Editorials 



287 



out the country which will instructively 

 widen his horizon. 



It is not to be expected that such a study 

 can be concluded in a single season, but so 

 long as it is incomplete it will repay our 

 attention. Its general features may follow 

 one of the several excellent outlines for 

 birds' biographies to be found in various 

 ornithological text-books, or in Bird-Lore 

 for December, 1904; and in this connection 

 it would be well to consult Mr. Burns" ad- 

 mirable Monograph of the Flicker." issued 

 by the Wilson Bulletin, at Oberlin, Ohio. 



The possibilities of publishing extended 

 reports of the kind we have in mind remain 

 to be considered ; and in this connection 

 Bird-Lore will promise its assistance, 

 agreeing to print and publish, at its own 

 expense, any biographical memoir of a 

 North American bird which, in our opinion, 

 adequately presents its life-histor>'. 



It would be well, however, for intending 

 authors to consult us, and. in order to avoid 

 duplication of work, as well as to invite 

 assistance, to announce in Bird-Lore the 

 subject of their proposed biography. 



The Cat Question 



The exaggerated press reports of the reso- 

 lution in regard to cats ( see page 290) 

 passed by the National Association of Au- 

 dubon Societies at its annual meeting has 

 exposed the Societies to much unjust criti- 

 cism. The Societies are accused of urging" a 

 war of extermination" against all cats, and 

 of "interfering with the balance of nature." 

 while the cat is said rarely to eat birds, or, 

 if its destructiveness be admitted, its natural, 

 inherent right to kill in response to instinc- 

 tive promptings is maintained. 



Now, we might say a great deal on the 

 question of birds" rights vs. cats' rights, but 

 we prefer to discuss the question in only its 

 humane aspects, with the reasonable hope we 

 may induce cat- lovers to believe that thev 

 may conscientiously join hands with bird- 

 lovers in their efforts to prevent the undue 

 increase of the cat population. 



No one, we imagine, would hesitate to 

 condemn the introduction of the Mongoose 

 into this country, or the stocking of our 



woods with Ferrets; whv, then, should we 

 permit the increase of an equally predaceous 

 animal in such numbers that we cannot care 

 for the fast and ever-multiplying progeny, 

 which, homeless, are forced to provide for 

 themselves. As a result, millions of virtually 

 wild cats are roaming our fields and woods, 

 leading, doubtless, a life of ease during the 

 season of plenty when birds nest, but faring 

 miserably in the star\ation time which 

 follows. 



It is. of course, difficult to get exact data 

 in connection with this feral cat life of the 

 countn., but word now comes of thousands 

 of deserted cats wandering along the beaches 

 and dunes of our coast, where they have been 

 forsaken by heartless 'summer cottagers." 



A startling index of the magnitude of our 

 cat population, and. at the same time, of the 

 endless suffering entailed by irresponsible 

 ownership, is given by certain figures fur- 

 nished by the American Society for the Pre- 

 vention of Cruelty to animals. 



In the interests of humanity, it is one of 

 the duties of this widely known organization 

 to "destroy homeless, diseased and injured 

 cats," and the need for its activities in this 

 direction is eloquently expressed in the 

 statement that for the first nine months of the 

 present year, it destroyed 53.93S cats in 

 New York Cit>-, while the total for nine 

 years up to 1903 is given as 465,065! 



Analysis of the figures for the present year 

 shows that while in Januan.- when climatic 

 conditions would lead one to expect a high, 

 even if artificial death rate, the sufferings of 

 2,019 cats were humanely ended, in July the 

 number had risen to 5.533. and a further 

 consideration of the statistics supports the 

 conclusion that this surprising increase in 

 mortality is occasioned by the same thought- 

 lessness — to use no harsher term — which 

 leaves thousands of cats to starve on our 

 beaches. and the homeless cat. in midsummer, 

 is apparently no better off than the poor 

 wanderer on the winter coast. 



In the light of these figures, can any real 

 lover of cats consistently refuse to aid the 

 Audubon Societies in their efforts to secure for 

 these much-neglected creatures the attention 

 and care we should give to cver>- animal for 

 whose existence we are responsible? 



