According to the New York Times (06/20/06), ONE infected cat can shed 100 million egglike cysts called oocysts in its droppings. Cats play a major role in transmitting this parasite. Once infected, you are infected for life. Although it causes no symptoms in many people, it can cause serious brain damage in people with weak immune systems. Outdoor cats may also transport ticks into the home, increasing the likelihood that family members will contract tick-borne illnesses like Lyme Disease.Īnother threat is Toxoplasma. Vet bills associated with tapeworm, ringworm, roundworm, or hookworm and flea infestations, and abscesses can be substantial. Outdoor cats are exposed to many hazards, including cars, poisoning, animal attacks (coyotes and fishers eat cats), human abuse, traps, contagious diseases of which many are fatal (feline leukemia, feline distemper, infectious peritonitis, Immunodeficiency Virus, upper respiratory infections, rabies, plague, cat scratch disease, toxoplasmosis), and parasites. Indoor cats can be happy, and are definitely healthier. OUTDOOR CATS: Free-roaming outdoor cats typically live less than five years, while indoor cats often live to be 17 or older. If you are unwilling to protect bluebirds from being attacked by cats, it is probably better to remove nestboxes rather than invite birds to nest in an unsafe situation. It is not possible to monitor a nestbox 24/7. Many people believe that a love of wildlife and cats outdoors are incompatible. Unfortunately, because many cats have nasty bacteria and viruses in their mouths and tend to bat prey around (causing severe internal injuries), about 80% of their victims die even if they receive immediate treatment. Eggs are usually left, but may be broken.Īny bird handled by a cat should be brought to a wildlife rehabilitator immediately. Dead adults (missing or matted feathers or wounds) may also be found. Possible signs of a cat attack on a nestbox include missing nestlings with the nest still intact or messed up. While birds that nest or feed on the ground are at greatest risk, fledglings that can not fly well are also a target. An agile cat can leap into the air and catch a Tree Swallow dive bombing to protect its' nest. A cat can use its curved claws to reach into the bird house and hook fledglings and nesting adults. Some can jump as high as 6 feet, and Keith Kridler heard a report of one that could jump 7 feet (especially off of a hard surface). A feral (wild, with no owner) cat that is neutered and released will continue to hunt and kill.Ĭats can easily jump on top of a nestbox that is at least 5 feet high. A declawed cat can still climb, and one killed more animals than any other cat in a study in Kansas. A cat with a bell on its collar can stalk silently so the bell does not ring, and even if it did, a bird does not recognize the connection between a bell and a predator.

Well-fed cats will still kill birds and animals.

Some wildlife rehabbers find that #1 cause of admissions to their facilities is domestic and feral cat attacks. Since some areas only have one or two pairs of nesting bluebirds, the loss of even one bird can have a real impact on local populations. In a few months, one feral cat can kill all the bluebirds you helped fledge in a year. Next to habitat loss and fragmentation, cats are considered the most serious threat to songbird populations worldwide. (Tiny cameras mounted on cat collars showed some premier hunters killed 10-12 birds in one night!) One Michigan survey indicated on average a domestic cat killed between 0.7 and 1.4 birds per week. No one knows exactly how many birds are killed by cats each year, but estimates run in the hundreds of millions. Bluebirds are very vulnerable to cat attacks because adults hunt on the ground, and sometimes new fledglings cannot fly well. Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives.Ĭats are natural born hunters. The nest in the box mounted on this pole was predated.Ībove: An outdoor cat that lost both an eye and an ear in a fight. This cat could reach inside, or nab a bird flying out of the box.Ī wooden pole wiwth numerous scratches.

Bomber cat build