Cats kill endangered species
Kind people who feed feral cats unwittingly destroy Hawaii’s kuleana. At Keauhou Shopping Center on Oct. 19, I watched as a sweet woman broke out tins of cat food to feed no less than 15 visible feral cats. Acting on simple human decency, she abhorred the idea of animals suffering. Good for her. I genuinely admire people who love animals — people just like this kind woman. But, she needs to be informed of the cat’s particular destruction to our kuleana.
Cats decimate endangered, indigenous birds (nene, alala, palila, ua’u, ‘a’o, koloa,’alae’ula and ae’o). But, these aren’t my contentions – they’re science, as expressed by the State of Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) and the DLNR.
The HISC cites cats as “the top source of direct, human-associated mortality to birds in the U.S.,” killing approximately 2.4 billion birds a year. A DLNR trail camera once recorded one lone feral cat’s slaughter of nine petrel chicks in three days. Unconfirmed estimates state that the feral cat population on the Big Island may be well over one-half million.
The kind woman might argue that by keeping feral cats fed, she’s helping to keep the birds safe. The HISC states that “even well-fed cats will hunt and kill wildlife.” Cats hunt instinctively, fed or not.
The kind woman might argue that the feral cats will eventually die out, due to a program of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). The Journal of Conservation Biology in a meta-analysis (2009) “has shown that TNR to be ineffective at the primary goal of reducing the number of cats on the landscape.” The 15-plus cats I saw would anecdotally confirm that finding.
Cats kill monk seals. Cats are a “required host for the parasite, Toxoplasmosis gondii. A single cat may excrete hundreds of millions of infectious eggs…through its feces.” The NOAA reported, that in 2018, three monk seals on Oahu were found dead from toxoplasmosis in a single week. Twelve monk seal deaths have been directly tied to toxoplasma, so far, and we’ve only got about 300 monk seals on the main islands left. Remember, cats are essential to toxoplasma deaths.
In addition to indigenous, endangered birds and monk seals, cats carrying Toxoplasma are a danger to “pregnant woman and those with weakened immune systems.”
Humane solutions must entail: Capture and containment of all feral cats; Strict restriction of companion cats to within an enclosed household (not yard); and, containment and proper disposal of cat waste.
Kindness, science and our kuleana are not competing. On the contrary, science and kindness are essential components that help to comprise the aegis of our kuleana.
Mark Cettie
Kailua-Kona
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