On May 30, 10:06*am, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,Marti n writes:

|
| Like most cats, our cat has probably killed hundreds times more vermin than he
| has killed birds.
|
| I take it the 220 million other animals are mainly vermin? I don't see reports
| of fields full of dead sheep that have been "worried" by cats.

There are clear vermin, and others. *Most cats kill far more shrews,
voles, field mice and even moles and weasels than house mice, let
alone rats.

I am sad that I haven't seen a vole or shrew in my garden for 20
years - and that is almost due to the increase in the number of
local cats. *Also, cats probably prevent owls from recovering, and
possibly some of the smaller hawks, by keeping prey numbers too low
for those birds. *I have even heard that weasels are now becoming
quite rare in most of the heavily populated parts of the UK!

The knock-on effects are serious, too. *The lack of hawks mean that
there is nothing to control the collared doves and pigeons - cats
fatch a few, but not enough to affect them. *And it is even possible
that the cat population is one of the CAUSES of the increasing urban
and suburban rat problem, by competing with (and occasionally killing)
stoats (and, of course, killing weasels, which can kill young rats in
their runs).

Note that it is almost impossible for a predator to exterminate its
prey species, UNLESS it is being provided with artificial food.
When the prey become scarce, the predator starts to starve, can't
hunt effectively, and its numbers drop. *If, however, it is well
fed by humans, it can carry on until the prey is extinct.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Excellent points Nick!