42 



NATURE STUDY AND LIFE 



Unlike dogs, cats readily return to a wild, or semi-wild, 

 life, and thus become a menace to much of the valuable 

 and interesting nature life of the country, game birds and 

 animals, and even to poultry. They breed in great num- 

 bers in cities, where their lives are, for the most part, a 

 prolonged misery both to themselves and the community. 

 Their cries at night are the most disagreeable sounds we 

 have in nature. The various smells that mark the places 

 they infest are utterly nauseating and intolerable. 



Cats are the worst enemies of our common birds. Mr. 

 Forbush estimates that on the average a cat kills fifty 

 song birds a year, and he has known of a single cat 

 destroying six bird's-nests in a day. In most states the 

 legislature has deemed it wise to pass laws imposing fines^ 

 upon those who kill birds. It is obviously absurd to fine 

 a man for killing one bird and at the same time allow him 

 to keep a cat that kills fifty. In some cities in Europe, 

 where every effort is being made to protect the birds, 

 cats are considered public nuisances if allowed to run 

 at large. People who wish to have cats must confine 

 them within their own premises, both by day and night, 

 because numerous cat traps are continually set for strays. 

 While not inaugurating a crusade against cats as pets, 

 the lessons in nature study may exert some influence 

 toward inducing children to observe what cats do and 

 possibly to keep other pets so far as possible. Special 

 attention should be directed toward preventing cats from 

 killing birds ; abundant feeding, keeping in at night during 

 nesting time, and possibly training, may prove effective in 



1 Maine, $i to jSio; Massachusetts, ^lo; Indiana, $io to ^50; Cali- 

 fornia, ^20 to $500. 



