*KUDOS* to Michael Price for telling it like it is. That was a beautiful
essay, Michael, every word ringing true. Many of my best friends are pet
owners (as I have been for many years and still am), and I have heard every
rationalization for bird catching as well as park pooping. And thanks for
the facts, Maggie and Alvaro and Russell and Scott, and for the personal
accounts, Anna and Roger. Please, outside cat owners, read one of those
references.

Our cat lived his first two years outside (although in at night at least
through the winter), with my approval because he's kind of dumb and a poor
hunter. I thought he couldn't catch birds at all until he nailed a House
Sparrow that hit the window and was stunned for a few seconds (and of
course big picture windows can be a subject of future commentaries). We
got that bird away from him, and I think his lifetime score is zero,
although he watches and stalks them like any cat. When we moved to a house
in a birdier neighborhood as well as nearer to a busy street, we began
keeping him inside, and he thrives.

He sits in open windows at every opportunity; there's no doubt he's
fascinated by the out of doors. But we take him outside regularly, usually
in a harness on a leash so he can't get through a hedge or up a tree into
the next yard. We walk him around or stake him anywhere in the yard, and
he wanders over one circle after another as we move the stake and does cat
things--especially, of course, sleeping in the sun. But I have heard many
cat owners say their cat went berserk at being confined after having been
outside. Also, some cats clearly can't be leashed.

Chicken wire is the first defense against wandering pets, but a thorough
education for pet owners has to be the ultimate solution. Now how can we
post this information to the CAT bulletin boards, which I suspect are far
larger than our own? How many cat owners are wildlife enthusiasts? How
many of them have any idea of what their favorite species is doing to our
environment? At the very least, with education perhaps as outdoor cats die
(raccoons and coyotes are with us to stay, not to mention automobiles),
their owners will replace them with indoor cats.

Sorry, Irene and Roger and others who had already heard enough (and, of
course, Teresa, who innocently set up the soap box on the empty lot). This
is sufficiently serious that it deserves airing for exactly as long as it's
a problem.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416