First Dogs, Now Cats

We are in the middle of a big rainstorm here, with all the cool audio/visual effects. A moment ago I went outside to check on the drainage, saw a brilliant flash, and heard an eardrum shattering thunderclap. That lightning strike was CLOSE!

Yesterday it was dogs, today it's cats. For the record I'm not a hater of either. I had a cat for years, despite being allergic, and if you've followed this blog you know we have a dog of sorts. He's a growly ill-tempered little bastard, but we love him just the same. As I see it the problems are really caused by people - irresponsible pet owners who dump their unwanted animals, or who allow their pets to roam and be a nuisance to others. Both situations harm wildlife. Feral cats in particular kill millions of songbirds each year.

From Rob Fergus at The Birdchaser blog I just found out that the City Council of Cape May, NJ, has voted unanimously to allow feral cat colonies within its city limits. If you are a birder I am sure you've heard of Cape May, one of the best places in America to see concentrations of migratory birds. It also has endangered Piping Plovers and Least Terns nesting on its beaches. The city's plan calls for "establishment of a 1,000-foot buffer zone between cat colonies and beach nesting areas of endangered birds."

I'm sure the cats will observe the ordinance and refrain from roaming within 1000 feet of the beaches. Pleeeeease!

Rob suggests some things that birders can do to get this decision overturned, including a possible boycott. Birders pump quite a bit of money into the local economy, and the threat of withholding those birder dollars might change some minds. Here is the comment I sent to the City of Cape May, NJ:

Cape May is visited by large numbers of bird lovers each year. How many come to see your feral cats? I'm betting somewhere in the vicinity of zero. Cats kill large numbers of birds. Allowing feral cat colonies to proliferate in an area of such importance to migratory birds is a shame and stupid as well. I for one will avoid Cape May as long as local government favors unwanted cats (nobody wants to take them home, right?) over our native birds. There are plenty of communities that value and take pride in their wildlife, places deserving of ecotourism. Too bad Cape May is opting not to be one.