Killer Cats on the Loose!

Well, at least that is what biologists want everyone to believe.  If the latest “study” commissioned by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and cobbled together by the ornithologists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is taken as gospel, then there’s a veritable bloodbath taking place all around us.

Scott Loss, Tom Will and Peter Marra reviewed a number of studies, some of them conducted in the 1930s and 1950s, upon which they based their conclusions.  They did not conduct an independent study of their own to arrive at their new figures.  For a detailed dissection of this latest hatchet job I recommend you visit Peter Wolf’s blog, Vox Felina, aptly titled Garbage In, Garbage Out.

No one has any idea how many feral and free roaming cats are “out there” at any given time.  There has been no census or population count done – PERIOD!  Logically, the numbers rise and fall, depending upon time of year (can we say KITTEN SEASON, anyone?) and environment/habitat.  Cats who have homes may be strictly indoors only, allowed outdoors either supervised or not supervised for varying lengths of time and some are outdoor only.  A couple of studies have surveyed small groups of cat owners about their habits concerning whether or not they allow their cats to go outside.

None of the studies have taken into account the ages of the cats in their study, or whether or not the cats have been spayed or neutered.  In my experience both of these factors are extremely important.  Neither has any study asked about the cats’ histories.  Did they come into the home as a kitten or an adult?  How was the cat acquired?  Was the cat an outdoor cat, rescued off the street?  At what age did that happen?  Was their mother an outdoor cat?  Did she hunt prey and teach her kittens to do the same? 
 

Biologists know that orphaned mammals who are raised in captivity from an early age do not fare well if released into their natural habitat.  Mammals have less inherent (instinctual) behaviors than fish, birds, amphibians and reptiles.  Young mammals have to be taught by their mothers where to find or how to catch prey, where to find shelter and safety among other things.  While all cats are carnivores and predators, they aren’t born knowing how to hunt, only with the instinct to hunt.

One need only observe lion cubs at play and then observe kittens at play to see the similarities between them.  Mother flicks her tail, whether she is a lioness or a domestic cat, and the kittens chase and try to catch it.  The cubs and kittens naturally stalk each other and pounce on their littermates in play.  This play behavior mimics hunting behavior.  However, neither the cubs nor the kittens go for the kill.  Big cats, like tigers or lions, will bring a live but injured prey animal back to their dens to teach the young to kill their prey.  Often times the young ones simply “play” with the prey animal and their mother has to actually kill her offering.  The cubs of big cats generally stay with their mother for about two years until they are capable of surviving on their own.

Another point often overlooked by biologists in their studies, usually because they haven’t witnessed “the hunt” from beginning to end, is what condition was the prey animal in when the hunt began.  In most cases, predators take down the weak, sick, injured, old or young of their prey species.  If you have ever watched a nature film, you will see that the stragglers in a group of herd animals are the ones singled out as the target animal.  Why would domestic cats who hunt behave any differently?  Also, in the nature films you will witness that the hunt isn’t always successful and their prey escapes.  Logic would dictate the same outcome for the success of the domestic cat’s hunting forays.

Seasoned, older hunters are generally more successful than younger, inexperienced hunters – of any species, including humans.  Additionally, older predators are not as successful as they once were.  They are less likely to hunt as frequently, possibly due to injuries or they just aren’t as fast as they once were.  Wild animals MUST hunt and kill to eat.  Domestic cats live in an environment where food is much easier to get.  We humans leave trash everywhere, whether it is in dumpsters, construction sites, the side of the road or our garbage cans.  It doesn’t take a lot of energy or skill to scavenge in our trash filled world. 

Intact – unspayed females – who live their lives outdoors are generally pregnant or nursing a litter of kittens.  They have a greater need for food than do male cats or spayed females.  Spaying females will greatly decrease the amount of food they need to survive and, consequently, reduce their need to hunt as much.  Male felines, whether big cats or domestic cats, who are not neutered will travel great distances in search of a mate.  They can smell a female in heat from miles away.  During mating season male cats will forego food for longer periods of time simply for the chance to mate and pass on their genes.  Unneutered male cats have been known to kill a litter of kittens to bring on estrus in the lactating female.  Once a male cat is neutered he wanders less and tends to stay close to his regular food source.

Opponents of Trap/Neuter/Return (or just cats in general) like to say that even well fed cats will hunt.  I don’t doubt that some of them do.  However, no one knows what percentage of outdoor cats are prolific, successful hunters.  Since stalking, hunting and killing prey expends an enormous amount of energy, it’s unlikely that cats, as they age, who have a regular food source provided will expend that energy to hunt.  Although it’s anecdotal, my experience with the outdoor cats in my neighborhood over the years shows little or no interest in the birds, squirrels or lizards around them.  Any outdoor cats I’ve observed have been spayed or neutered.  They spend their days lying around with full tummies.  They remind me of those husbands who plant themselves in their recliners with their remote in front of the television and holler to their wives “Honey, bring me a beer.”  Why get up when someone else will bring you what you need? 

Are there too many cats living outdoors and struggling to survive?  YES!  Cities and counties have spent millions and millions of dollars picking up and killing millions and millions of cats, yet there are still lots and lots of cats out there.  As I see it, there are two factors at work here.  One, human irresponsibility – people continue to abandon cats, most of whom have not been sterilized.  Two – as with any species, when there is less competition for the food supply, more young are born.  Biologists are well aware of the term carrying capacity.  As long as there is an abundant food source the number of individuals of a species will continue to reproduce and a higher percentage of their offspring will survive to adulthood.  There will be less disease simply because there are fewer contacts with individuals of the same species.  As the food supply diminishes, fecundity is reduced, more of the young die before adulthood and disease can spread more easily through the species. 

As long as researchers refuse to use the same parameters used when studying wild and/or native species when they study outdoor cats they will reach the wrong conclusions.  Additionally, by refusing to listen to the experts – the people on the ground, practicing Trap/Neuter/Return – they will lack the necessary information to insure they reach accurate and reasonable conclusions. 

The women and men who care about cats and give of their personal time and money to help the cats in our communities know more about cats and their behavior than any scientist now or in the past.  These folks have done more to reduce the number of outdoor cats than all the animal control agencies have done by killing untold millions, and likely billions, of cats over the years.  Access to a cooperative animal control agency along with access to affordable or free spay/neuter is an important tool in the arsenal needed to solve this problem.  It’s also the only humane solution. 

One final note, again something that seems to always be absent in these studies that oppose TNR – not every cat is returned to the site where they were trapped.  Most individuals or groups that practice TNR do their best to find responsible homes for the friendly adults and the kittens.  These cats are REMOVED from the outdoors and live in permanent homes.  All of the rescue groups that I have worked with include in their adoption agreements that the cat adopted will be an INDOOR CAT.