The Polish Academy of Sciences has declared house cats an 'invasive alien species' because of their impact on local ecosystems. In the U.S. alone, they kill more than 2 billion birds each year. (hereandnow)
There is some damning evidence on why cats should stay inside. In the U.S. alone, housecats kill more than 2 billion birds each year, adding to the extinction of 63 different species. It’s this reason that makes cats a problem for the ecosystem, saysA number of studies have documented the effect household cats have on outdoor animals.
In one study, Helmuth put small video cameras on cats and followed what they did over most of a summer. She found the cats killed a lot of species in their neighborhood. Only 20% of the time would they bring their catch back home, leading many owners to believe their cats weren't causing trouble.in 1894. Helmuth says cats have that kind of impact because birds and other species have never experienced these predators in their evolutionary history.
“If you throw a cat a ball of yarn, they pounce,” Helmuth says. “They kill anything that catches their eye. And so it's able to go through a nesting colony of birds and just kill every single one it sees without slowing down.”
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