{"id":43372,"date":"2023-06-06T17:49:12","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T17:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.noemamag.com"},"modified":"2025-02-14T18:00:57","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T18:00:57","slug":"cat-astrophe","status":"publish","type":"wpm-article","link":"https:\/\/www.noemamag.com\/cat-astrophe","title":{"rendered":"Cat-astrophe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Waking me at dawn is no easy task. A night owl through and through, I am far more likely to see the dawn by just not going to bed. So when my husband announced that he was headed to Old San Juan for some dawn photography, I was inclined to sleep in and join him several hours later at a more civilized hour.<\/p><div>\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"noa-web-audio-player\"\n            style=\"border: none\"\n            src=\"https:\/\/embed-player.newsoveraudio.com\/v4?key=n0e13g&#038;id=https:\/\/www.noemamag.com\/cat-astrophe\/&#038;bgColor=F3F3F3&#038;color=6D6D6D&#038;progressBgColor=F7F7F7&#038;progressBorderColor=6D6D6D&#038;playColor=F3F3F3&#038;titleColor=383D3D&#038;timeColor=6D6D6D&#038;speedColor=6D6D6D&#038;noaLinkColor=6D6D6D&#038;noaLinkHighlightColor=039BE5\"\n            width=\"100%\" height=\"110px\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><p>Then my husband dropped the bomb: \u201cI heard there were cats.\u201d<\/p><p>He had named the only phenomenon on Earth that could lure me out of bed before sunrise. That\u2019s because cats are crepuscular or most active at dawn and dusk. The only spare time we had to glimpse the fabled street cats of Old San Juan in all their furry glory meant that I needed to get my ass out of bed.<\/p><p>Bolstered by my giant travel mug chock full of coffee, I was rewarded with a breezy tropical morning. We arrived at the Paseo del Morro just as the sun was peeking through the clouds, but the mile-long walkway that wove between Spanish city walls and turquoise waters sat nearly empty. As a landscape photographer, my husband was thrilled. As a cat lover, I was not. After 20 minutes of wandering and seeing a solitary tabby flick a disdainful tail in my direction, I began to wonder whether my husband had played a practical joke on me.<\/p><p>Then I heard the electric hum of a small golf cart puttering in my direction. It stopped 10 feet away from me. The motor generated a far more effective version of the <em>pspspspsps<\/em> that I had been trying for the last quarter-hour. Within seconds, the golf cart was swarmed by voracious, yodeling felines. Cats seemed to melt out of the rocks. I felt like I had been dropped into a scene that resulted from a Vulcan mind-meld of Salvador Dal\u00ed and T.S. Eliot.&nbsp;<\/p><p>After filling bowls with kibble and water, the volunteer from Save a Gato, a local nonprofit helping the Paseo\u2019s cats, tootled several hundred yards down the path, and the spectacle repeated itself. Some visitors had dubbed the mile-long trail the San Juan catwalk, and a quick perusal of the trail\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/ShowUserReviews-g147320-d6487518-r356517472-Save_A_Gato_Cat_Sanctuary-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html#REVIEWS\">reviews<\/a> revealed that I wasn\u2019t the only one who enjoyed the feline spectacle.<\/p><p>So three years later, in October 2022, when I read an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/saju\/learn\/news\/environmental-assessment-for-paseo-del-morro-free-ranging-cats.htm\">announcement<\/a> by the National Park Service that they wanted community input on a cat management plan for the Paseo del Morro, I was confused. The cats almost seemed like they were part of the landscape. But it took only a few seconds for me to realize that no, they aren\u2019t. Not really. I gulped hard. Was the spectacle I so enjoyed actually destroying our planet?<\/p><p>San Juan is filled with street cats, many of which are strays and dependent on resident ailurophiles for food. Yet to ecologists, these kitties are one of the world\u2019s most dangerous invasive species. F\u00e9lix L\u00f3pez, cultural resources program manager at the San Juan National Historic Site, which includes the Paseo, told me the ongoing presence of more than 100 feral cats along the walkway prevents the park from conserving wildlife and the natural habitat there as it\u2019s mandated to do.<\/p><p>\u201cWe should not be feeding animals in any national park site,\u201d L\u00f3pez says. \u201cThis is not right for the animal, not right for the environment and this is not right for us.\u201d<\/p><p>For nearly 20 years, Save a Gato has been trying to reduce the Paseo\u2019s cat population through the trap-neuter-return method, or TNR, as it\u2019s known by the feline cognoscenti. This includes spaying and neutering feral and unowned cats, and returning them to their outdoor homes. Cat numbers will decline naturally, and the remaining felines will prevent other cats from elbowing their way into the colony\u2019s land.<\/p><p>But L\u00f3pez says the presence of Save a Gato also leads locals to abandon their unwanted kittens and cats at the Paseo. Many assume that the combination of kitty\u2019s natural independence, and the extra food and water the nonprofit provides, will be adequate for their erstwhile pets. As a result, the Paseo\u2019s cat population remains massive. Something, L\u00f3pez says, must be done.<\/p><p>\u201cThis is an area where cats should not have been present from the beginning,\u201d he says. \u201cThe cats just basically made the site their home.\u201d<\/p><!-- Quote Block Template -->\n\n<figure class=\"quote\">\n\n  <blockquote class=\"quote__container\">\n\n    <div class=\"quote__text\">\n      &#8220;Forget the Hatfields and McCoys, or the Jets and the Sharks. One of the most vehement conflicts in modern America is between the Cat People and the Bird People.&#8221;    <\/div>\n\n    \n    <div class=\"quote__social-media\">\n      <div\n        class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_35 a2a_default_style\"\n        data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/www.noemamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wpm-article\/43372\"\n        data-a2a-title='\"Forget the Hatfields and McCoys, or the Jets and the Sharks. One of the most vehement conflicts in modern America is between the Cat People and the Bird People.\"'\n      >\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_twitter\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_email\"><\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/blockquote>\n<\/figure><p>At community meetings in San Juan, the Park Service ran head-first into local cat lovers who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/travel\/news\/2022\/11\/03\/national-park-service-old-san-juan-cat-plan\/8259340001\/\">objected<\/a> to any efforts to manage the Paseo\u2019s cats. Management, they knew, meant euthanasia for the animals they had come to cherish. (NPS said they will make their final decision based on public comments.)<\/p><p>Many environmentalists disagree, however.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Forget the Hatfields and McCoys, or the Jets and the Sharks. One of the most vehement conflicts in modern America is between the Cat People and the Bird People. When Dara Wald held focus groups with various feline- and avian-focused nonprofits as part of her doctoral dissertation <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0006320713002668\">research<\/a> at the University of Florida, she had to keep the wildlife organizations separate from the cat groups.<\/p><p>Those in cat rescue saw conservation groups as cat haters advocating for modern-day feline pogroms. Conservationists, in turn, painted rescue groups as full of crazy cat ladies whose brains were addled by <em>Toxoplasma gondii<\/em>, a parasite found in some cat feces. Addressing the cat\u2019s impact on the environment, however, requires the two sides to work together.<\/p><p>\u201cIt&#8217;s not black and white,\u201d says Lynette McLeod, an environmental psychologist at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. \u201cIt\u2019s about sitting down with people and not demonizing the other. It\u2019s trying to find solutions that can cater to all parties. There\u2019s no easy answer.\u201d<\/p><p>So what\u2019s a cat lover to do? Until I stuck a tentative toe into this debate, I didn\u2019t see an inherent conflict between my love of cats and my deep-seated beliefs in conservation. To a large extent, I still don\u2019t. But with an estimated 3o to 80 million unowned cats roaming the outdoors in the United States plus an additional 30% of the country\u2019s 60-80 million pet cats allowed outside and global bird <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.birds.cornell.edu\/home\/bring-birds-back\/\">numbers<\/a> in free fall, we must all ask ourselves, which animals do we value, why, and are our cat problems instead human ones.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-sweet-kitty-as-predator\"><strong>Sweet Kitty As Predator<\/strong><\/h2><p>I have shared my life with cats for 20 years. I love their sandpaper tongues, their commitment to the belief that they are starving and wasting away to <em>nuffinks<\/em> as soon as the bottom of their food bowl is visible. I love their conviction that not only are cats the best species, but they are also the epitome of what a cat should be. I love how my current cat \u2014 a mischievous six-year-old former mama cat named Ophelia \u2014 insists that her habit of following me from room to room like a brown- and orange-striped shadow, and curling up between my husband and me on the couch every evening is pure coincidence and most definitely <em>not<\/em> an indication that she loves us. Not at all.<\/p><p>I also know that Ophelia is a predator. As an indoor cat, her prey is limited to toes, pens and my hair. If she were outside, though, there would be carnage. But then this is why humans started keeping cats around. When humans began farming in the Middle East some <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41559-017-0202\">10,000 years ago<\/a>, they found themselves storing grain surpluses. Lots of grain meant lots of rodents. Just as mice and rats were drawn to the smorgasbord of ready carbs, cats were drawn to the rodent buffet.<\/p><p>More courageous cats, who were able to cope with sharing space with other cats, benefitted from the easy access to rodents and whatever food scraps they could scavenge. As a bonus, they got shelter, some protection from predators and the occasional scratch behind the ears. Humans, for their part, got mobile rodent control and an adorable companion. While we encouraged this process, even helped facilitate it, it <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/science\/2017\/06\/cats-are-an-extreme-outlier-among-domestic-animals\/\">wasn\u2019t done<\/a> with the same deliberation and care of, say, dogs and livestock. Instead, in an on-brand move for the species, cats <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41559-017-0139\">domesticated<\/a> themselves. Well, mostly.<\/p><p>Until the <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national\/health-science\/you-wont-believe-how-old-that-kitty-litter-is\/2015\/02\/02\/9ecac9ea-a1b4-11e4-903f-9f2faf7cd9fe_story.html\">invention<\/a> of kitty litter after World War II, even the most pampered of pussycats were often let outside to do their business. Whether it\u2019s due to less time living alongside humans or some other factor, cats retained a wildness that other house pets and so-called \u2018domestic\u2019 animals didn\u2019t have. And they still do.<\/p><p>Many municipalities in the U.S. have leash laws for dogs, requiring them when off the owner\u2019s property. Cat owners, however, often let their pets out by opening the door or installing a cat flap. Finding out where kitty spends their off-hours typically requires reconnaissance with neighbors or attaching a camera to their pet.<\/p><p>This autonomy is much of what makes cats so endearing, says researcher Lee Niel at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. The freedom to roam and ready access to the great outdoors is tied up in what many cat owners <a href=\"https:\/\/esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1002\/fee.2254\">believe<\/a> is fundamental to the very nature of cats. To have a good life \u2014 to reach the highest rung of cat-ness \u2014 cats need to go outside. \n          <div class=\"eos-subscribe-push\">\n            \n            <a target=\"https:\/\/shop.noemamag.com\/?utm_source=MiddleCTA&utm_medium=website\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.noemamag.com\/?utm_source=MiddleCTA&utm_medium=website\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Read Noema in print.<\/a>\n            \n          <\/div>\n        <\/p><p>In a 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7909512\/\">study<\/a> of more than 5,100 cat owners from Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, researchers from the United Kingdom\u2019s Nottingham Trent University and the University of Edinburgh found that nearly two-thirds of cat owners let their cat outside for the cat\u2019s benefit.&nbsp; Kitty\u2019s benefit, however, comes at a cost to nature.&nbsp;<\/p><p>One <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0006320713000189\">study<\/a> found that within a one-week period, although 44% of cats successfully hunted outdoors, they only returned with 23% of their prey.&nbsp;<\/p><p>\u201cBecause cats only bring a small proportion of their prey home, owners don\u2019t really see that impact,\u201d Niel says.<\/p><p>Arie Trouwborst, a nature conservation attorney at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, sees this issue as a major problem. Take, for example, many endangered species laws, which institute fines and other penalties for killing protected plants and animals. If you or your child did so, you would be fined. Same goes for your dog. But your cat? There, owners are often let off the hook.<\/p><!-- Quote Block Template -->\n\n<figure class=\"quote\">\n\n  <blockquote class=\"quote__container\">\n\n    <div class=\"quote__text\">\n      &#8220;Each year, cats collectively kill billions of birds, rodents, insects, reptiles and amphibians. They routinely make lists of the world\u2019s worst invasive species.&#8221;    <\/div>\n\n    \n    <div class=\"quote__social-media\">\n      <div\n        class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_35 a2a_default_style\"\n        data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/www.noemamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wpm-article\/43372\"\n        data-a2a-title='\"Each year, cats collectively kill billions of birds, rodents, insects, reptiles and amphibians. They routinely make lists of the world\u2019s worst invasive species.\"'\n      >\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_twitter\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_email\"><\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/blockquote>\n<\/figure><p>\u201cMany authorities will take the position that these rules do not actually apply, and that that it is okay to let these cats outdoors,\u201d he says.<\/p><p>Many cat owners shrug off the issue, Trouwborst says. For some, it\u2019s the same disconnect that Niel described in Guelph, a divide between what\u2019s known about cat behavior and what some cat owners think about their own, specific cats. To Trouwborst, the bigger issue is our tolerance of unrestrained roaming. The idea of unfettered, al fresco freedom is so elemental to felines \u2014 it\u2019s what makes a cat, a cat \u2014 that we don\u2019t question it.<\/p><p>When we see an unleashed dog running free, many of us call the owner or animal control. There\u2019s a tacit understanding that a dog must always be restrained, confined or supervised. A wandering kitty, on the other hand, typically elicits a shrug or a <em>pspspspsps<\/em>. It\u2019s reflected in how we hold dog owners responsible for the actions of their pets but more frequently let cat owners off the hook, Trouwborst says. What results, he writes in a 2020 <a href=\"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1002\/pan3.10073\">paper<\/a> in the journal People and Nature, is a giant loophole in endangered species legislation.<\/p><p>\u201cWe didn&#8217;t come up with anything that might constitute a valid justification for not applying the law. So the hypothesis that&#8217;s left is that this is just politically unattractive for government bodies to engage with,\u201d Trouborst says. Their solution? They simply ignore it, he says.<\/p><p>The problem, however, isn\u2019t just the occasional feline snacking on one of our feathered friends. Most parts of the environment are so disturbed by humans that a one-off predation wouldn\u2019t even be a blip on the radar. The problem is the sheer number of cats roaming the outdoors. Collectively, these house pets have an impact even if each individual cat isn\u2019t always a lean, mean, furry killing machine. Although I can\u2019t quantify the positive impact my cats have had on my life, their impact on the environment can be. And it\u2019s not pretty.<\/p><p>Each year, cats collectively kill billions of birds, rodents, insects, reptiles and amphibians. They routinely make lists of the world\u2019s worst <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation-now\/2018\/03\/22\/top-invasive-species-west\/449612002\/\">invasive species<\/a>. Free-ranging cats have been implicated in the <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/nzbirdsonline.org.nz\/species\/lyalls-wren\">extinction<\/a> of Lyall\u2019s wren in New Zealand and contributed to the extinction of <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/j.1365-2486.2011.02464.x\">33<\/a> other species , and are considered a major threat to others, especially on an island like New Zealand \u2014 where birds, otherwise, have no natural land predators. To conservationists, it\u2019s a major crisis.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-s-in-a-name\"><strong>What&#8217;s In A Name?<\/strong><\/h2><p>Pet cats aren\u2019t the only ones causing this murder and mayhem. A major issue that\u2019s far more challenging than merely deciding to keep Fluffy inside is the large number of unowned cats roaming our streets and wilderness. One of the biggest challenges is figuring out what the heck to call them.<\/p><p>The most common term is feral cat. Unlike a stray cat that may be fearful but has had some contact with humans, feral cats have limited to no contact with humans and remain highly fearful. Even the friendliest housecat can have kittens that grow up to be feral if they don\u2019t become <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvm360.com\/view\/the-keys-to-kitten-socialization\">comfortable<\/a> around humans in their early development, between three to 12 weeks.&nbsp;<\/p><p>\u201cIt\u2019s not a descriptor with positive connotations,\u201d says Kris Hill, a doctoral student in anthrozoology at England\u2019s University of Exeter. \u201cIt\u2019s not an endearment or a good word.\u201d<\/p><p>The definition of feral has life-or-death implications. Being labeled as \u201cferal\u201d is often grounds for being euthanized at many animal shelters. Even so-called \u201cno-kill\u201d shelters can euthanize animals with \u201csevere or untreatable illnesses or behavior issues,\u201d according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalhumanesociety.org\/news\/what-does-it-mean-be-no-kill\">American Humane Society<\/a>.&nbsp; In Australia, legislation classifies <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcceew.gov.au\/environment\/invasive-species\/feral-animals-australia\/feral-cats\">feral cats<\/a> as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcceew.gov.au\/sites\/default\/files\/env\/pages\/907fcf93-baf3-4a8f-bfdb-70bdf55aa90e\/files\/national-declaration-feral-cats-pests.pdf\">pests<\/a> and permits communities to poison, trap and shoot the cats under certain circumstances. Some U.S. municipalities have laws banning people from feeding feral cats while simultaneously requiring owners of pet cats to provide them with adequate food and shelter. Same animal, different rules.<\/p><p>Using the word \u201cferal\u201d is a way for us to mentally distance ourselves from the cat \u2014 to \u201cother\u201d it, Hill says. As I speak with Hill, I realize that many of us have a disconnect about feral cats that\u2019s the flip side of our attitude toward outdoor cats. We think of the feral cat as a cold-blooded killer unlike the beloved sweet kitty \u2014 as capable of similar assault \u2014&nbsp;that curls up on our cat tree at home and later, purrs us into a deep slumber.<\/p><!-- Quote Block Template -->\n\n<figure class=\"quote\">\n\n  <blockquote class=\"quote__container\">\n\n    <div class=\"quote__text\">\n      &#8220;We think of the feral cat as a cold-blooded killer unlike the beloved sweet kitty \u2014 as capable of similar assault \u2014\u00a0that curls up on our cat tree at home and later, purrs us into a deep slumber.&#8221;    <\/div>\n\n    \n    <div class=\"quote__social-media\">\n      <div\n        class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_35 a2a_default_style\"\n        data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/www.noemamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wpm-article\/43372\"\n        data-a2a-title='\"We think of the feral cat as a cold-blooded killer unlike the beloved sweet kitty \u2014 as capable of similar assault \u2014\u00a0that curls up on our cat tree at home and later, purrs us into a deep slumber.\"'\n      >\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_twitter\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_email\"><\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/blockquote>\n<\/figure><p>Feral cats have gained the reputation of being disease-ridden, aggressive and anti-social. There\u2019s some truth to this. Unfixed cats fight and yowl at all hours of the day. Cats spray urine to mark their territory, tomcats to signal their reproductive availability, which can leave a musky, pungent smell. Cat intestines are also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vet.cornell.edu\/departments-centers-and-institutes\/cornell-feline-health-center\/health-information\/feline-health-topics\/toxoplasmosis-cats\">required<\/a> for the single-celled parasite <em>Toxoplasma<\/em> to complete its life cycle, and can cause disease in humans and other mammals. Scientists have identified devastating <em>Toxoplasma<\/em> outbreaks in marine mammals, infected when contaminated water made its way to the sea. But this doesn\u2019t mean that feral cats don\u2019t have rich social lives with other cats or that they should be universally reviled, Hill says.&nbsp;<\/p><p>It\u2019s a view that\u2019s shared by many who advocate for TNR as a humane, compassionate way to reduce the number of unowned cats. Hard evidence on whether TNR works is scarce and inconclusive. So, for that matter, is evidence of the efficacy of euthanizing feral cats. But not everyone believes that TNR is humane or appropriate.<\/p><p>Bird conservation organizations like the National Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy condemn TNR as ineffective and inappropriate. Spayed and neutered cats still hunt, after all. Even People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals objects, <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/about-peta\/why-peta\/feral-cats\/\">arguing<\/a> that \u201calthough altering feral cats prevents future generations from suffering, it does not protect cats from the litany of other problems that they may encounter.<\/p><p>Allowing feral cats to continue their daily struggle for survival in a hostile environment is rarely a humane option.\u201d Often the best option, PETA says, is euthanizing the cats. What\u2019s more, the presence of cared-for feral cat colonies encourages people to dump their unwanted cats. The TNR challenges faced by Save a Gato in San Juan are echoed across the United States and around the world.<\/p><p>If humans can\u2019t agree on what a feral cat is and what it means to live your life as a feral animal, then it\u2019s probably not surprising that we also can\u2019t agree on how to approach the problem of feral cats. As Wald spoke to wildlife advocates and cat rescues across Florida, she found that nearly everyone recognized that the state had far too many unowned cats and that communities needed to bring those numbers down. But even this agreement on the fundamentals of an issue isn\u2019t enough to convince both sides to work together. Different values and priorities make that seemingly impossible.<\/p><p>Both sides, Wald says, value animal life. Cat advocates told her that their beloved four-legged felines have as much right to life as other animals, and are only one of many species that kill birds and rodents. (After all, bird populations are in decline for many reasons, including habitat loss largely from agriculture, climate change, pesticides and toxins, other invasive species, and their deaths from collisions with glass and other industrial infrastructure.)<\/p><p>Birders and wildlife lovers say that the value of a wild species far outweighs that of feral and pet cats. Whereas nearly <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stateofthebirds.org\/2022\/\">half of all global bird species<\/a> are in decline, according to a 2022 State of the Birds report by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, <em>Felis catus<\/em> isn\u2019t going anywhere.<\/p><p>The point of Wald\u2019s research isn\u2019t to tell communities what species to value, but to figure out how they can come together to address the problem. Officials in Canberra, Australia, for example, created a <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cmtedd.act.gov.au\/open_government\/inform\/act_government_media_releases\/chris-steel-mla-media-releases\/2022\/new-cat-laws-to-protect-pets-and-native-wildlife#:~:text=From%201%20July%202022%20all,ACT's%20annual%20dog%20registration%20scheme.\">rule<\/a> that all newly-adopted cats must be kept indoors, allowing older cats to continue to roam in most neighborhoods. Within a few years, the city\u2019s cat population will be exclusively inside-only (or leashed when outside). Miami-Dade Animal Services in Florida has started <a class=\"docs-creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.miamidade.gov\/global\/news-item.page?Mduid_news=news1573659032453989#:~:text=To%20be%20eligible%20for%20this,least%20three%20pounds%20to%20qualify\">paying<\/a> volunteers $15 for every adult feral cat that they trap and spay or neuter.&nbsp;<\/p><p>What made these programs work is the recognition that the problem with cats has nothing to do with cats at all. The issue is a fundamentally human problem. Even basic veterinary care can be inaccessible to some pet owners. We let our cats roam instead of keeping them inside or taking a page from the social media hashtag, #adventurecats, and walking them on a leash. We provide food but don\u2019t spay and neuter them. And when we move, we don\u2019t or can\u2019t always take our cats with us.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Even I, knowing all this, played a part by relishing the presence of the cats along Old San Juan\u2019s walkway. While the chances that I will ever turn down the chance to pet a cat are minimal, I also can\u2019t deny that everyone \u2014 residents, tourists, local wildlife, even the cats themselves \u2014 would be better off if all cats had indoor homes and the Paseo was magically feline-free.&nbsp; The presence of so many unowned felines is a human failing, and we owe it to ourselves and the animals we love to do better.<\/p>\n          <div class=\"eos-subscribe-push\">\n          \n            <a target=\"https:\/\/shop.noemamag.com\/?utm_source=BottomCTA&utm_medium=website\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.noemamag.com\/?utm_source=BottomCTA&utm_medium=website\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Enjoy the read? Subscribe to get the best of Noema.<\/a>\n            \n          <\/div>\n        ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3445,"featured_media":43378,"template":"","wpm-article-type":[4],"wpm-article-topic":[23],"wpm-article-tag":[],"class_list":["post-43372","wpm-article","type-wpm-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","wpm-article-type-feature","wpm-article-topic-philosophy-culture"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.0 (Yoast SEO v25.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Cats Became One Of The Most Delightful Invasive Species<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Outdoor cats are considered one of the worst invasive species by ecologists. 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