56 Bird -Lore 



Still another point to emphasize is the possibility that cats carry infectious 

 diseases from place to place, and from person to person. Here is a source of 

 serious danger to health, and one which should be very thoroughly investigated. 

 No person has a right to let cats breed promiscuously, and to harbor or let loose 

 cats which may carry disease to others. Since cats by nature love freedom, 

 it is a difficult matter to keep them in confinement. 



Perhaps these are reasons enough to help us act in a broad-minded way on 

 the question of the desirability of keeping cats. Every person is free to his or 

 her own opinion, but conscientious answers to the following questions may help 

 some who are not decided as to the merits of this question to make up their 

 minds definitely: 



1. Am I harboring a cat which may be a disease-carrier? 



2. Does my cat trespass on the grounds of other people and interfere with their 

 plans for saving or attracting birds? 



3. How many wild birds does my cat catch and bring to my notice each year? 



4. Does my cat wander free at night, disturbing my neighbors by fighting with 

 other cats or by making harassing noises? 



5. Am I perfectly sure that my cat is a good mouser? 



6. Am I sure that rats and mice about barns and houses cannot be more effectively 

 destroyed by some other means than by cats? 



7. Am I justified in keeping cats which breed frequently and in letting their 

 progenj' go h ^re, there, and everywhere? 



8. Do I know how many stray cats are about my neighborhood? 

 Q. Am I taking a broad-minded view of the cat question? 



Any person who considers this matter in the light of the public welfare, 

 instead of his own personal interests is the right kind of citizen. Nowadays, we 

 live in communities which are too thickly populated to warrant a super- 

 abundance of any animal, be it cat, dog, bird or pig. Favor should be given to 

 those creatures which are doing the most good and not to those which are 

 doing the most harm. 



All readers of Bird-Lore, and especially members of the State Audubon 

 Societies are invited to express their opinions on this matter of keeping cats, 

 and to cooperate with those who are trying to solve the problem wisely and 

 for the best good of all concerned. — A. H. W. 



Note: It has been definitely proved that cats become infected with tri- 

 china, from eating rats and mice; that they may become tuberculous; that 

 they are carriers of diphtheria, and that they are subject to tapeworms and 

 various intestinal and cutaneous diseases. Cats have been known to be infected 

 with whooping cough, ringworm, mange and anthrax, while they are suspected 

 to be carriers of scarlet fever, smallpox, the plague and possibly infantile 

 paralysis (arterior poliomyelitis). More work needs to be done on this 

 subject of cats as disease-carriers, but already there is sufficient evidence to 

 be found in scientific and medical journals, not only to put people in general 

 on their guard, but also to convince thoughtful-minded citizens that some 



