to speak, but I do not want cats being used as a scapegoat.

Right now there are basically two sides to this exchange of approach:

The pro-bird people (American Bird Conservancy and affiliates) and
Alley Cat Allies (pro-cat and TNR).

I'm sure both are running campaigns to make their case. The pro-bird people want to show cats as being as damaging as possible. I'm really not so sure about what's up on the the pro-TNR end of things, or how they're making the case - something that also needs to be looked into.

I do know the bird people say that pro-TNR people are making the case that their approach reduces the free-roaming cat populations (which would be good for birds), but they're arguing this case as well. The pro-bird people are saying that this just isn't true, and that not a high enough % of feral cat colonies are actually being sterilized. How they can have ANY data for this information is beyond me - but I don't know what's been put out there and want to find out.

I'm sure both will use whatever data they can find to state their case.

Obviously there is no one "right" answer.

The goal is to find what research has been done and published and to evaluate it.

The StrayPetAdvocacy site went up in 2002/2003. It was the effort of several people on this site and Gary and I pay for the web host.

There are at least six - eight years of data between our work on the site and what's out there now.

The site would host whatever work I/we end up writing (and what's up there on cat predation has already been widely circulated) - and that'll include whatever "we" - whoever "we" is going to turn out to be - write to "push" to the pro-bird orgs and wildlife & environmental agencies.

But we are not going to misrepresent ourselves or any of the research. That's the point, in fact - to provide a fair and unbiased review of the data.
 

momofmany

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I recall pulling some information together at one time on this topic - it may have been for another pet forum. Let me see if I can dig that up during the Bob-napping times. It may take me a while to find it as it was many years ago.

It was the same group attacking feral cats back then. It looks like they've resurrected their campaign.
 

c1atsite

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forgive me. i've been watching too many spy/action movies on cable usually involving infiltrating and getting inside information

for some reason (not because of anything you wrote), some thoughts sprang to mind e.g.

1. register with "their" boards

2. post/ask/infiltrate; get friendly/get information

my bad for thinking that!
 

catsknowme

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unle...s-angeles.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...,1225635.story
This is a huge story in LA these days
I think that there is a lot of prejudice against cat lovers in general (the assumption that we're all "crazy cat ladies" and/or alternate sex orientation.
I once came across some sort of study that cited poisoning/ingestion of toxins & loss of habitat as the main reasons for the decline in bird population. I will try to see if I can find it again.
Sending major prayers and vibes that the FixNation gets the help they & the cats deserve
and bless you for your efforts
 
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ldg

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Please, posting any links to info here will help greatly too!!!!!!


Thanks for the news articles. Creating a database of journalists addressing the issue will come in handy, I'm sure.
 

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Cats are predators. They are hardwired to hunt even if they have easily accessible food they don't have to hunt. It's what they are and it's what they do. Dogs are no different, they just hunt differently. A well-fed dog will still chase a rabbit, and a well-fed cat will still stalk a bird. The dog has a better chance of catching the rabbit than the cat has of getting the bird, but I doubt that even factored in to the thinking of the pro-bird folks.

I've had a host of indoor/outdoor cats most of my life, and very few of them were successful at catching birds. They'd rather go after rodents--easier to catch.

Cats are ambush hunters--they stalk up on their prey, hide and then pounce. A bird can usually fly away in the seconds it takes a cat to pounce, but a mouse cannot nor can it outrun the cat--it can only try to hide or shelter itself. So naturally a hungry cat would prefer a mouse to a bird--an easier meal.

Stray and feral cats follow the easiest food source--that's why you find so many of them outside of shopping malls with restaurants and dumpsters. Those also attract rodents--birds, not so much. The cats keep the rodent population manageable.

A friend of mine was working with a city housing project that wants the local cats relocated. She's obliging them but has also warned them--there will be a vacuum effect. First they will see an increase in rodents, especially when it warms up, and then the cats will follow the food supply. Back to Square One.

You can always tell certain people certain things, but you usually can't tell them much--they're too thick-headed....
 

c1atsite

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Came across this

http://catdefender.blogspot.com/

The header on each of her (his?) pages reads:
Cat Defender
Exposing the Lies and Crimes of Bird Advocates, Wildlife Biologists, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, PETA, the Humane Society of the United States, Exterminators, Vivisectors, the Scientific Community, Fur Traffickers, Cloners, Breeders, Designer Pet Purveyors, Hoarders, Motorists, the United States Military, and Other Ailurophobes
My goodness. S/he seems ...intense.

Archives go back to 2005.

Maybe you can contact her/him.
 

lyrajean

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Our family cats have always been in/out cats. The current one, Midori, is kinda kluts-y and no real hunter. I don't think she has ever caught a bird.

Gracie our previous cat, who is now several years gone over the bridge, was about as good as they get. She still only rarely caught birds. And nothing I ever saw her bring home was something I recognised as an endangered species. the most unusual thing she ever brought home was an adult catbird. Mostly she brought back mice, voles and moles with the occassional baby rabbit.

We were mostly just happy for the exterminator service.
Believe me there are enough moles in our yard to outlast a housecat invasion!

Aya is indoors only and only gets to chase bugs, geckos and the cockroaches that come in the mail slot!
 

ipw533

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When most people ask for "data" they are asking for statistics. There are no reliable statistics for cat predations upon selected species; there really is only anectdotal evidence. The burden of proof therefore shifts back to those who claim that cats are the primary threat to their particular species of interest, and our counter-argument should be the accumulated observation of cats under all circumstances over time. Cats are neither politicians nor activists and behave consistently--our accumulated observations of feline behavior should be accepted as a legitimate counter-arguement, since the other side really cannot claim that X-number of polovers were in fact killed by cats and not by other predators or indeed other causes. Prove that the cat, among all other factors, is guilty back off...
 
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ldg

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Originally Posted by c1atsite

Came across this

http://catdefender.blogspot.com/

The header on each of her (his?) pages reads:


My goodness. S/he seems ...intense.

Archives go back to 2005.

Maybe you can contact her/him.
Thanks for the link! Unfortunately, blogs can be really time-consuming to search - but sounds like there may be interesting or useful info in there somewhere.
 
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ldg

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Originally Posted by ipw533

When most people ask for "data" they are asking for statistics. There are no reliable statistics for cat predations upon selected species; there really is only anectdotal evidence. The burden of proof therefore shifts back to those who claim that cats are the primary threat to their particular species of interest, and our counter-argument should be the accumulated observation of cats under all circumstances over time. Cats are neither politicians nor activists and behave consistently--our accumulated observations of feline behavior should be accepted as a legitimate counter-arguement, since the other side really cannot claim that X-number of polovers were in fact killed by cats and not by other predators or indeed other causes. Prove that the cat, among all other factors, is guilty or back off....
Actually, there are studies, and those are used by both sides.

And there are isolated instances where it is known that a cat decimated an entire population of a species - thus the concerns about the affect of cat predation in isolated ecosystems.

As to your statement that cats behave consistently, I'm not sure what you mean. Fed cats will behave differently than non-fed cats, young cats will behave differently than older cats. In several studies, approximately 20% of owned cats do not appear to hunt...

No, the problem is not that there isn't data, but that there IS data. The issue is what data, and how does it get used? In several instances, ABC has extrapolated huge bird-kill numbers by cats from published works that the authors of the works would not endorse.

So the goal is to gather the data that is out there, become familiar with it, and be able to address incredible or incorrect claims.

Actually, there is a fair amount of data out there. Of course how the data is collected is an issue, and how the data is analyzed is an issue - that's why, in the end, it's going to boil down to "our science vs their science" because the one thing everyone agrees on is that the data is not actually reliable in terms of being able to estimate how many animals and birds cats - domestic or otherwise - kill. But there is a growing body of research on the subject, and that's what I'm tracking down.

I've started a large spreadsheet summarizing the studies. It begins like this:

Notes on studies:\t

Size of study\tSmall studies cannot be extrapolated to larger areas

Where study conducted \tRural vs urban; location of suburban/rural studies/isolated ecosystems

Age of cats in study\tYounger cats more active than older cats (Turner & Bateson, 1988)

Food sources of cats\tAre cats fed or not

Food sources of birds\tHomes that provided food for birds saw lower rate of birds as prey by cats (Woods, McDonald, Harris 2003; Siegfried & Underhill, 1975; Waite, 1987; Popp, 1988)

Period of time of study \tShort periods of time cannot be extrapolated to longer periods of time: Churcher & Lawton study (UK, 1987) conducted from April 1 - Aug 31, cat's most active hunting period

Participants in study\tIn large cat-owner reporting studies, participation may be skewed to owners of cats with predilection for hunting & bringing home their prey. (Woods, McDonald & Harris).

Limitations \tNo way to prove prey brought home was killed by the cat. Cat may consume prey at site. Thus reports may overstate or understate cat predation.

And then I've begun summarizing the published research. So far I'm using these categories in the database:

Author(s) / Year of Publication / Have access to full book/article or just abstract / Country of study / Name of Article / Publication-Publisher / Link if available / Type of Study / Methodology / Size of Study / Location / Total Prey / Extrapolated Prey / Extrapolated Birds / Avg Prey per Cat / Cats non-retriving Prey / Prey and Percentages / Conclusion of Author / Qualifying Notes of Author

***************************

Just FYI, for one cat predation study, this is the reference list used (only the cat predation studies are cited here):

Barratt, D.G. (1997) Predation by house cats, Felis catus (L.), in Canberra, Australia. I. Prey composition and preference. Wildlife Research, 24, 263-277.

Barratt, D.G. (1998) Predation by house cats, Felis catus (L.), in Canberra, Australia. II. Factors affecting the amount of prey caught and estimates of the impact on wildlife. Wildlife Research, 25, 475-487.

Borkenhagen, P. (1978) Von Hauskatzen (Felis sylvestris f. catus L., 1758) eingetragene Beute. Zeitschrift für Jagdwissenschaft, 24, 27-33.

Carss, D.N. (1995) Prey brought home by two domestic cats (Felis catus) in northern Scotland. Journal of Zoology, London, 237, 678-686.

Cats Protection League (1993) A report on cat welfare. Cats Protection League, Horsham.

Childs, J.E. (1986) Size-dependent predation on rats (Rattus norvegicus) by house cats (Felis catus) in an urban setting. Journal of Mammalogy, 67, 498-502.

Churcher, P.B. & Lawton, J.H. (1987) Predation by domestic cats in an English village. Journal of Zoology, London, 212, 439-455.

Coleman, J.S. & Temple, S.A. (1993) Rural residents' free-ranging domestic cats: A survey. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 21, 381-390

Courchamp, F., Langlais, M. & Sugihara, G. (1999) Control of rabbits to protect island birds from cat predation. Biological Conservation, 89, 219-225.

Dunn, E.H. & Tessaglia, D.L. (1994) Predation of birds at feeders in winter. Journal of Field Ornithology, 65, 8-16.

Fitzgerald, B.M. (1988) Diet of domestic cats and their impact on prey populations. The domestic cat: its biology and behaviour. (eds D.C. Turner & P. Bateson), 123-144. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Fitzgerald, B.M. (1990) Is cat control needed to protect urban wildlife? Environmental Conservation, 17, 168-169.

Fitzgerald, B.M., Karl, B.J. & Veitch, C.R. (1991) The diet of feral cats (Felis catus) on Raoul Island, Kermadec Group. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 15, 123-129.

Fitzgerald, B.M. & Turner, D.C. (2000) Hunting behaviour of domestic cats and their impact on prey populations. The domestic cat: the biology of its behaviour. (eds D.C. Turner & P. Bateson), 2nd edn., 151-175. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

George, W.G. (1974) domestic cats as predators and factors in winter shortages of raptor prey. Wilson Bulletin, 86, 384-396.

Giesbrecht, D.S. & Ankney, C.D. (1998) Predation risk and foraging behaviour: An experimental study of birds at feeders. Canadian Field Naturalist, 112, 668-675.

Howes, C. (1982) What's the cat brought in? Bird Life, 1982 (January-February), 26.

Jarvis, P.J. (1990) Urban cats as pests and pets. Environmental Conservation, 17, 112-114.

May, R.M. (1988) Control of feline delinquency. Nature, 332, 392-393.

Mead, C.J. (1982) Ringed birds killed by cats. Mammal Review, 12, 183-186.

Proulx, G. (1988) Control of urban wildlife predation by cats through public education. Environmental Conservation, 15, 358-359.

Ruxton, G.D., Thomas, S. & Wright, J.W. (2002) Bells reduce predation of wildlife by domestic cats. Journal of Zoology, London, 256, 81-83.

Turner, D.C. & Bateson, P. eds. (1988) The domestic cat: its biology and behaviour. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Turner, D.C. & Bateson, P. eds. (2000) The domestic cat: the biology of its behaviour, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

UFAW (1981) The ecology and control of feral cats. Universities Fund for Animal Welfare, Potters Bar.

Someone kindly PM'd me this link: http://www.awfct.org/catsandbirds.htm

Which includes this great reference list:

Studies that found cats were NOT to blame for declining bird populations include:

Errington, Paul L., 1936
Notes on food habits of southern Wisconsin house cats. Journal of Mammalogy 17:64-65
“Preying upon a species is not necessarily synonymous with controlling it or even influencing its numbers to any perceptible degree. Predation which merely removed an exposed prey surplus that is naturally doomed is entirely different from predation the weight of which is instrumental in forcing down prey populations or in holding them at given approximate levels”

Coman, Brian J., and Hans Brunner, 1972
Food Habits of the Feral House Cat in Victoria. Journal of Wildlife Management 36 (3): 848-853
“Most references to predation by feral cats are unsupported by factual data” (848); “The common belief that feral cats are serious predators of birds is apparently without basis” (852-3)

Fitzgerald, B. M., and B. J. Karl, 1979
Foods of feral house cats (felis catus L.) in forest of the Orongorongo Valley, Wellington. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 6:107-126
"Cats suppress populations of more dangerous predators such as rats and thus allow denser populations of birds than would exist without them."

Mead, C.J., 1982
Biologist Chris Mead “found no evidence that cats are impacting overall bird populations”

Tabor, Roger, 1993
Tabor found that “cats have low success as bird hunters”, and “the bulk of a feral cat’s diet is garbage, plants, insects, and other scavenger material” and therefore cats are “not impacting bird populations on the continents”

Berg, Robert, 1993
San Francisco SPCA report regarding quail population in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Biologist Robert Berg found that cats are not impacting quail populations in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco even though the quail nest on the ground. In fact, any feral cat predation in Golden Gate Park would actually occur on the rat population in the park, increasing quail strength by lowering nest predation of quail by rats.

Moller, Anders and Erritzoe, Johannes, 2000
Universite Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, June, 2000
Moller & Erritzoe examined birds killed by cats vs. those that met accidental deaths by crashing into windows. They examined the birds for various factors, the most significant of which was the health of the bird. They found that while windows were non-discriminating and killed healthy and sickly birds equally, the birds cats killed were significantly sicklier than those who crashed into windows, with 70% of them being slow movers and fledglings. The conclusion of the study was the cats appear to be strengthening the bird population by ensuring that the fittest birds survive. (see “Ferals, Ferals Everywhere - Countering the Predation Issue”)

LaBruna, Danielle, 2001
Introduced Species Summary Project Domestic Cat (Felis catus), Columbia University, January 29, 2001
The Columbia study found that "reducing cats' effect on the ecosystem may actually have a negative impact upon some native species due to the possibility of 'mesopredator release effect' “. The study also recommended that we confront the cat population problem with a combination of methods: "enlist the ‘trap-neuter-return’ style of feral management and combine it with incentives for owners to sterilize their pet cats."

SCAPEGOATS FOR DECLINING BIRD POPULATIONS

Gary J. Patronek, VMD, Ph.D. Tufts University wrote in a Letter to Editor, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol. 209, No. 10, November 15, 1996:

"If the real objection to managed colonies is that it is unethical to put cats in a situation where they could potentially kill any wild creature, then the ethical issue should be debated on its own merits without burdening the discussion with highly speculative numerical estimates for either wildlife mortality or cat predation. Whittling down guesses or extrapolations from limited observations by a factor of 10 or even 100 does not make these estimates any more credible, and the fact that they are the best available data is not sufficient to justify their use when the consequences may be extermination for cats.”

"What I find inconsistent in an otherwise scientific debate about biodiversity is how indictment of cats has been pursued almost in spite of the evidence."

If cats are not to blame, what are the causes of the declining bird population in some bird species?

Stanford University, Center for Conservation Biology (1993): Found it was environmental loss

National Geographic (1993): Linked declines to poisons in environment, particularly lawn care products

Worldwatch Institute (1994): Found that birds are in decline due to drought, habitat loss, over-trapping, and water pollution. Cats were noticeably absent as factors.

Colorado Wildlife Dept (1994): Found the cause to be drought

University of Georgia (1998): Blamed forest fragmentation across Southern U.S. for decimating songbird population

As you can see, there is some overlap - and basically there is for every study published, as later works reference earlier works for methodology, comparisons of data, outcomes, &etc.

So basically, I'm looking for links to studies published, to sites that have reference lists, links to the articles themselves (some don't exist online or are hard to find - or can be had only if you have a subscription to the journal, but I'm finding that if you keep looking, sometimes when it looks like you can't find a study because it's in an expensive publication, sometimes it is hosted somewhere else....)

I'm also looking for others to help me develop the database of e-mail addresses to where information, when compiled and written, should be sent. There is a list of about 200 websites that has to be gone through to find e-mail contact info - and that doesn't include any of the State Wildlife/Environmental agencies. Newspapers need to be searched (esp Ntl or major metropolitan areas) to find journalists that have written on the cat predation issue.... anyone helping in any of these areas would be appreciated, but I'm plugging along.
 
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ldg

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Sea Green, please feel free to contact me via Private Message (PM) or to just start posting info and links here.
 

icklemiss21

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Some references I found, some only point to books that we would have to find

That nonlethal method of protecting birds from cats is currently being employed in the Hamburg suburb of New Wulmstorf. (See Hamburger Abendblatt, November 21, 2009, "Voegelschutz: Mit Kanonen gegen Katzen.")

CatDefender did cover the subject and lists some references
http://catdefender.blogspot.com/2009...-new-york.html

It mentions a study by Bruce Barcott that notes belled and declawed cats catch more birds than their non belled/clawed counterparts - have you ever seen a declawed cat try to jump?
 
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ldg

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I haven't had a chance to read the link yet, Eithne, but I did come across a study the other day that showed birds with bells do catch fewer birds than cats without bells (it was a study done in the UK)... but like with all subjects, we're going to have to expect conflicting data!


...and no, I've never seen a declawed cat, let alone one trying to jump. And interesting, I read a NY Times piece published in... early 2000s the other day by Bruce Barcott. I think he's a writer, not a researcher, so maybe they got the reference wrong?
But THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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