The Effects of Free-ranging Cats on Birds in Wisconsin:
Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative Issues and Guidelines

C.A. Lepczyk, S. Diehl, N. Cutright, K. Etter Hale, W. Mueller, J. Trick

Introduction

Studies in Wisconsin and elsewhere indicate that free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) pose a threat to birds and other wildlife.

In Wisconsin, concern about free-ranging cats was first highlighted in the mid 1990s, when a study by John S. Coleman, Stanley A. Temple and Scott R. Craven attempted to study predation by free-ranging cats on birds in rural locations across the state.

 Link: http://wildlife.wisc.edu/extension/catfly3.htm

Extrapolating the results from this study indicated that millions of birds were being killed annually in Wisconsin by cats. Because of the difficulty in studying any species living outdoors across the entire state, the exact number of birds killed annually by free-ranging cats will never be fully enumerated. However, over the past decade additional studies in the Midwest and elsewhere have suggested similar problems with cat predation on birds and should alert us to the fact that free-ranging cats are killing large numbers of birds in Wisconsin each year. Moreover, other studies have shown that cats in some habitats may be directly competing with native avian predators, such as American Kestrels (Falco sparverius), Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus) and Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) for prey. Finally, in some habitats and locales even very low cat depredation could negatively impact the breeding success and survival of a species, especially if that species is rare or endangered.

The reduction of cat predation on native birds and other wildlife will be achieved through the involvement of cat owners, WBCI partners, state and federal agencies, non-governmental conservation, animal welfare, and animal sheltering organizations. At the present time we recommend the following guidelines to reduce the negative impacts of free-ranging cats on birds in Wisconsin:

1. For the welfare of both cats and birds, keep your cats indoors or under your supervision and control when outdoors, and encourage others to do the same. According to the Humane Society of the United States, cats that are not allowed to roam outdoors typically live substantially longer than free-roaming cats. Indoor-only cats are much less likely to get lost, get parasites, become exposed to serious diseases, get hit by a car, attacked by a predator, or get in fights with other cats. Moreover, lost cats often go unclaimed at local pounds and animal shelters. For instance, in Milwaukee, only about 4% of cats that enter that city’s animal control shelter are reclaimed by their owners. Help in “converting” your free-ranging cat to an indoor-only cat can be found at the HSUS’ “Safe Cats” web site.   (link) Overcoming attitudinal barriers among the general public to keeping owned cats indoors or under their control when outdoors is one of the keys to long-term solutions to predation by cats on birds and other wildlife and reducing suffering for cats in our communities.
2. To help reduce the numbers of abandoned/unwanted cats, spay or neuter your cats and encourage other cat owners you know to do the same. Support low-cost or free cat spay and neuter programs at your local humane society or animal shelter and support efforts to spay or neuter all cats adopted from your local animal shelter. Many animal shelters and humane societies are poorly funded and the only way such efforts can be undertaken is through public donations and support.
3. Have your veterinarian “microchip” your cats to aid in their being returned to you should they become lost, and promote voluntary identification of cats in your community. A microchip is a rice-grain-sized identification device that is quickly and easily inserted under the skin of a cat’s back and can be read electronically to determine the cat’s owner.
4. Support ordinances and initiatives in your community designed to humanely and effectively reduce the numbers of unwanted cats, decrease the number of homeless stray cats, increase the return of lost cats to their homes, increase the number of cats adopted into permanent homes and reduce the number of cats surrendered to shelters.
5. Treat stray cats on your property humanely. Contact your neighbors to find out if the cats frequenting your property are owned. If they are, explain to the owners the impact their cats have on wildlife, the risks cats allowed outdoors face, and ask them to keep their cats indoors or under their control. If a cat’s owner cannot be found, contact your local animal control agency for advice.
6. Use “habitat modification” on your property to minimize the likelihood that free-ranging cats will cause problems for wildlife: avoid feeding birds on the ground where they may be more vulnerable to predation; place your birdfeeders at least several feet away from shrubs and other cover cats may use to stalk birds; utilize non-toxic commercial repellents designed for cats or humane scare devices.
7. Farmers and others in the agricultural community are urged to spay or neuter the cats on their properties to control their numbers, and instead of depending on cats for rodent control, control rodents by the use of pest-proofing and environmentally safe rodent control methods. Avoid the use of rodenticides (i.e. poisons), especially outdoors, since birds-of-prey (hawks and owls) can become ill or die when they eat rodents that have consumed rodenticides.
8. Bird and wildlife conservation agencies and organizations, and animal welfare and sheltering agencies and organizations should work together to achieve common goals concerning cats and wildlife.

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