Cat owners have been warned about the risk their beloved pets are posing to wildlife and been urged to consider keeping them inside at night or possibly both night and day.
While they are one of the most popular pets in the UK, there are fears over the damage which cats may be wreaking on wildlife, particularly outdoor cats who are allowed to roam freely in gardens, countryside, parks and other open spaces.
With nesting season beginning already for some bird species in February – particularly for doves and pigeons – and other birds nesting in March and April, the next few months will be a vital time of year for common garden birds to hatch their chicks.
But with cats on the prowl, many birds could be lost to cats, who enjoy killing for sport, even though they don’t need to hurt birds to eat.
According to Rebecca Bevan, author of The National Trust Book of Nature Friendly Gardening, cat owners should put a bell on their cats’ collars to help protect birds this spring and keep them inside at night.
She writes: “Many people view cats hunting birds and small mammals as part of the natural order of things but domestic cats are descended from African wildcats, which obviously don't naturally occur in the British countryside.
“Consequently, our native birds and mammals have not evolved to live alongside them and their populations are impacted by the presence of so many pet cats hunting for much of the day and night.
“If you are the owner of a cat, consider putting a bell on its collar to make stalking prey a little harder – it doesn't need to hunt for food, after all!
“During the season when baby birds are fledging, you could also keep your cat in at night. It is probably best not to encourage birds into gardens patrolled by cats by [putting up] bird feeders or nestboxes but, if you do, be very careful to locate them where cats cannot reach.”
Some experts even go a step further, and urge cat owners not to let their cats outside at all, day or night, if you live in an area where birds are nesting or hopefully, thriving.
An expert at the RSPB’s ‘Ask An Expert’ forum, IanH, said: “In gardens here in the UK, whilst cats are not threatening any species with extinction, they do kill in excess of 50 million birds each year as well as frogs, slow worms and various small mammals.
“Given these facts there are a few points to consider if you are thinking of bringing a cat into an area where birdlife is thriving.
“Many birds nest in our gardens and baby birds are highly vulnerable. Many species have young that stay on the ground for days after leaving the nest, robins and blackbirds being the most common.
“These species will breed numerous times throughout the summer and a roaming cat can cause mayhem. This is often the reason you hear frantic alarm calls from agitated parent birds.
“Again, keeping the cat indoors is the ideal solution.”
According to Defra, bird populations have decreased by 2% UK-wide since 2018 and 7% in England alone.
Experts have warned that some birds could become extinct if the trend is left unchecked.
Kathryn Brown, climate change and evidence director at the Wildlife Trusts, said: “The decline of wild birds across the UK is tragic. These latest figures are particularly alarming, given the downward trend across all bird species in recent years. Habitat loss, pollution and climate change are all factors that have contributed to these worrying declines.”
