by Peter P. Marra and Chris Santella. Princeton University Press, 2016.
Review by Mark Lystig
Cats in America are an invasive species. Like other invasive species, free-roaming (feral and pet) cats impact native species of birds, mammals, and reptiles. Read this concise book to learn more about free-roaming cats and their diseases and why we must reduce their numbers. The authors are not anti-cat, but are concerned about native wildlife.
We own cats but don’t let our cats out. We keep the cats healthier and keep the cats from killing birds. If you must let your cat out, use a leash. Your cat(s) should be neutered and get rabies shots. Infected cats may spread rabies to other animals or humans. Cats have become the number-one domesticated species passing rabies to humans. Cats may have other diseases that may be transmitted both to other animals and to humans: plague and toxoplasmosis (a possible cause of schizophrenia).
Cats are genetically programmed to be hunters. Cats hunt and kill whatever they can. They don’t need to be hungry; cats hunt because they are hunters. One study concluded that cats kill 1.3-4 billion birds, 6.3-22.3 billion mammals, 95-299 million amphibians, and 258-822 million reptiles annually in the United States. While out hunting cats may also spread diseases that may kill any species that does not have resistance. The diseases may kill animals much larger than cats. You can learn about what cats kill, that Trap-Neuter-Release sounds good but doesn’t work, and also learn about the diseases cats can carry and the threats those diseases pose to wildlife and humans.
This book may change your mind about allowing free-roaming cats.