Keep Your Cat In at Night
A wildlife refuge has made a plea to cat owner’s to keep their cats in at night to prevent these natural predators from harming small birds and animals. The founder of the Wildlives Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Thorrington, Rosie Catford reports that casualties are particularly high at this time of year and she currently has 130 birds under her care as a consequence of cat attacks.
Catford explains:
“At this time of year it must be about 80% of the admissions are due to cat attacks. But it isn’t just birds - it’s baby hedgehogs, rabbits, leverets, slow worms, lizards, frogs - even fox cubs. Fledglings are easy for cats to predate and adults as well, because they are get so tired. They have a nest of baby birds to feed, so they are coming backwards and forwards with food all the time, and they are high metabolism creatures. It also doesn’t get dark until around 9pm and is light at 4.30am. That means when they do rest, their energy drops right down and they are not very alert.”
Wildlives operates all year without a break and recently one cat related mauling was of a stonechat, one of two that exist on the Tendring Peninsula.
You can take some simple precautions to limit cat attacks such as keeping cats in after 9.00pm and buying a collar with a bell on it to warn unsuspecting birds.
In response to her cat-loving critics, Ms Catford says:
“Some people say it’s natural for cats to hunt like this, but cats are not native to this country and, in any case, the number of cats is artificially high because so many people keep them as pets and feed them. “