When I first heard about the movement to keep domestic cats indoors because of their impact on the bird population, I thought it might be a joke. But it’s not.
For as long as I can remember, there have been cats in my family. Various cats have lived their lives with us, and their constant presence has been cherished; they comfort us, make us laugh, and keep us company in both good and sorrowful times. We even have a rule in our family: if someone has a cat on their lap they are to be left undisturbed, and they are absolved of household-chore duties while their lap is occupied.
Approximately half of the world’s bird species are declining, and there are estimated to be billions of birds throughout the world killed by domestic cats every year. Yes, the movement to keep domestic cats indoors could slow down the process. In Walldorf, Germany, the movement is underway; residents must lock their cats up, and if a domestic cat is caught outdoors, the owner will face a very hefty fine and a possible removal of the pet in question. If this was made a law everywhere, we may be able to help the declining bird population rise.
But this is a cop-out. Yes, cats are predatory and they love to hunt, especially in the summer months. It would be great if they could be trained to go after the truly bothersome species, such as rats and mice, and it’s troubling to see them be a factor in the bird decline. Still, there are other dangers to consider. Birds are killed by flying into airplane engines, but people are not asked to stop vacationing. Birds are killed by flying into windows, yet the skyscrapers continue to rise. Deaths because of communication towers, aerial wires, electrocution, wind turbines, pesticides, oil spills, lead poisoning, pollution, hunting, habitat loss, cars: all these are caused by human beings, yet the immediate answer is to remove cats from their natural habitat and turn a blind eye to these other things.
I find it hard to believe that enforcing a law to keep cats indoors will have much of an impact on the actual problem. Cats and birds have always lived together, and cats have always been predators. Suddenly they are being blamed for the decrease in bird population, as other bird-killing luxuries are continuing to expand at alarming rates, all while people bury their heads in the sand.
Cats need a certain quality of life, which often includes outside air, trees to climb, ground to explore, and, yes, hunting. Keeping them indoors is not natural and will only result in a great deal of depressed cats, while birds continue to die because of human beings refusing to act on the huge environmental impact our luxuries have.
We need to look at the bigger picture and leave our lovely cats to roam in peace.