September 17, 2012 (Monday)
Dwight has a cat named, “Pepper.” He went next door a few days ago and brought home a hummingbird. In his mouth. Dwight met him in our back yard and Pepper laid the bird at his feet. Before Dwight could say something, the bird flew away! He was a fortunate bird, indeed. He was given a second chance to celebrate the Hummer Festival here in Rockport.
After church yesterday I had lunch with friends, and during the meal the conversation turned to birds and cats. We spoke of the fact that instinct makes inevitable a cat’s predatory actions toward the feathered creatures.
I read a report that of the 77 million pet cats in the U.S.A., 65% either are “outside” cats or spend some of their time outside. There are also millions of stray and feral cats, numbering perhaps 60 million to 100 million. These cats find food anywhere it is available to them. That includes hundreds of millions of birds, and more than a billion small mammals, such as rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks, each year.
Cats were not abundant in the United States until the late 1800s when they were imported to aid farmers in controlling growing rodent populations.
In today’s world–urban, suburban, and rural–cats are part of the ecological equation studied by wildlife specialists. The experts would like for all of us to keep our cats inside. Our cat will never be an inside cat, because, sad to admit, I am allergic to cats. But they still interest me greatly. They are fascinating creatures.