Per the American Audubon Society, the number one cause of birds being killed is from flying into plate glass windows on single family dwellings. Domestic cats are at the bottom of their list.
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Wind turbines kill hundreds of thousands of birds every year. One study published in the academic journal Biological Conservation estimates as many as 328,000 birds are killed annually from collisions with wind turbines, even though wind turbines accounted for only 6.6 per cent of U.S. energy generation in 2018.
A local friend keeps track of the number of rats her cat kills, and so far, it’s up to 26 with no ill effects to the cat’s health. Cats are typically given a de-worming pill by the vet, once a year.
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Outdoor cats typically live 15 to 18 years, not the two to five years as previously stated. Keeping a cat stuck indoors, in my opinion, is against the cat’s inborn nature.
Putting two bells on the cat’s collar will solve this issue with birds. The birds simply fly away.
Jim Thomson
Saanich
