40 THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



On Rendering Cats Harmless 



From the National Humane Review. 



The eminent ornithologist and nature lover, Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, of 

 Washington, D. C, has brought to the attention of the Review a scheme 

 for rendering cats harmless as bird destroyers. Dr. Shufeldt's thor- 

 ough acquaintance with animal life makes his suggestion worthy of 

 more than passing notice and the editor of the Review would be pleased 

 to have an expression of opinion from its readers regarding the practi- 

 cal features of the plan. 



The Review quite agrees with Dr. Shufeldt's notion, as practically 

 all the anticruelty societies do, that unclaimed, homeless cats should be 

 collected as far as possible and humanely destroyed. As a step in this 

 direction, animal rescue leagues and humane societies spend large sums 

 of money each year in collecting these unwanted animals and painlessly 

 putting them to death. Dr. Shufeldt, however, points out that many 

 pet cats will kill small birds. It is regarding them that he advances 

 the following suggestions : 



"Dr. Wm. H. Dall, of the United States National Museum, recently 

 pointed out to me a method that will save our cats and thoroughly 

 protect the birds against their attacks. It is a well-known fact that 

 these animals only seize their prey through the use of the claws on the 

 forefeet. These claws are, as we know, so organized anatomically that 

 when at rest they are retracted, but when brought into play they are 

 thrown forward, so that their sharp points may be instantly employed 

 in the act of seizure. No cat ever attempts to catch a wild bird in 

 the open by employing its hind feet, or the claws upon them. No lion, 

 tiger, leopard, or any of the rest of the big felines in nature ever do. 

 This also holds in the case of pet cats who kill the canary in its cage,' 

 or capture the fish in the globe or aquarium. 



"When one comes to think this over, it soon becomes clear that, 

 were cats deprived of their claws on their forefeet, they could not catch 

 a bird of any kind, however hard they tried. The claws have no more 

 feeling in them than have our finger-nails, to which they really corre- 

 spond. Cat-claws can be trimmed just as we trim our nails, and the 

 best tool to do it with is the small cutting pliers used by jewelers. Any- 

 one can use such a tool, and, with a little practice, anyone owning a pet 

 cat can readily trim all the claws on its forefeet. All there is to be done 

 is to gently press the foot from above, downwards, between your 

 thumb and forefinger, when the claws will be thrown forward. They 

 should be snipped off a trifle back of their middles applying the cutting 

 edges of the nippers to their sides. A little dressing with delicate file 

 afterwards will also prove advantageous. A cat so operated upon can- 

 not possibly catch and kill a wild bird or a pet bird in a cage ; nor can it 

 destroy fish in any receptacle in which we may keep them. Moreover, 

 a cat with its claws so trimmed cannot climb a tree; it is up in trees 

 that they catch many birds, as they likewise do by running up poles 

 topped with bird-boxes and bird-houses of every description. After 



