Simple Suggestion #183... Bell your cat

I really wish Max (and her owners) lived next door...

Meet my friend, Max. I spent some time with her, her calico counterpart, Chester, and their human beings, Cathy and Jim, on the Thanksgiving weekend. Max is a sweetheart, with very soft fur that begs to be stroked, starting a big purr-motor that can be heard in the next room.

I love birds as much as cats, so I was distressed when a Canadian report was released in early October announcing that cats kill an estimated 196 million birds in Canada every year. The number is in the billions in the U.S. As most cats are only hunting out of instinct rather than hunger, and as our bird populations have already taken hits because of environmental damage -- oil spills and deforestation have destroyed many wintering grounds -- it's time to look at helping our bird populations to flourish in any way that we can.

And here's a fairly simple solution to saving our songbirds -- a little bell on the collar of a domestic cat prevents it from sneaking up on unsuspecting birds and killing them. Keeping cats indoors at dawn and dusk also helps, as the light at those times works to cats' advantage.

I love having birds in my bushes and at my feeders, and I love when a tinkling bell announces the visit of a neighbourhood cat... We can love our cats, and be kind to our feathered friends, too -- the best of both worlds!

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