Scheduled
A Plea for the Lives of Birds
Wild bird populations in North America are a fraction of what they were in the middle of the 20th century. Many species face extinction. A significant factor in the demise of wild birds are domestic cats. Please, please, please keep your cats inside.
Domestic cats kill an estimated 1.6 billion wild birds every year. https://learnbirdwatching.com/birds-killed-by-cats-north-america/
Wild birds are in trouble. Loss of habitat, air and water pollution, climate change, the insect apocalypse, and domestic cats place birds in general with all their wild, wonderful, noisy, colorful, musical diversity, at risk.
I used to think it was cruel to keep my cats inside so I'd let them go outside to enjoy the pagan pleasures of rolling in the dirt and chasing bugs. Mea culpa. Me and mine have been part of the problem in the past. I rescued as many of their captures as I could and wrote the rest off, with deep sadness, as collateral damage. I am deeply ashamed of my past history on this account.
Luna and I discovered that cats can be quite happy and fulfilled living inside provided they get enough love and quality playtime. She thought she was going to die during the transition. We both did. Luna was spoiled, accustomed to going outdoors with all its pagan pleasures, and bitched loud and long about it when it was first denied to her. So long and loud we both thought we'd go crazy. But after that tough period of adaptation, she settled in and was as happy as she could be staying inside for the rest of her long life.
As was I. My bonus was I didn't have to worry about her any more. I didn't have to worry about coyotes, or neighbors who don't contain their dogs. I didn't have to worry about her getting smooshed in the road, and I didn't have to worry about the weather. I didn't have to worry about her catching a disease from an unvaccinated cat or rabid skunk. Luna had many skunk friends in her youth, and never once got sprayed. I felt awful about denying her time with her buddies, but it was such an immense relief for me. Luna lived for twenty happy years, and I am convinced that staying inside contributed to her longevity.
My new kitty has never been outside. We're both just as comfortable as we can be with that. She and the birds are safer with her in here.
Blessed be. It's a small change in your life and that of your cat, but it makes a huge difference to the wider world, especially the bird species struggling for their very survival.
If you love your cats, keep them in. If you love the world better with birds in it, keep your cats in for their sake.
Terryl Warnock is an eccentric with a happy heart who lives on the outskirts of town with her cat. She is known as an essayist, proof reader, editor, maker of soap, and proud pagan. A lifetime student, she has pursued science, religion, and sustainable communities. This, plus life experience from the local community service to ski instructor, from forest service worker to DMV supervisor, from hospitality to business owner gives her a broad view on the world.
Terryl is the author of:The Miracle du jour, ISBN-10: 0989469859, ISBN-13 : 978-0-9894698-5-2
AJ Brown, in a past life, was an embedded systems engineer (digital design engineer). He worked on new product designs from hard disk controllers, communication protocols, and link encryptors to battery monitors for electric cars.
A few years ago he surrendered his spot on the freeway to someone else. Now he is more interested in sailing, building out his live-in bus for travel, and supporting the idea of full-circle food: the propagation, growth, harvest, storage, preparation, and preservation of healthy sustenance. He is a strong supporter of Free/Libre Open Source Software[F/LOSS] and is willing to help most anyone in their quest to use it.
Together, we are MoonLit Press.