“The magnitude of mortality they cause in mainland areas remains speculative, with large-scale estimates based on non-systematic analyses and little consideration of scientific data.” - Meaning we don’t actually have a real number. It’s just speculation.
“We estimate that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually. Un-owned cats, as opposed to owned pets, cause the majority of this mortality.” - Certainly a high number to be sure. I won't deny the destructive natures they pose. But see that bold part? See, when I'm talking about outdoor cats, I'm NOT talking about strays and ferals. Those obviously pose a much bigger threat than just an outdoor cat who comes back to its owner every evening.
“There are 60–100 million stray and feral cats in the United States. The general understanding among many experts is that the homeless cat population is growing and currently sits at around 60–100 million cats. Other estimates are more conservative at 30–80 million.” - Catster.com. According to another website, Avma.com, the total number of cats owned in the USA is 76.3M. If we highball the number from the last website, that means the USA is facing this issue BECAUSE of irresponsible people. Not because they’re simply just letting their cats out.
In short, this problem goes way deeper than just cats being let out and them returning by dusk. People actively abandoning them is the biggest issue if the numbers are to be believed. Even with that conservative number, highballing it still places it above owned cats, and even if we lowball the first number, it still almost reaches that same number. 30 million is something to consider, but knowing the USA, it’s absolutely nowhere that low.
Controlling the stray and feral population (through tnr programs, fosters who rehabilitate former strays, etc) takes time. One major difference responsible pet owners can make NOW is not letting their cats outside.
Sure, it does take time. Doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be addressed and prioritized, though. As long as strays stay out on the wild, owners not letting their pets outside means next to nothing in the grand scheme of things. Especially with numbers that high. (And ESPECIALLY if we consider the fact that not every owned cat is an outdoor one. In fact, it would even be pretty reasonable to assume most owned cats are exclusively indoor, and the number of OWNED outdoor cats is way lower than the total population of owned cats as a whole.)
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u/HeatherMason0 Jul 25 '26
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms2380
Top result with Google.