Problems Confronting Beginners 249 



refuge and then permit them to be mangled by 

 cats. When a cat crosses the boundary of our 

 bird sanctuary he automatically signs his own 

 death warrant. All the neighbors know this and 

 take care of such cats as they consider worth 

 keeping. Most of them realize the justice of the 

 stand which is taken, and when a cat disappears ' 

 no questions are asked. 



Some people may argue, "Suppose cats do 

 kill birds ; haven't cats as much right to live as 

 the birds.?" Perhaps they have, but since many 

 a cat destroys a hundred birds in the course of its 

 life — sometimes in one year of its life, we must 

 change the question a little and ask: "Has a 

 cat a hundred times as much right to live.?" I 

 think even an ardent cat lover will hesitate 

 before answering "yes" to this question. And- 

 if he does answer "yes," some people may find 

 it very hard to agree with him. 



No sensible person would advocate the exter- 

 mination of cats, but I do believe that a serious 

 effort should be made to get rid of unnecessary 

 ones. There are many people owning a number 

 of these animals who could get along perfectly 

 well with one; and many other people, each of 

 whom has one cat too dearly beloved to give up, 

 who might without serious sacrifice resolve that 

 when it died they would never replace it. 



