Wildlife.

Coyote link (Portland-oriented) with good info: http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2009/04/coping_with_neighborhood_coyot.html

I've been anti-outdoor-cats for years, even though I was raised with "indoor/outdoor" cats. This coyote info supports my suspicions that it is unsafe/cruel to allow cats to roam out of doors. For the cats, as well as for local wildlife. (Although in this particular case I'm sure the coyote would enjoy the free meal.)

Article on cats and wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.

Cats account for nearly 40% of the animal intakes at our Wildlife Care Center, the number one cause of injury by a wide margin. This statistic includes animals wounded in direct attacks by cats, animals orphaned after cats have predated on their parents, and healthy youngsters removed from the wild by citizens concerned about imminent predation by cats. Cats are also the number one cause of mortality at our Center. Because of the trauma and infection associated with cat predation, animals injured in cat attacks have only a 16% chance of survival, less than a third of the survival rate of all other causes of injury combined. Wildlife rehabilitation centers across the state and the nation report very similar experiences and what we see is only the tip of the iceberg; numerous studies conservatively estimate that cat predation accounts for hundreds of millions of bird deaths each year.(1)

...

Those who would dismiss urban wildlife populations as ecologically insignificant fail to understand that the warblers passing though our backyards, neighborhoods, and parks are exactly the same birds that travel thousands of miles from their breeding grounds in the north to their wintering sites in Central and South America. Too often urbanites fall into the trap of believing wildlife is something only to be protected “out there” beyond our urban growth boundaries. When it comes to migratory birds, we need to be just as concerned about what is happening in our own backyards.

...

We hear from many cat owners — often the same people who are bringing us injured cat-caught wildlife — that their cat is only happy if it is allowed to roam free. This attitude has perpetuated a sickening cycle of death not only for wildlife but for cats as well. The average lifespan of an outdoor cat is less than 3 years, compared to 15–18 years for cats that are housed indoors.(3) Cat owners who allow their cats to roam free are putting their pets at direct risk from cars, poisons, traps, conflicts with domestic and wild animals, and human cruelty.

Free-roaming pet cats are a primary source of feral cat populations (via breeding or going feral themselves). More than 7,000 stray cats were delivered to the Oregon Humane Society and Multnomah County Animal Control during 2005. The total number of cats delivered to shelters statewide during 2005 (strays and surrenders) was over 49,000 — the highest annual total since 1992. Of those, 48% were euthanized.(4) The American Veterinary Medical Association has referred to the proliferation of free-roaming abandoned and feral cats as “a national tragedy of epidemic proportions.”(5) The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon has written that “despite outward appearances, generations of domestication” have left feral cats “without many of the natural adaptation necessary for life outside. They do not ‘regain their instincts’ and they do not thrive. Starvation, disease, trauma and the stresses of continual reproduction plague their lives.”(6) Animal advocacy groups including the American Veterinary Medical Association, Humane Society of the United States, Washington Progressive Animal Welfare Society, and Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon all recommend housing pet cats indoors.

Indoor cat campaign info.

Wildlife.

Coyote link (Portland-oriented) with good info: http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2009/04/coping_with_neighborhood_coyot.html

I've been anti-outdoor-cats for years, even though I was raised with "indoor/outdoor" cats. This coyote info supports my suspicions that it is unsafe/cruel to allow cats to roam out of doors. For the cats, as well as for local wildlife. (Although in this particular case I'm sure the coyote would enjoy the free meal.)

Article on cats and wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.

Cats account for nearly 40% of the animal intakes at our Wildlife Care Center, the number one cause of injury by a wide margin. This statistic includes animals wounded in direct attacks by cats, animals orphaned after cats have predated on their parents, and healthy youngsters removed from the wild by citizens concerned about imminent predation by cats. Cats are also the number one cause of mortality at our Center. Because of the trauma and infection associated with cat predation, animals injured in cat attacks have only a 16% chance of survival, less than a third of the survival rate of all other causes of injury combined. Wildlife rehabilitation centers across the state and the nation report very similar experiences and what we see is only the tip of the iceberg; numerous studies conservatively estimate that cat predation accounts for hundreds of millions of bird deaths each year.(1)

...

Those who would dismiss urban wildlife populations as ecologically insignificant fail to understand that the warblers passing though our backyards, neighborhoods, and parks are exactly the same birds that travel thousands of miles from their breeding grounds in the north to their wintering sites in Central and South America. Too often urbanites fall into the trap of believing wildlife is something only to be protected “out there” beyond our urban growth boundaries. When it comes to migratory birds, we need to be just as concerned about what is happening in our own backyards.

...

We hear from many cat owners — often the same people who are bringing us injured cat-caught wildlife — that their cat is only happy if it is allowed to roam free. This attitude has perpetuated a sickening cycle of death not only for wildlife but for cats as well. The average lifespan of an outdoor cat is less than 3 years, compared to 15–18 years for cats that are housed indoors.(3) Cat owners who allow their cats to roam free are putting their pets at direct risk from cars, poisons, traps, conflicts with domestic and wild animals, and human cruelty.

Free-roaming pet cats are a primary source of feral cat populations (via breeding or going feral themselves). More than 7,000 stray cats were delivered to the Oregon Humane Society and Multnomah County Animal Control during 2005. The total number of cats delivered to shelters statewide during 2005 (strays and surrenders) was over 49,000 — the highest annual total since 1992. Of those, 48% were euthanized.(4) The American Veterinary Medical Association has referred to the proliferation of free-roaming abandoned and feral cats as “a national tragedy of epidemic proportions.”(5) The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon has written that “despite outward appearances, generations of domestication” have left feral cats “without many of the natural adaptation necessary for life outside. They do not ‘regain their instincts’ and they do not thrive. Starvation, disease, trauma and the stresses of continual reproduction plague their lives.”(6) Animal advocacy groups including the American Veterinary Medical Association, Humane Society of the United States, Washington Progressive Animal Welfare Society, and Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon all recommend housing pet cats indoors.

Indoor cat campaign info.