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Cats: In or Out?
An argument ignored, or maybe just forgotten, is that feral cats & cats with homes & loving owners but free to roam, perform a vital service — rodent control. Has everyone forgotten how the bubonic plague came charging & killing through Europe several times because the ditsy Christian association of cats, especially black ones, with the Devil, led to their near extermination, thereby allowing rats to breed freely & spread the flees that carried the fatal disease to humans?
New York City, where I once heard that the ratio of rats to humans may be as high as 10–1, just came to its senses about requiring dumpsters for its garbage so it would not pile up in the streets & provide the perfect environment for rats to feed & live in luxury. Without too many feral or free-roaming cats, there is no way to control the spread of rodents in every nook, cranny, & wall in the city.
The mere scent of cats in the environment can be enough to keep rats & mice from taking up residence. This, however, is not mentioned in article after article I read about cats killing countless birds & other critters, which I realize is also a major problem of feral & domestic cats roaming free. Neutering & bells on brightly colored reflective collars along with cats being kept indoors or on leashes are all measures to consider, but please remember the rodent control they provide as well.
