Even though hawks may kill birds the same as cats you must remember what
would happen if your feeder or any other feeder never existed. Accipters
and falcons are natural predators of song birds while cats are usually
"feeder predators" very small proportions of cat kills come away from
feeder areas. I agree with Jim, people don't seem to want to look at the
fact that feeders are primarily for our enjoyment (only a few feeders are
neccessary even in our recent bad storm to keep the birds fed) even if
your neighbor has a feeder let him deal ith the problem of cats Vs.
birds. After the most recent snow we had a rat visit the feeder
twice yesterday and if comes back I will take down the feeder until the
problem goes away. So if anybody has a problem with cats either find a
place where birds can feed in safety, or take down the feeders. Just
remember we are suppossedly helping the birds, not luring them to their
death.

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA