Newswise — Want birdsong in your backyard this summer? The biggest favor you can do for sparrows, warblers, finches and robins is to keep the family cat indoors, especially during the nesting season.
"House cats are probably the number one cause of human-related bird mortality," says Associate Professor David Flaspohler, an ornithologist at Michigan Technological University. "Between several hundred million and a billion birds die in the continental U.S. every year because of house cats, and that's completely controllable if the cats are kept indoors.
"There are between 60 and 90 million cats in the U.S., and somewhere around half of all cat owners let their cats outside."
Compared to other sources of bird mortality, such as window collisions, road kills and habitat destruction, death by house cat is both the largest and most preventable negative impact of humans on birds in the U.S.
Migratory birds are most vulnerable when they are returning to their breeding grounds after spending the winter down south. Birds who live with cats year round may be more alert to the danger, but new arrivals aren't so savvy. "They are naive," Flaspohler says. "They see a feeder, fly in, and the cat gets them.
"Imagine that you were dropped into urban Los Angeles and had to wander around looking for a grocery," he explains. "You would probably be at greater risk of injury because you are not familiar with the local landscape."
An insider's life is healthier for cats, too, who then dodge the two biggest hazards of feline existence: disease and traffic. Indoor cats live longer, have fewer visits to the veteranarian and don't bring fleas and other parasites into your home.
But if your cat must be outside, you can reduce the number of bird kills by confining it during nesting season, when birds are building nests, laying eggs and taking care of their young. "In the northern states, that's primarily late May through the end of June," Flaspohler says. "I am sympathetic with cat owners; I have cats myself. However, by simply keeping your cat in during the key reproductive period of June, you can greatly reduce your impact on local birds with a relatively minor sacrifice of outdoor time for your cat. Keeping your cat indoors is really a win-win for the cat and its feathered prey.
"What I would like to see is something like June as National Indoor Cat Month."
Despite the old nursery tale, it doesn't do much good to bell the cat. A hunting cat is so stealthy that a bell on its collar often doesn't ring until it's too late for the bird to escape. "It's a dinner bell," he notes wryly.
Besides keeping your cat safely behind closed doors, you can support the local avian population by making your yard more bird-friendly. "Add some structural diversity, like shrubs and fruiting trees," Flaspohler says. "Unlike a golf course-style lawn, they provide cover and may reduce birds' chances of getting caught by cats or other predators, such as hawks."
The reward will be a backyard alive with birdsong you can enjoy throughout the summer.
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