05-19-2021, 02:24 PM
It seems it is not so win-win. There is a down side to releasing cats for rat control. Cats eat birds. Cats prefer to eat birds than rats. They prefer birds to mice.
Releasing cats into the city puts the local bird population at risk.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/5/17/2...s-telander
I never thought of the cats killing birds. It seems that neither did the people running the program. They have also released the cats just as birds are hatching out this years young. If a cat kills the parents they eggs or chicks will die. Once the baby birds have left the nest they will be vulnerable to the cats. Fledgling birds can barely fly. Cats will eat them up right away. This could be a season with few baby birds surviving. Instead of contolling its rat population, they will be decimating their bird population.
Releasing cats into the city puts the local bird population at risk.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/5/17/2...s-telander
I never thought of the cats killing birds. It seems that neither did the people running the program. They have also released the cats just as birds are hatching out this years young. If a cat kills the parents they eggs or chicks will die. Once the baby birds have left the nest they will be vulnerable to the cats. Fledgling birds can barely fly. Cats will eat them up right away. This could be a season with few baby birds surviving. Instead of contolling its rat population, they will be decimating their bird population.
![[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rtQnRVnpHuw/Upv4HXYM20I/AAAAAAAAAqo/K5MmSTvkZdA/w296-h229-p-no/IMG_9091.JPG)
Catherine
