58 



of those that had been eaten. The mangled bodies of newly 

 hatched young, as well as larger young, were found scattered 

 about profusely. There are no trees on the island, therefore 

 hawks and owls do not nest there, and do not remain there 

 during the nesting season of the birds. There are no predatory 

 mammals except the cat, and the indigenous short-eared owl 

 was exterminated years ago. Therefore the cat is practically the 

 only enemy with w^hich the gulls and terns have to contend. Mr. 

 Arthur Brigham of Boston wrote me in 1914 that the cats had 

 greatly depleted the number of the birds, and an agent of the Nan- 

 tucket Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals re- 

 ported the same year that in a brief search he found fully a 

 thousand nest sites with the remains of parent birds, egg shells 

 and young scattered about them. Whether the cats increased 

 or not we do not know% but during the summer of 1914 it was 

 easy to gather a bushel of wings of the dead birds. The warden 

 killed three cats in 1913, and may have destroyed a few in 1914, 

 but Deputy Fish and Game Commissioner William Day went to 

 the island in the winter, and, with a good dog, found and shot 

 seven cats, one of them a female heavy with young; another cat 

 was found dead. Mr. Day believes that he has killed every cat 

 there, and the dog could find no more. This shows clearly how 

 terribly destructive a few stray cats can be among breeding 

 birds, and how they kill, not merely to eat, but for the love of 

 killing. Since the above was written Mr. W. L. McAtee of the 

 Biological Survey has informed me that more cats have been let 

 loose on the island by fishermen, and that the number of birds 

 was much reduced by them in 1915. 



Expert Opinions on the Cat's Destructiveness to Birds. 



In all my investigations into the economic status of the cat, 

 opinions have been disregarded and only facts sought. Never- 

 theless, opinions of all kinds have been offered. Many cat lovers 

 naturally are loath to believe or admit that their pets seriously 

 menace the birds, but some frankly avow the regrettable facts. 

 Miss Helen Leighton, president of the Animal Rescue League of 

 Fall River, writes: "I have found the cat a beautiful, clean, in- 

 telligent and affectionate pet, readily trained not to molest cage 

 birds, but also a very dangerous enemy to bird life in general. 

 It is idle to deny the latter point." Miss Mary A. White of 

 Heath writes: "I am fond of cats and consider them a close and 

 valuable bond, endearing animals to humans, but do not keep 

 one because I have found them so destructive to bird life." 



