CATS - Love them or hate them!
BACKGROUND
It is believed that today's cats are descended from the African Wildcat, which was domesticated by the Egyptians 6,000 years ago. However, it is the Romans who are credited with bringing cats to Britain, having smuggled them out of Egypt aboard their ships, before dispersing them throughout their empire.
Quickly recognised for their skills as rodent exterminators, cats flourished until the 12th Century when, due to the Christian Church's preoccupation with witchcraft, they were denounced as Witches' Familiars. As a result, hundreds of thousands of cats were slaughtered throughout Europe in the Middle Ages.
This persecution continued unchecked into the 18th Century, and it was not until the Victorian era that they were finally able to shake off this stigma. Even so, it is only during the last 100 years that the domestic cat has risen to its present elevated position as Britain's favourite pet.
POPULATION
The Whiskas Cat Report 2002 states there are 7.5 million cats kept as companion animals in the UK. And in broadly agreeing with this figure, the Cats Protection League also points out that there are an additional 1.2 million feral cats, making a total estimated UK population of around 9 million. In its 1997 Look What The Cat Brought In! survey, the Mammal Society also quotes the population as being in excess of 9 million but then estimates the feral cat population at only 800,000 giving, in its opinion, an overall total approaching 10 million. By comparison, the number of dogs in the UK in 2002 is said to be only 6 million.
PREDATION
Cats are frequently singled out as the primary reason for the disappearance of Britain's songbirds. But is this label really justified? SongBird Survival thinks not!
In its 1997 survey, the Mammal Society recorded the predation habits of nearly 1,000 cats between the 1st of April and the 31st August. Those taking part were everyday cat owners who had responded to a media drive started by the BBC's Wildlife Magazine and followed up in a range of newspaper, magazine and radio articles. The results obtained were then analysed by Dr.Robbie MacDonald of Bristol University.
This survey indicated that the sample accounted for over 14,000 'kills', made up of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, although 66 cats killed nothing at all. Dr. MacDonald believes that if these results are coupled with other existing survey work, it shows that Britain's cat population is capable of killing a massive 250 million creatures in a year, or more than 37 prey items each.
MAMMAL PREDATION
The Mammal Society's survey concluded that cats are indeed specialists at killing mammals and, true to stereotype, over 4,000 mice were killed, putting them at the top of the list of prey species. Mice were followed by a combination of 2,000 field and bank voles, although strangely the sample accounted for only 162 rats, suggesting that most cats seem to be useless at ratting, possibly because rats will fight back!
Less common species, such as water shrews, harvest mice and yellow-necked mice, along with protected dormice (12) and water voles (20) also figure in the killing lists. The Mammal Society believes these findings show that domestic cats could be putting significant pressure on all these species, even to the point of being a major predatory threat to dormice. High numbers of rabbits headed the list of larger mammals taken, which also included squirrels, stoats and weasels and a worryingly large number of bats. Surprisingly, the list of mammals killed also included two hamsters!
BIRD PREDATION
When it came to birds, the survey claims that sparrows (presumably house sparrows) were the top prey item by a very long way, followed by all of the more common garden birds, as well as jays, woodpeckers, gulls, treecreepers, goldcrests, swifts and swallows. Sadly the survey does not give any statistical information for birds whatsoever - presumably because, as its name implies, the Mammal Society is more concerned with the fate of mammals.
Rather surprisingly, the only estimate of the total number of birds predated by cats each year came from the Cats Protection League's helpline, which suggested a figure of 55 million.
REPTILES & AMPHIBIAN PREDATION
Even less time is spent discussing the fate of reptiles and amphibians, and apart from stating that frogs were well to the fore, no other statistical information is given.
THE CATS PROTECTION LEAGUE
In its response, the Cats Protection League (CPL) feels, not surprisingly, that the Mammal Society (MS) has got it wrong and claims that a very broad and dangerous extrapolation of the number of animals killed by cats has been made. It also points out that the initial survey appears to have been conducted by children, thus casting doubt on its accuracy. That said, there are certain conclusions in the MS survey which the CPL feels are worthy of further consideration, namely:
- The older a cat is, the less likely it is to hunt
- The better condition a cat is in, the less likely it is to hunt, and
- Cats kept indoors at night are less likely to kill.
The CPL also finds it surprising that comparisons were not made between the kill-rates of neutered and non-neutered cats, or any consideration given to location, for example whether the cat lived in a rural, semi-rural, urban or suburban area. And if, as the MS report suggests, cats were a main factor in the decline of wildlife, then the CPL feels that many species, including some birds, would have become extinct a long time ago!
The CPL's response also points out that as recently as 30 years ago, most cats were not neutered. Far fewer were house cats, being left to roam free, fend for themselves and catch their own food. Consequently cats were leaner and fitter then, with a life expectancy much shorter than that of today's pampered pets. And until recently, even those supposedly living in the house were invariably put out at night.
To summarise, the CPL believes that today's average cat is neutered, in excellent condition (even if slightly overweight) and over the age of five. It is also likely to have dental problems due to its diet, live with one or more other cats with whom it plays, and kept indoors for a significant proportion of the day. In a nutshell, modern cats are far removed from their lean, mean, killing machine relatives of only 30 years ago!
CONCLUSION
As with all things, there are two sides to the argument. Clearly the desire to hunt is an inherited feature of cats, although it does appear that this instinct could be dulled by their reduced need to catch their own food. Coupled with this, the effects of the long-term neutering programme means that only half a million or so kittens are now born in Britain each year. The Whiskas Cat Report 2002 states that the total cat product and service market in the UK is now thought to be worth around ?1.5 billion annually. This equates to an average spend of ?192 on each cat per year.
If we compare the predation rates of cats and sparrowhawks on birds alone, this highlights some very interesting facts. For example, Britain's population of 10 million cats is said by the CPL to be responsible for killing 55 million songbirds each year - an average of 5.5 per cat. Yet by comparison, and calculating from the predation rate quoted by Dr Ian Newton in his book The Sparrowhawk, the UK's estimated population of 100,000 sparrowhawks will slaughter in excess of 100 million songbirds during the same period - an average of 1,000 'kills' per sparrowhawk.
This strongly indicates that sparrowhawks are responsible for killing almost DOUBLE the total number of songbirds predated by cats. And on a 'one-to-one' basis, each sparrowhawk kills the same number of songbirds as the total taken by 180 cats!
What can be done?
No other pet is allowed to wander at will so what can we do to reduce a cat's "kill"? It would as yet be politically impossible to restrict a cat's freedom, although some Australian regions have done just that.
However, cat owners should make it their responsibility to reduce the number of creatures killed by their pets by considering the following:
TEN SUGGESTIONS THAT COULD REDUCE A CAT'S "KILL"
1. Prevent unwanted kittens. A responsible cat owner who isn't intending to breed them will try to stop unwanted kittens by having the cat spayed or neutered. This may well contribute to reducing the chances of pet cats being killed or injured on roads. Tom cats will wander a very long way and stay away from home for days searching for a female.
2. Fit an elasticated collar with bells. A cat can struggle out of an elasticated collar in the rare circumstances of it getting caught on something. The collar should have more than one bell if possible so they jangle and jingle together. Some of the tiny bells on collars are nearly useless as a warning device . One can fit additional bells to the fastener on the collar with thin garden wire or something similarly strong.
3. Be cat conscious when feeding the birds. If using a birdtable put it in a position that makes it impossible for a cat to jump up on it and also away from overhanging branches. Sometimes putting a birdtable out in the open makes the birds an easier target for sparrowhawks, so if one is plagued by sparrowhawk predation it may be better not to use a birdtable at all if there are cats to consider too. In this case see if one can feed the birds from hanging feeders on the end of wires suspended from branches too weak to support a cat but thick enough to give the birds a chance if a sparrowhawk attacks.
4. Make your cat as comfortable as possible. Although cats are highly independent they respond positively to warmth and affection. According to the Mammal Society cats which are less bored are less likely to do so much killing for pleasure (recreational killing).
5. Fit a sonic collar. The BTO has carried out trials on CatAlert sonic collars. The results showed that in two sample groups the collar reduced predation of birds by two thirds. Further tests are being conducted.
6. Keep your cat in when the birds are having their first feed of the day and when they're going to roost. These seem to be two times when the birds are most vulnerable to cat predation. Obviously trying to do this in the summer months is difficult because of early sunrise.
7. Keep it in at night and provide it with a litter tray.
8. Get a highly visible kitten. Fat, old and lazy cats would be the favourite choice for the birds but this is hardly practicable. Many new cats come into homes as kittens, but if one tries to remember how superbly camouflaged a tabby cat can be compared to one with plenty of white on it, a brightly coloured cat should result in less birds killed during a lifetime.
9. Keep it in during the birds' breeding season from April to July.Adult birds collecting food take risks and young birds just out of the nest are easy prey for cats.
10. Deter cats from your garden and from around your bird tables by planting Coleus canina, (available from Thompson & Morgan, telephone 01787 884141or from your local garden centre). Plant in pots that can be moved about. Cuttings root easily so a couple of plants can soon provide your defences. Protect from frost in the winter in a heated greenhouse - it smells too unpleasant to bring into the house.
SOURCES
- The Whiskas Cat Report 2002.
- Look What The Cat Has Brought In! survey by The Mammal Society.
- Cats Protection League response to Mammal Society report.