Mr. Streitfeld, hello, thank you for reporting an issue to which I was not informed. However, that stated, the Shoreline area is not considered a 'park' in my opinion, it is a 'habitat' that permits people to walk in and around, or bicycle or roller blade, or walk their dogs.
FACTS.
That area connects to larger areas south, once occupied by NASA (flight testing and development) and the US Military. Microsoft and Google's competitors rent buildings on Federal land.
The area you describe has a wonderful set of birds to watch and listen to.
Most of the cities in the South Bay of California have animal rescue and cat management services, operated by volunteers.
Now that Google is devouring San Jose's parks and its best park near the Guadalupe River (6.7 miles and a large, very large pathway - trail running adjacent it) it might be doing the same thing in San Jose.
The abandoned cats living in the parks and woods of the Guadalupe River ( stone's throw to Google's intended personal San Jose zone) hunt and eat the birds living in the River's woods. During the five year drought, the Guadalupe River almost dried up entirely, certainly in certain areas, but the plants developed in fierce competition to grow nearer to the river.
Most of San Jose's feral cats have an ear puncture created by
volunteers. They feed those cats in urban parking lots, which have chain link fences. I hope Google does not interfere with the volunteers. The cats know the volunteers.
26
Why not introduce natural predators to the cats? There are predator birds that could take out the cats. I'm an animal lover, but keeping peoples abandoned pets around for a small groups' feeling of doing important work is counter productive. Remove the cat feeding stations, and promote predators. How would you feel if your home had 10 feral cats using your yard as their toilet, and sport killed the local birds. Yes, thanks for finding homes for the kittens. However, Coyotes need to be around to clean up the over population.
82
I like cats, but they do real evil when they go outdoors. After an outdoor cat owner moved next door, the parrots, scrub jays and mockingbirds fled our block or were killed. The cat lady finally moved out -- maybe her cat was endangered crossing into so many yards ruled over by dogs? And now we have birds singing again. The lovely blue scrub jays with their cries of Aaaiiight, the parrots who caw so hard you'd think it's a hundred parrots in that tree, not just three, and the mockingbirds whose songs are so complex they make me want to study cryptography.
Please, cat owners, care about those birds. They're not just decorative. They eat insects and produce fertilizer at the other end. I am not kidding. They help keep our trees green. They help recycle the valuable minerals phosphorus and calcium through the ecosystem. They are much more vital to our world than are recreational domestic cats.
134
Hey owl lovers. Why don't you complain about the golf course which the article states also kills owls. In addition, it requires lots of water, not exactly an abundant resource in California. And it requires fertilizer, which creates contaminated run of into water systems . Without this golf course you could create more habitat for the owls and other wildlife. Feral cats exist because human owners are lazy, irresponsible, dumb, or just cruel. It is therefore the responsibility of humans o care for them. By the way, I love all animals, domesticated or wild. It is only the human animal that I find to be a pest.
45
Similar problem in Richmond. People are feeding feral cats, who are in turn killing Ridgeway rails, which are rare and endangered. I am astounded that people who believe themselves to be animal welfare enthusiasts are unable to comprehend the consequences of their actions.
79
One of the reasons why there are so many cats around is because a lot of people just simply abandon their pets in parks and public areas when they move. At least Google attempts adoption, neutering along with healthcare and sees that the cats provided with a microchip so they can be tracked. Google and it’s employees can be a part of the solution. Also, we need to realize that with many more people visiting these wildlife areas can cause the decline of resident wildlife.
22
I am both a bird lover and cat lover so I understand the desire of some google employees to help the feral cats survive. However, we have to come to terms with the fact that human actions have consequences, and our protection of an invasive species such as feral cats has consequences on native species such as owls, etc. Cats are not in jeopardy of extinction. Burrowing owls are. Sometimes we have to make difficult, emotionally-painful choices to protect the vulnerable. The feral cats should not be fed - they should be culled. Google, with its vast resources, should apply them to doing real good in the world, and protecting endangered native species on or next to their sprawling, decadent campus, is good. Sometimes “being evil” is an unintended consequence of thoughtless actions. Google should instead “be thoughtfully, consciously GOOD.”
124
Any kind of initiative, unintentional and especially intentional, that attracts predators not native to a habitat where threatened or endangered species are found, should be considered a violation of the national endangered species act (ESA) and any local and state laws/regulations protecting threatened and endangered species.
The cats should be relocated someplace where there is a need to eradicate species that are over-abundant and or invasive, like rats. The feeding stations need to be terminated immediately. Anyone who has knowingly been supporting the cat-rescue initiatives who also was aware of the existence of the burrowing owls should be cited under the ESA etc.
67
Release the feral cats in a large enclosed environment, outdoors - designed so that they can enjoy life, but not threaten owls, etc. Google has the resources to make this happen.
29
I think they (Google) are a dumping ground for abandoned animals...so there will always be a supply of feral cats. Additionally feral cats have more toxoplasmosis Gondi which enters the bay and kills marine life...not a fan of cats
23
People do abandon their cats throughout the Bay Area.
3
I remember, twenty years ago, riding my bike with my parents near Shoreline Park and seeing these little owls standing by their burrows. We used to stop and watch them. I am sad I cannot do this with my own children, who never even saw one burrow owl. I hope something can be done to protect these owls from the cats and allow them to thrive in the park again. I would love to think that perhaps twenty years form now, my own children can ride bikes with their kids and stop to look at the little owls guarding their burrows, and tell them this story.
64
Umm, the really smart people at Google or the city never thought to put bells on the necks of the feral cats before they were released to the wild? Or were capable of realizing that the location of the feeding stations was exacerbating the issue.
Feral cats are killing songbirds all over the United States. This is a problem that is not unique to the Google campus, or California. However in this particular instance it is a critical species endangerment issue.
97
I demand a congressional hearing on this. Once again big tech exploits the innocent and powerless. This is an outrage. As a hardcore bird-lover and social activist I insist on google taking immediate action to bring back long suffering owls to their local habitat.
15
I have had this discussion over and over with my cat rescue friends. Catch, Neuter and release, while sort of logical, is not.
There is as much place in urban habitats for colonies of feral cats as for packs of feral dogs. Would we stand for packs of feral roaming dogs?
Animal rescue funds are so limited.
Personable and companionable cats are euthanized by the thousand every day. Use the money to rescue them!
Not for feral cats that devastate the bird population- which is a fact that feral rescue people deny to the hilt.
Non-native species crowd out those animals that belong there.
I have done cat rescue for years. I believe:
1. Feral cats should be caught and, after testing to pull the abandoned non-feral cats into the adoption system, should be humanely euthanized.
2. Spay/neuter for cats and dogs should be FREE, on demand, to any and all pet owners, regardless of ability to pay. Yes, at government expense. Within 5-7 years the population will be severely reduced.
3. Stop starving funds from animal control organizations, public and private. They are bearing the brunt of the mess brought about by our penny-wise-pound-foolish government balance sheet manipulations (as are our schools and social programs).
Feral and abandoned cats and dogs are a result of human beings’ neglect and ignorance. Prevention is key - provide free spay/neuter.
Removing non-native species is as important for our urban landscapes as it is on any remote island or wilderness area.
156
If the gcat feeding stations are on google property, they can be held accountable for them. Ten crazy cat people working there should not be permitted to cause the extinction of a native species. We could shoot or poison a few million cats a year and there would still be no effect on their population worldwide.
73
Invasive species killing local fauna are usually dealt with by eradication; poison in the case of pike in Lake Davis. Imported feral house cats get different treatment. Because they are cute?
45
An effective trapping, neutering and adoption program should in theory *reduce* the number of cats in an area as the breeding stops and the population is reduced. Since the the article strongly suggests that the Google feral cat population is instead increasing, it is likely that Google's cat lovers are instead only succeeding in simply feeding the cats, which will of course provide the basis for a population explosion.
22
In ecologically sensitive areas such as those bordering the Google campus, even a small number of cats can devastate wildlife populations.
36
The cats are an invasive species and should be treated as such.
67
Oh for heaven’s sake. Does anyone really think the cats wouldn’t survive if the Google employees didn’t feed them? If we are really concerned about biodiversity, perhaps we should look at our own impact first, before resorting to euthanizing another species. Let’s opt for zero population growth, vegetarianism, limiting excessive real estate development (how many golf courses do we need?), etc.
24
I'm a cat lover and a bird lover. So when I say this story grossly underestimates the problem, I'm speaking from the heart for both cats and birds. There are an estimate 30-80 million feral cats but let's be conservative and cut that number in half to 55 million. Now add the 80 million home-raised cats that are allowed to roam outside the house. That's not all home cats ... only the estimated number allowed to roam outside. That's 135 million cats preying on bird species, among other creatures of course. One conservative study estimated the number of birds destroyed each year by free cats at 6 billion! The only species needing protection in this scenario are, of course, the birds that live naturally in the wild. The neglected, feral, or free-to-roam cats are the intruders ... or more accurately, the ignorant humans are the intruders when they permit these otherwise lovely cats to destroy other creatures in their natural habitat.
152
Google, itself an invasive species in the lives of most readers here, is found to be supporting herds of invasive felines.
Cats, especially feral cats, are vicious predators that have been reducing the numbers and varieties of ground and low-nesting birds of all kinds where ever and when ever cats are allowed to run free.
How could the smart boys and girls at Google not know this?
Maybe they should Google something like "feral cats songbirds" -- the first result leads with this:
"A new study shows that cats--especially feral ones--kill far more birds and small mammals than scientists previously thought."
or maybe Google "impact of feral cats on the environment" -- the first results reads:
"Feral Cats Can Destroy the Environment. Cats kill billions of small mammals, reptiles, and birds every year. "
79
Feral cats are an ecological disaster and must be eradicated. Start with capture and spay/neuter, and then move to extermination. Cats have a special place in our society as a companion pet, but the ones let outside by their owners, or the ones that are born outdoors, resort to hunting and killing millions of birds and small mammals. I have bird feeders and bird houses in my backyard to feed and shelter native species of birds, but sometimes have as many cats around my house as I do blue jays and sparrows. One of them belongs to my neighbor who insists that her cat needs “outdoor time.” I’m going to start setting humane traps and making runs to the local shelter, my neighbors cat included.
55
The cats should be trapped, neutered, and released. In time, the problem will go away.
6
Can you cite any studies which say that a random and variable neutering effort will eliminate a population? All the studies I know of says quite the opposite - that to remove a population of non-native animals, you need a consistent effort, which gets harder and harder. And that's in populations where the animals are being killed, not re-released again.
When removing introduced species, all it needs is for a few fertile females to keep escaping the neutering efforts for it to fail and the population persist. And then as soon as population management stops, the population will explode again.
Of course, here, it's even worse because the population is being supported with supplemental feeding, which means starvation is not acting as a natural break on the population. It will keep increasing so long as food is available. If the cat lovers increase the feeding in reply to demand 'oh they must be hungry, they're eating so much, we'll give them more' then more cats will live.
And then the cat lovers will try to deny these voracious predators are having any effect on the natural environment. Like you can introduce a new top level predator, and like Disney, they will live in harmony with their surroundings.
29
They control the overpopulation of deer in my area by selling hunting licenses, which hunters buy by the hundreds of thousands every year, generating millions of dollars for Pennsylvania’s state coffers. A cat hunting season could last all year long, and because they are faster and smaller than deer, would provide real sporting action. Sign me up. I won’t even have to leave my yard.
36
not all animals are meant for this world; burrowing Birds and pandas are suspect.
3
It is so disheartening to read articles like this, where cats are given priority over native wildlife. It is even harder to read the comments section, where even after being educated through the article, people still defend the actions of Google employees. How can people possibly think this is okay? We are knowingly throwing away biodiversity and it is not acceptable.
64
You can’t reason with crazy cat people. My neighbors cat routinely hunts the bird feeders in my yard, and also helps himself to the chipmunks and squirrels that hang out in the woods. She told me her sweet kitten needs “outdoor time” every day, and denied that cats hunt birds and mammals because her sweetie-pie is always fed at home. I’m going to set humane traps and start making runs to the local shelter, and if her cat ends up in my car, then that’s the way it goes. A local cat rescue group I contacted also denied that cats hunt birds and small mammals. I’m thinking of delivering them the torn carcasses and chewed feathers that I find outside a few times a week.
43
Provide the cats with collars that have little bells. That's what we do with ours. They keep trying to sneak up on birds but can no longer do so. It really works.
14
Common misconception, but I like that your heart is in it. It's been demonstrated over and over that cats move to stealthily for the bells to work effectively. And if the bird is a burrowing species trying to feed its young it's a For Whom the Bell Tolls death warrant. Bright colors seem to work more effectively but again not in the case of burrowing birds.
32
Bells? They still stalk and hunt and still catch their prey. I found a dead cat in the woods near my house a few winters ago. It’s bell collar had gotten stuck in a bush and the cat evidently got trapped and froze or starved to death. I’ll trade one dead outdoor/feral cat for the dozens of native birds and mammals it would be killing any day. If one runs in front of my car, let’s just say I won’t take evasive action. They don’t do as much damage as a pothole.
18
Burrowing Owls commonly hunt grasshoppers, crickets, moths, beetles, mice, voles, and shrews. They also prey on dragonflies, giant water bugs, earwigs, caterpillars, scorpions, and earthworms, frogs, toads, snakes, lizards, turtles,and salamanders, bats, ground squirrels, small weasels, young rabbits, songbirds, waterbirds, baby ducks, and even young burrowing owls. They eat their own!!! Stop blaming everything on feral cats, they are just as majestic looking, they just can't fly away. Disneyland loves their feral cats and so do many others.
9
No one is blaming the feral cats. Humans interfering with the ecosystem are to blame. Instead of focusing on feeding feral cats, perhaps all these folks should focus on feeding and tending to all the homeless and less fortunate in the area.
32
Charlie, The article is about owls and feral cats, period. It is not about all the homeless and less fortunate in the area. Comment on a different article that deals with the subject matter that you are interested in addressing.
4
I don't know it seems like a positive suggestion to get those involved to re-direct their philanthropy into something which isn't causing a localised extinction of a vulnerable species.
4
Google can't afford a fence?
5
Fences are hindrances for animal movement. Not just cats.
3
You seem to think a fence could contain a cat. Do you know cats?
6
So who killed the cat in the park? Where is that question on here? There is no real proof that these feral cats are responsible for the decrease in burrowing owls at this park, it's all assumption. Burrowing owls migrate, they fly away to new habitats. They also eat their own young, other birds, and mammals! Too all of you owl lovers Larger owls, hawks, coyotes, foxes, weasels, and badgers all naturally prey on burrowing owls as well. Stop putting the blame all on feral cats, it is getting ridiculous.
10
Please read up on the significance of biodiversity balance to the survival of all species, including cats, before making such biased comments.
15
This would be purely funny if it did not follow a pattern of tech companies doing what they like where they like and getting away with it at someone else's or something else's expense. Google evidently didn't take the time to educate itself about the ecosystem its campus encroaches on or how the cats, the owls and not to mention they themselves, are parts of it.
Smart? The photos of those ridiculous cat-feeding stations surely put that assertion to the test.
29
The true criminals are those who abandon those cats in the first place.
23
The issue here isn't actually the cats. The issue is the humans.
By feeding the cats, they are creating conditions in which there is no ecological restraint on the cat population. Haphazard neutering is pretty ineffective at controlling any population so by the human's actions, they've created a situation in which a non-native species is having its population supported well in excess of that which the area would normally allow and no wonder it's having a bit effect on the local, native wildlife.
but all this is justified because you cannot possibly kill a cat! It's somehow more acceptable to capture and drug a wild animal, operate on it, hold it in captivity, put an animal through all those stresses to release it into the wild to allow it to continue to have a large negative impact on local wildlife. Euthanising it cleanly upon capture would be the more humane thing to do, yet cat people consider it acceptable to put an animal through all those stresses because they like/own domesticated cats which are used to humans.
32
Back in elementary school in the 90’s I remember cats being detested, a sentiment made clear when I encountered a grown man drowning kittens (he was taken into custody).
I never saw the cat craze coming (even if I’ve had a cat before). However seeing a company with the “do no evil” mantra seems rather quick to abdicate responsibility. Even if the domesticated cat had no impact on the destruction of biodiversity, what will happen to the cats when [email protected] moves?
This is the opposite of their implicit environmentally friendly policy. I think I understand why chemical companies DuPont would be willing to risk people’s health (money/unempathwtic/strategic ignorance)… but when we have the cat issue, why no relocate the domesticated animal?
Maybe I just fel owls are super cool.
-Mike
5
I'm a cat lover and I grew up with cats, so I'm familiar with their behavior - unlike those Google employees, apparently.
Yes, even well-fed pet cats DO hunt, kill and often eat their prey! They never lose their hunting instincts.
When kept indoors where a cat's prey is limited to mice and other vermin, a cat is performing a useful purpose while exercising its instincts.
Outdoors, it's another story. One of our family cats was adept at catching birds from our apartment terrace by leaping at them from atop the terrace railing - she was quite the acrobat.
It was awful finding the "evidence" - often nothing but a few bloody feathers. After awhile, though, birds steered clear of our terrace, even though they were plentiful on neighbors' terraces and nearby trees.
As far as we can tell, our cat only killed a few birds - but then again, we never let her out except to the terrace for short periods. (Now I'd have the terrace screened in.)
In the building complex where I live now, we used to have a colony of feral cats that lived in the basements and alleys. While the colony was there, we had no problems with rodents. But ever since renovations were done and the feral cats gone, we've had mice. Lately, though, there are more pet cats in my building - and happily, far fewer mice.
My point is, cats DO serve a good purpose - when indoors. No reason to let them outside to wreak havoc!
40
I echo the majority of comments. What really caught my attention is a quote by a professor of "architecture, spatial sciences and biological sciences." Interdisciplinarity at its best!
6
I wholeheartedly love cats, and wholeheartedly love burrowing owls, the latter of which I've had the good fortune to see in the wild many times. I look after a feral cat, and my personal cats are strictly indoors. with those facts in mind, these arguments need to be settled in the favor of the indigenous creature, always. care for the cats, but save the owls and protect their habitat
33
It is not appropriate to use the habitat of native animals to raise cats! Burrowing owls are one of the highlights for me of visiting the Bay Area and they seem to be very tolerant of human activities. They deserve to be protected from cats and dogs, and people deserve to enjoy viewing them in their habitat. I love cats-- I have four of them and they all stay indoors. Dealing with unwanted cats is an issue that needs to be resolved without allowing them free run in critical burrowing owl habitat.
54
I promise you these cats will be gone from Shoreline by the end of this week, June 1....wait and see.
Thank you NYT for printing this article.
27
Well Dolly, let's not just stop there then! Larger owls, hawks, coyotes, foxes, weasels, and badgers all naturally prey on burrowing owls as well. Burrowing owls also eat their own young, so why don't you capture their babies and raise them in captivity, their own sanctuary. Another option start cloning the owls! Hey why not...right?!
2
Amy: Everyone knows about the nature of prey animals and preyed-upon animals. You state the obvious.
The point lies in the fact that cats are non-native and are contributing to the downfall of an important native animal species.
...and that removing cats, which do not belong in such an environment, would reduce the threat to the burrowing owls.
10
"Larger owls, hawks, coyotes, foxes, weasels, and badgers all naturally prey on burrowing owls as well"... The most important word in your comment is "naturally." Those animals predate upon each other as part of a balanced ecosystem, into which feral cats do not fit.
4
Feral cats are an invasive species and should be dealt with as such.
45
My words exactly!
15
If indeed some human behavior towards cats verges on the bizarre, the answer may in part be biological. Look up toxoplasmosis, and the known and suspected impact it can have on human health.
12
I grew up educated as a sportsman, cats killed baby pheasants and baby rabbits, as well as baby quail. Not their fault, part of their DNA. Now I Observe in my typical tree lined neighbourhood,when neighbors let their cats out they kill birds, and leave their kill for display.
24
I've watched Black birds kill other baby birds, small birds, and baby bunnies. Let's not blame everything on feral cats. Burrowing owls are also predatory they kill small mammals, and birds. Whose to say they don't eat their own babies?
4
Where I live, and in much of the south, DOGS are a much bigger problem. They kill birds, they kill cats, they kill small livestock like chickens. I'm so sick of hearing about people who get all teary-eyed over wild animals while being irresponsible with their own pets.
Those of you who live in the northeast and on the west coast, quit demonizing cats. There's a whole lot more to the story; educate yourself. Oh, and while you're at it, train your dog not to jump on strangers and keep him off my property.
My cats stay indoors.
9
Dogs are indeed a huge problem at Shoreline, but dogs are banned and from the park. Don't just assume the management is ignoring the dog problem, because many dogs love to dig into burrows, instinctively. Dogs are already banned from entering the park. Again, that is a bit of a Google problem, in that Google has employees coming to work with their dogs, and there is a dog park provided, but naturally, everyone loves to run their dog off leash in the park and the city has to spend money (which they do) to enforce the no dogs code. I myself inform one or two people, every time I'm there, no dogs. They mostly apologize and exit by the shortest route. Mostly really nice people here and don't always read the signs or know the rules.
24
I see cats at Shoreline often. I feel for the baby bunnies. Quail are all gone now.
2
These owls eat bunnies too.
There are “ferals to work” organizations that can relocate a colony to an area with rodents.
14
Unfortunately relocating cats to wildlife areas with rodents is not a good idea, since many species such as Burrowing Owls actually could benefit from a better prey base and actually suffer from both the loss of the prey base and themselves can be killed by the cats. They are only 9 inches tall and very vulnerable to feral cat predation. I also oppose moving cats to barns and agricultural areas, due to public health issues related to the cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii, transmitted in cat feces, entering the livestock and human water and food supplies.
16
Birds (and animals) of all kinds are being devastated by human activity by the billions. Cats, while responsible for some predation (especially on ground nesting birds) are not killing the numbers of birds quoted here and in studies cited by bird lovers. Most of these studies have been debunked as too small, and scientifically flawed. Many billions of birds, however, ARE being killed every year by pollution, pesticides, climate change, crashing into structures, hunting, and loss of habitat as well as by other natural predators (including other birds.) The constant articles scapegoating just cats instead of dealing with the bigger issues do nothing but cover up the real problem - people.
19
Cats are a non-native species, and the effects of non-native species are very well documented on native species. In a very localised situation like that described, then absolutely it will be the cats which are the primary issue here. There are likely others as well - perhaps loss of habitat which means owls have fewer options to avoid cats.
But in this situation, although cats are neutered, because they are also being fed their mortality rate will be affected and the carrying capacity for the area will be greatly increased. And of course haphazard neutering is not all that effective at population control. So the cat population is probably increasing greatly, bolstered by feeding so the cats are mostly protected from other constraints on the population, the local wildlife in the vicinity of this site is being annihilated.
14
Can you provide the references of the studies that debunk the birds-killed findings? No unsupported claims, please.
11
The story points to an underlying, jurisdictional situation. The animal control agency re-releases feral cats (after repeated trapping in the park) to the Google group that it knows will return them to the vicinity of the park. The City has responsibility for the habitat quality of the park's owl reserves. At the same time, the City that must contract the services of that agency and could be setting parameters for the animal control actions. If, let's suppose, Google ends the employee program and that program was replaced by an independent cat group working the same area, would the animal agency and City continue to facilitate release near the park? Clearly, the solution requires changes to City and agency animal control standards for feral animals.
14
Silicon Animal Valley Control releases feral cats to cat rescue groups. So far as I know, they do not supervise at any time the release of those cats. They, so far as I know, SVACA has no way to know where the cats are released. Once the cats are microchipped, and re-trapped, then SVACA contacts the registered agent, but again, so far as I know, SVACA has no method to verify where any feral cat is released. The policy of Gcats and other feral cat so-called rescue groups, is to release cats back to where captured. It is a revolving door, with dedicated feral cat lovers willing to "pull" cats from shelters, register them to themselves as owners, or establish themselves as a so-called cat rescue group, and release them again to wildlife areas.
5
Municipal and county shelters rerelease feral cats because of the misguided public pressure to be “no kill”.
Just as they liberally use the categorizations ‘behavioral issues’ and ‘noncurable medical issue’ when euthanizing.
It is squeezing the water balloon and shifting the water to another location.
5
I have both watched and listened to the results of feral cats in my neighborhood here in Central Phoenix. I have watched the 4-5 cats that live at a church across the street from me sitting, waiting for a bird to land on the fence, then feathers flying, another dove killed. These cats were all fixed and notched by my next door neighbors. People from the church leave both cat food and water for them. Empty water bottles and empty bags of cat food liter the church where the cats hang out.
They drink out of my swimming pool so no water needed other than to attract mosquitoes. They have killed almost all the birds that used to frequent the bird bath in my back yard. Now outside it more the sound of silence than a city full of birds. The birds that remain are fierce fighters like the cactus wren and mocking birds that dive bomb cats heading for their nests.
The quail are also now all gone. In years past we enjoyed watching mama quail and her 8-10 babies running around on the ground. All gone, killed by feral cats. I could go on. They kill almost anything that moves and I hate what they are doing to all the other animals not at the top of the food chain.
What makes matters worse is shelters will not euthanize a feral cat even if you pay for it. The crazy cat people are running the cathouse otherwise I would have already trapped and humanly dealt with our cat problem through euthanasia.
50
We had a similar problem in our Scottsdale neighborhood adjacent to the green belt about 6 years ago before the coyotes arrived and substantially decreased the feral cat population. They also eat the food that unthinking do-gooders leave out for the cats. Win-win.
27
We humans are often good willed and just as often short sighted. Here we have a situation not rooted in greed, such as one might see when a developer wants to build skyscraper on a marsh or an coal magnate wants to blow up mountains to cut labor cost in coal extraction. Here we have good folks who love cats - their focus is there. And certainly catch and neuter is a good idea.
Perhaps the 10 or so people who are doing this work in behalf of stray cats could align themselves with the good people who are protecting the owls. Together they could come up with a plan that might include petitioning Google to create a large indoor space for their feral cats. That would eliminate the release in the CNR equation and still preserve the evolutionary alliance humans have with cats. It would also protect those creatures who often fall to the margins of our awareness.
10
Feral cats, as well as household pet cats kill hundreds of millions of songbirds every year. Pet cats should never be allowed outside unless they are prevented from killing wild birds and other indigenous species.
Domestic cats, feral or not, are simply a human environmental error like carbon fuels and DDT. They should be treated as such.
24
"Animal lovers" are often very picky about which animals they love, and which they are prepared to watch die and go extinct. It's arrogance and narcissism at its most blatant.
31
Speaking of unintended consequences, it reminds me of a friend that loved to feed birds in his garden...while the neighboring cats were licking their lips at the prospect of a meal. And meal they got, make no mistake about it. How about setting up feeding posts and a housing next to it so you can comfortably shoot any unsuspecting 'guest' animal in a lethal trap? Cowardice you say? It sure sounds like it. It's like making sure guns are freely available, courtesy of the G.O.P. and the N.R.A.'s complicity, so any deranged or vengeful mind may start shooting? In which case we are talking beyond owls. Unintended consequences have a cost, steep sometimes; Google or not, that's not the question.
2
Google, I know your company and its people are basically kind-hearted and mean well. But read the article, please. Even well-fed cats can’t seem to resist going out to Shoreline and hunting the vulnerable owls. Your excellent work of adopting out the kittens and some cats, while neutering others, is admirable, but unfortunately, some cats are still able to excape capture and breed. When owls are destroyed, a very important predator disappears. Biodiversity is vital, and humans dismiss such a concept at their peril.
23
GCat needs to stop this. Yesterday. Get rid of the feeding stations and relocate the cats, far away. Burrowing owls deserve protection, and it's not up to a few soft-hearted and soft-headed Google employees to eradicate them.
90
What I find really bewildering is that cat lovers would think that with feeding and spaying, you can make a cat not behave as a cat. Loving cats, they should know better.
I love cats. One of the main reasons I prefer them to dogs is that you cannot make them be or do anything unnatural to them.
They are felines. They hunt, they fight. They are predators. Keep them in-doors, or release them in areas where they are not the highest predator on the food chain. Don't leave them free to roam in protected areas full of birds.
66
No. Don’t release them. Ever.
26
The owls are disappearing because of us humans who've developed their land and frankly, messed up the environment. We are by far the #1 reason why owl populations are declining. Cats are far down the ladder in terms of impact. Don't blame the cats or Google employees. Do something yourself to curb your own impact. Yeah, tough isn't it?
11
Actually, feral cats are a major issue. Several tens of millions of cats can kill a lot of animals. Nice summary of published study from Smithsonian Institute scientists here, https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/science/that-cuddly-kitty-of-yours-is... , indicating that feral cats kill around 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion small mammals each year in the U.S. That is not "far down the ladder in terms of impact".
29
Not so tough.
Don't have outdoor cats.
Think of it this way. If you saw a human killing any bird, reptile or rodent it could, on whim, as cats do, how would you react?
19
Not difficult at all really. Start small and add or subtract behaviors periodically. Next up for me: encouraging people to think of bird populations before they support feral cat survival.
10
Maintaining feral cat colonies as well as trap and release should both be illegal. Street cats have a rough, short life.
21
Left unfixed, street cats will produce prodigious litters of new street cats who will scrounge even harder for even fewer resources. Trap-neuter-return (and subsequently maintaining the existing colony in its location) is one of the most effective methods of reducing cat populations and deterring new cats from coming into the community, making it the method of choice for hundreds of cities around the world.
Ever-growing populations of street cats is a global problem. For now, there is no perfect solution, but TNR is a step in the right direction.
8
Sounds good, Mrs. Calabash but the stats don't support it.
What better solution is on the horizon? Nothing we tried till now has really worked. I love cats enough not to want to see ever-growing populations who will endure miserable lives. But previous approaches of rounding up and euthanizing cats did not work, either. As soon as the streets were emptied, new cats took over, and populations can multiply exponentially within months. That's why so many municipalities turned to TNR. At least it attempts to get them spayed/neutered, then work with the cats' instincts to keep outsider cats out of their territory. But it's also not the best response. I'm not sure what the answer is.
Cats are a non native, invasive species responsible for multiple millions of bird killings each year.
Their existence is causing very real devastation to a host of of endangered and rare birds.
Cat lovers are, perhaps unwittingly, permitting and enabling enormous numbers of deaths.
When cats breed, their cute offspring get helped along by caring humans who need to re-think their role in creating an explosion and overpopulation of cats.
47
As a cat owner and lover, I feel this stituation is deplorable. Can't Google get anything right?
25
Cat people are simply beyond reason. Their sentimental attachment to a fluffy fantasy blinds them to reality, which is that cats are an invasive species that kills for sport as well as for food and that reproduces like mammalian kudzu. You can't argue with cat people. You can show them videos of well fed domestic cats killing birds, and they won't believe them. Either the majority of us override these enablers of environmental devastation, or we can say goodby to burrowing owls and a host of other species.
I wish feral cats could be adopted into loving homes, but they are wild animals that cannot be domesticated. Feral cats need to be trapped and killed.
120
These owls eat their own young too! Do you know what else eats burrowing owls?Larger owls, hawks, coyotes, foxes, weasels, and badgers all naturally prey on burrowing owls as well. Do you also know that burrowing owls do not build their own nests? They use other animals nests and are sometimes killed by those animals for stealing their nests. Maybe a solution is for you to go dig a bunch of nests for these lazy predatory owls to stick around, instead of flying off elsewhere.
4
Amy, I think you just proved his leading point.
8
House cats are a foreign invasive species that causes enormous damage to song bird populations. Audubon studies estimate that loose and feral cats kill billions of birds annually in North America. Anyone who truly cares about animals or the environment should support common sense solutions to this problem. We don't let dogs run loose and we shouldn't allow cats to, either.
56
Very good point. I wonder how this would be perceived by feral cat lovers if we were discussing feral dogs ever increasing in population and destroying endangered or threatened species.
3
These 11 Google employees are acting selfishly.
62
Stray and feral cats will go where there is a food source - the owls. If the people neutering and feeding the cats stop doing this and the cats are taken away, new cats will come in to fill the void left by this territorial colony. By neutering the existing colony they will die out by attrition eventually. The sad fact is that the only people who care enough to trap and neuter these cats are the ones who feed them. If they were not neutered they would multiply at exponential rates that would be a much bigger problem for the owls. The real problem here are the people who don't neuter/spay their animals and let them run loose. The cats are victims of human neglect and so are the owls by extension.
10
In the Google campus area, due to the abundance of cat food, the cats are not behaving in a territorial manner. They allow other cats in to the cat food stations and even pet cats with registered owners show up for the food and stay. The Google cats are not excluding other cats. In 2017, 3 of the cats trapped by the park service were owned pets. I've seen several cats not part of the group move in, no problem, and start eating at the stations and hunting on Crittenden Hill and Vista Slope. I've also seen at least 2 cats I recognized by their markings move from one feeding station area to another part of the park and start feeding at the station there.
16
If I may be so mundane to ask, and before the inimitable knee-jerk reaction of piling up the crass anti-feline comments get any worse, I'd actually like to have a few more facts, including perhaps actual empirical data from not only GCats personnel, but from Google themselves about this Google financed Silicon Valley 'Park'. Because right now, all this article is doing is creating an awful lot of unnecessary ranting and raving, and these abandoned cats/cat people are the punching bags. Not nice Google.
The question I have is: what environmental/wildlife agency, if any, is tracking and or perhaps tagging the owls
so that the public can have access to their numbers relative to their coexistence with these feral felines. After all, burrowing owls belong to the public, they do not exclusively belong to private corp Google no matter how much Google insists they do despite the 'park' being 'private property'.
Inquiring minds want/need to know.
Also, please look up burrowing owls. They are not endangered according to current guidelines.
9
RLC, if you read the article, you will see your questions answered. Also, burrowing owls might not be listed as “endangered” on a federal level, but their numbers here in Silicon Valley have declined sharply in the last 10-20 years. The article states that there are fewer then 50 left in Silicon Valley, and no owl chicks sited in the SHoreline area this year. THat’s down from many hundreds in recent years. I was one of the volunteers who did burrowing owl population census work about 15 years ago. If 50 owls with no chicks isn’t “endangered” enough for you, do you want us to stop worrying until we get down to 2?
25
They seem to be quite endangered in this particular park though. That's bad enough.
15
There are certainly examples of Google doing bad and questionable things and good on the Times for bring those into the light. This is not one of them, yet the story mentions Google 40 times.
This is a story about a few people ("less than 10") who care about cats and are connected because they work at the same company. Google does not pay for the cat feeders, the microchipping, or the traps. They do no not endorse or encourage the people that doing this. They do not own the park land.
The story is just as relevant without Google, and I would applaud the Times for covering it as a group of people trying to do the right thing, but in a complicated ecosystem with unintended consequences. Instead, the Times chose to go with a click-bait headline and an angle designed to maximize "engagement" and social media sharing, the new metrics for impactful journalism.
9
I agree that the story is relevant without Google. The story also says that the employee feeding program was first reported to Google in 2012. Thus the impact on owls by this one group of employees is sustained over years and evidently is associated with Google's local operations. Thus there is a cumulative impact and role for Google to, hopefully, reconsider.
14
Google is highly relevant to the story. The people are Google employees in a sanctioned club with an official google.com email address. The feeding stations are on Google property, which is where the cats are released. The disappearance of the cannot be explained without mentioning the role of the company.
23
This is a no brainer. The owls were there long before the cats, and the owls are endangered, which is hardly the case with the cats.
The cats are an invasive species and should be humanely removed, every one of them.
Aren't the owls already protected by the endangered species act?
Google should do the right thing and at a minimum remove the feeding stations, but they should really do much more, remove all of the cats humanely. A few misguided Google employees should not control the fate of the endangered owls.
38
Count me as an owl lover, big time! If ever there is a species that demands little of mankind, but contributes hugely to our planet's bell-being, it is the owl. And if ever there was a species which does little to benefit us, it's cats. For Silicon Valley to be assisting the felines over owls is shameful and counter-productive to our welfare, and its biases should be redressed pronto.
27
Well Burrowing owls eat small mammals such as moles and mice. They are also known to eat birds, amphibians and reptiles!
Feral cats are not very different from indoor cats. Cats can survive in the wild, they never lose their God given instincts to hunt. Some feral cats are very friendly, but are rightfully scared of unknown people. A feral cat is born to a stray/abandoned cat and doesn't have human contact, if a human is feeding the cats then they are already get that human contact and developing into not being feral. I have pet and brought into my home a feral cat and it took a period of time and he is the best behaved loving cat. He acts like a loyal dog and follows me around. These are neglected cats that we as people/owners have failed and now a biased cat hating writer writes a persuasive article to label these beautiful cats a problem. Isn't every animal a problem for some animal? Just stop already. This is how God made them and they are beautiful. Hey you do know Disneyland has Feral cats hundreds on land they keep the mice population under contro. They feed them and they roam free on the premises. So why don't you go attack Disneyland next? Maybe we should praise Google for being kind to this domesticated breed that ended up neglected and trying to survive back in the wild. Thank you Google for you kindness towards animals!!
5
You really should consume some of the statistics on what our exploding population of feral cats is doing to actual native wildlife. They are, quite literally, killing machines and they are incredibly efficient. If well fed, they kill on instinct not for hunger. Litter sizes can be large (6 or 8) and relatively frequent. They devastate bird populations, especially ground nesting ones. The animals haven't had the chance to adapt to this many predators in one place or this kind of predator. Google employees are literally sponsoring slaughter out of kindness (and ignorance). This article from Smithsonian is chilling: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/feral-cats-kill-billions-o...
Oh, and yes, I'm a cat owner/servant. Mine do not go outside - ever. The occasional headless corpse shows they also keep the mouse population down as they exercise their instincts for good.
16
I have read the statistics. TNR trap neuter and return, or adopt out. If you are so concerned with these owls build them a sanctuary and breed them.
The owls are an example of ONE species put at risk by feral cats - just one. Given that harsh reality, which of the hundreds of species that being killed by a feral animal introduced on this continent by Europeans should we breed and create sanctuaries for? How many and where? Then, what do we do when the feral cats show up? Move the sanctuary? Feral cats exist for one reason - irresponsible humans. It's not their fault, but they are profoundly dangerous to fragile populations that do not have time or space to adapt to them. Leaving them "as is", even with trap, neuter, spay programs is a losing battle - humans keep dumping unfixed cats and they keep breeding. The damage they do moves them from something to protect to something that needs to be dealt with. There's no nice way to fix what we humans broke.
3
The drive for Progress has been replaced with an addiction to innovation.
Edward Abbey said it best when he described our economic system by writing, "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell."
Now let's get back to our Chinese-made I Phones, everyone, so we can read what Russia-backed Facebook wants us to believe. And I'm sure Google will want to help them.
5
I love cats, but I also and equally love owls.
Google's got to get a grip on their people and their philosophy on dealing w/feral cats.
Because the cats will always be there.
The Burrowing Owl may not -- they are too precious to lose!
26
Owls serve a purpose , cats do not . What would google have abound ? Rodents , or birds . Not the cats fault , they hunt just as the owls do . Google , your employees need to adopt the cats into their homes if they're so concerned with their well being , or set up an adoption service for these cats , you have the money .
20
What purpose do these owls serve that you speak of? Cats don't serve a purpose? Okay biased to your preference of animal and they are not on the endangered list.
3
Amy, people protecting native wildlife are not "biased" as to species. It's the feral cat supporters that seem to be biased. Cats can live anywhere, including indoors -- and there is a major overpopulation in this country. Burrowing owls are dwindling and they cannot live just anywhere. Because I love my cats, and I want to protect wildlife, I keep my cats indoors.
17
Hools the natural life span of burrowing owls is 6 -8 years! So building an owl sanctuary and breeding them is probably the best bet on multiplying them. You can not stop owls from flying away from the park, like they do. That's what birds do they fly away. Cloning the owls is not a bad idea.
if this article moved you to support birds & native habitat, i urge you to write to the audubon society, google & the national wildlife refuge and ask for a solution.
speaking up is the first act in finding a solution
13
Google "can't stop"?? that's absurd.
what in the world?
Scott Pruitt needs to fine the company then they'd stop them !
Our neighborhood had this proem and one man trapped the cats and took them to the pound , that is just as bad ,it only started with one bad human not spading their animals.
We have one world , and.once these animals die off,become extinct, there is no coming back .
we must create a constitutional amnendment to protect the enviroment.
I believe we could get enough states to do this if federal Government won't.
4
I am sorry this is happening but am not surprised. Some people who love cats are obnoxious about them.
I've been hanging out in Portola Valley which is on the other side of Stanford, near the mountains rather than the ocean.
Last week I saw a golden eagle there for the first time in my life. I've seen many hummingbird and woodpeckers , several cranes, plus an array of all kinds of birds. In addition, I probably see at least 10 deer a week. The area and its surroundings (including Stanford) have had problems w mountain lions for many years.
It's hard to believe all this wildlife exists in Silicon Valley, but it does, and thank goodness, there is v little industry to keep the animals away.
9
Burrowing owl populations in the Silicon Valley have plummeted in the last few decades due to aggressive development that has consumed grassland habitat, combined with other human-related threats and the introduction of feral cats into areas where these charismatic birds once thrived. They will soon be completely extirpated from the landscape if nothing is done to save them. Google - you have the tools, technology, money and people to address this. I urge the company to be part of the solution, not the problem.
74
I love cats, but they don't belong in an area devoted to protected birds. Even well-fed cats, even domesticated ones, will hunt birds, rabbits and mice. This is an inbred behavior.
I support trap, neuter/spay and release, but not in the Google location. I suggest the GCat group remove their cats to another environment where the owls will not be threatened. However, it may well take intervention by the government of California to achieve this.
52
Barbara it's not inbred behavior. It's called how God created them, it is their instinct to hunt, just like the Burrowing owls instinct to hunt anything it can. Oh and by the way the owls do eat small mammals like bunnies and kittens. So if you want the birds to stick around, then go dig them so burrows, cause they wont dig their own. They steal other animals burrows or fly off to find a better habitat.
2
No one at the Federal level is going to get involved with this issue while Trump is in office, so suggest the state of California step in and force Google to fix the problem.
23
Has anyone from the NY Times or others tried talking to Google about this issue? I bet most people there are unaware of the problem. Also Google is not the only company in that area. It's also possible that there are people in the masses who live or work near Google that may be letting cats go in the are.
4
Er, the article clearly stated that the NYT contacted Google, which said there was nothing they could do to interfere in this employee activity. An attempt to contact the employee group via e-mail was also not returned. Your point seems to be “ ... if only the Times had tried some common sense instead of making such a big deal of this issue.” Careful review of multiple sources over the past several years indicates hunting by feral and even pet cats may be having a detrimental impact on already declining bird populations. Thus, I think it is fair for the article’s author to ask if it makes sense for a group of Google employees to provide care and feeding of one set of animals in a manner that appears to be having a significant negative impact on a much more threatened native species that live nearby on public lands. Put simply, why in this case are cats “more equal” than others?
23
Google is aware of the problem and the Google cat feeders are no longer supporting the feeding of the cats. The problem is the cat lovers from the community have taken over feeding the cats. I know this for a fact because my neighbor is feeding the cats. In fact she feeds all of the cats around her house. This is a health hazard and because she lives on a busy street, she is putting the cats at risk. My cat will no longer come home to feed because she is feeding him and a half dozen other cats.
7
Google, The cats gotta go! Trap, neuter/spay and release is bad for the environment. Cats don't fit in w/nature here.
The burrowing owls have a narrow habitat and no place else to go...they don't hang out in parking lots scavenging for human food.
If the cat lovers want to help, they should recognize that the life of feral cats is not a good one, as evidenced by their shorter lives. Adopt them and keep them inside!
33
Subsidized predators... The fault is not with "gCat or google employees", the problem is Google/Alphabet, which is legally and morally responsible for all of its employees behavior in and around the workplace. It may not be unlawful to feed feral predators proximate to an at risk species, but doing so is is obviously unethical. And here I thought Google wasn't going to turn out to be evil. LOL.
25
Perhaps Google employees admire and identify with feral cats because the cats are ultimate libertarians.
2
And we know how good that is for the common good.
3
So much for Do No Harm.
19
I love both cats and birds but more cat lovers need to accept that cats are a huge danger to native birds and other wildlife when they're allowed to roam free. There's a lot of denial in the rescue community about the damage free roaming cats can do. As an earlier commenter pointed out, they're not going to start following rules made by humans.
27
Gcats need to take their cats home and dismantle the feeding/sleeping stations.Would they like it if neutered lions were released and fed in their neighborhoods? Are the owls threatened? If so, promoting non-native predators should be punishable. I love cats, but I also love the owls. Take the cats home and get rid of the feeding stations.
37
Thank you NY Times for such great coverage. Hope Google gets the message before too late.
I routinely see pet cats crossing street near me to hunt the middle of an over 1,000 acre restored grassland in NJ, an isolated stronghold for state listed rare species including ground breeding birds and roosting owls. Neighboring HOA regs require cats indoors, but wont even attempt to enforce their own regs. Some HOA members ran feral cat feeding station near park entrance.
Too many cat owners are in denial about scope and severity of the problem—yes, people are part of the problem because they introduce cats without keeping them indoors. Owners do not have the right to inflict their predatory pets onto others' property. Perhaps its time for municipalities to pass and enforce cat leash laws, after all we have them for dogs?
33
Introduce coyotes, the coyotes will control the cat population and the owls know how to stay away from the coyotes.
63
While coyotes are more capable of nabbing cats, they are opportunistic hunters. Burrowing Owls are vulnerable to the predations of Coyotes as well.
9
When I moved into my portion of the Virginia woods nearly thirty years ago I could observe relatively rare birds like indigo buntings as well as bats.
Then cat-owning neighbors moved in and buntings and bats disappeared.
Pet cats can survive indoors 24/7 (as in thousands of NYC apartments) but many selfish owners think these indiscriminate killers should run free.
131
A disturbing story -- where a group is helping animals but this is having a negative impact on other animals (and maybe the animal part of the ecosystem too?) -- but one that surely must have some sort of solution?
There are a lot of smart people and Google, and there are a lot of smart scientists and animal experts too. Get them all together and make a good faith effort to find a solution -- soon!
--Cat and Bird Lover
15
The biggest threat to wildlife by far is people, due to development of land, pollution, etc. Yet there is only one sentence in this article about how human actions are harming the owls.
18
In this case the human action is feeding the cats and encouraging them to frequent the area. The cats are only doing what comes naturally to them.
11
Cats are a foreign invasive species that destroy native species. Feral cats that are captured, vaccinated and released may never be revaccinated and can then become a disease transmitter. They will remain predators on native species in any case. As a cat owner, I have learned that my cats should be kept indoors or apart from the wild with enclosed outdoor areas and they seem very happy doing so living long, pampered lives indoors. With all the money Google and its employees have, they could create enclosed habitats for the feral cats and protect native animals and habitats at the same time. Think...feral cat zoo.
45
Locate cat sanctuaries that will help. Trap the ferals and relocate them. I know that can't be 100% effective, but it would greatly decrease the problem.
I am an avid cat lover, but I also love birds - owls especially. It is possible that there is a way to keep both species alive.
21
In the Everglades there is a bounty on pythons that threaten endangered species, do the same here. These cats are unwanted pests that must be eliminated. Let the cat people howl. They can buy a cat for themselves and have it spayed or neutered before bringing it home.
85
Often, folks suggest spaying or neutering, meaning to be helpful and, theoretically, address the problem.
However, neither of those 'remedies' will prevent a cat from hunting. Cats will hunt just for the innate fun of it, typically leaving the carcass...or bringing it home as a prize.
6
So heartbroken to read this article. Here in Broward County we are experiencing what seems to be a proliferation of burrowing owls. Truly magnificent creatures and I hope we find a way to live alongside them for the future.
15
1. The 10 GCat members need to realize what's obvious to everyone else: Feral cats are not endangered. Owls are.
2. The City should step in. Agree to common sense rules for property owners abutting protected, sensitive, biodiversity areas.
3. Another point to consider - even GCat'ers can agree: Cats don't follow rules or read your signs.
154
Call in a mediator, as both groups believe they are doing the right thing yet the outcome is harmful.
6
I love cats. I have 2 but they are indoor cats. I also enjoy the birds, squirrels and chipmunks at my feeders. Cats are an invasive species that we brought here. And they should be treated as such.
I had a great or grand uncle( which ever you prefer) that almost destroyed Laysan Island by importing rabbits(which I also like having had them as pets). The point is that like weeds something in its proper place is great but when taken from there usually by man (please seehoneysuckle or crownvetch) problems occur.
26
We used to see burrowing owls at Shoreline until about 15 years ago - and now we cannot see them anymore. This is so sad. Hopefully Google will help the owls at Shoreline recover, instead of contributing to their demise.
70
If the GCat people won't do the responsible thing and euthanize unadoptable feral cats, release a few coyotes. There are always plaintive "stolen cat" flyers up in my coyote-inhabited neighborhood.
22
Coyotes will eat the owls too. Duh!
2
Spayed and neutered cats will still hunt, but they will not reproduce, and will eventually die. TNR is the best method of control but will not eliminate cats completely, nor will extermination since there is no way they can all be caught. They are smart and savvy, some virtually untrappable. The best protection for the owls would be to build a moat around their sanctuary. Cats will not swim across it, and owls can of course fly over it.
7
When I lived in the Bronx, we had a “cat colony next to our building in a public park. The person who tended to this illegal cat sanctuary extended the groups efforts onto the land of our building and our neighbors. When we removed the cat homes and feeding stations she erected, this cat colony organizer threatened us and yelled in our lobby.
I would walk by as she and her helpers would dump 10 pound bags of food over the park fence. I quickly noticed at least 20 raccoons around the pile of food. Around this time, I witnessed a raccoon sliding the screen door from my balcony and it helped itself to my cats food. I then learned that the raccoons were climbing trees and going into other apartments in our building and creating a myriad of problems including destruction of property. When the building began trapping the raccoons so they could be released elsewhere, the cat lady attached the man collecting the raccoons.
The problem with these cat sanctuaries is that they are on public and private land that is not intended for use as a cat sanctuary. This cat commando approach causes all sorts of consequences that are perhaps unintentional but often glossed over by the people who create and maintain these illegal cat sanctuaries. People would often drop off unwanted animals because they knew they would be feed. Many gave birth before being neutered and the numbers always seemed to grow.
Cat colonies are not the answer unless they are on private land.
11
I imagine that there was a pretty serious rat problem as well if she was dumping cat food over the fence. I love cats but some self appointed cat advocates can be highly irrational.
6
This is not an unusual problem. This happens wherever cats are allowed to roam freely. They are an invasive species and should be treated as such. If they were rats or feral pigs they would have been dealt with already.
41
Google can take my data but it can’t stop its employees from feeding cats? Google is killing owls. Thanks Google.
160
Yikes! Fix it Google.
12
Feral cats are an environmental disaster. They need to be trapped and euthanized.
41
I am so sad to see the current trend - that seems to be fueled mainly by Audubon - to attack feral cats and those who care for them. I found it interesting that there was a brief mention in this article that there are many other threats to the owls, including a golf course - a threat created by humans and perpetuated by humans, purely for human enjoyment. In fact the majority of problems and threats to all wildlife have been created by humans. As we continue to decimate habitat, we eradicate species. As I saw in another article, birds flying into windows are killed all the time - is there a move to require humans to treat the windows in a way to prevent this? Many birds prey on other birds – should we kill those birds? How about the other predators? Kill them?
Feral cats are here because of humans. Humans created this problem, and for the past 100 years the only solution has been to kill them. Stopping people from feeding them won't prevent them from hunting, it will only ensure they hunt more. Audubon needs to stop focusing on the fact that there are problems and come up with humane and realistic solutions. Most TNR advocates love birds as well as cats, please - find a way to work together to help them all.
18
Audubon's mission is to protect birds. Feral cats are, unarguably, a direct threat to birds, and not a trivial one. There's no gray area here; feral cats and birds are diametrically opposed. There is no way to "help" feral cats without adversely affecting birds.
TNR is a disastrously misguided effort. Its advocates continue to believe in it despite evidence. As someone else said to me once, "Cats are the sacred cows of America."
100
To answer your questions:
>is there a move to require humans to treat the windows in a way to prevent this?
Yes, there is.
>Many birds prey on other birds – should we kill those birds? How about the other predators? Kill them?
The other predators are natural predators native to North America which birds have evolved strategies for. There is no native ground predator that hunts the way cats do and has anywhere near the same population density. As I said above, the "natural" solution is to reintroduce coyotes.
19
You didn't read this article carefully. Many Audubon and bird lovers, environmentalist, and city employees have tried to reach out to Google and its 11 Feralist to no avail.
It's obvious that these 11 Google employees don't care about the owls in the least. Quite frankly, I find these 11 to be very selfish.
22
I’m disappointed in Google but I can’t say I’m surprised that tech and its employees are pursuing something they find to be cool at the expense of the surrounding community/environment.
86
To Google: This is clearly a problem. Fix it. Even if cat feeding is not a corporate program, it is taking place on your property and having a disastrous impact on your avian neighbors.
206
Shoreline park is owned by the city of Mountain View.
1
But the problem is being created by an adjacent landowner; why should the residents of Mountain View have to deal with (and pay for?) a problem created by poor management of a rich multinational?
1
It is zero surprise to me that Goolge is reckless in this way. Anyone with experience or that has spent anytime considering issues like this, would never have concocted such a ridiculous arrangement.
Feral cats are truly invasive, they did not arrive through any natural process other than human migration, they disrupt the food chain. Etc.etc. This is obvious to anyone who bothers to be informed.
What this is, is an example of wealth making decisions for us all, impacting the world we all live in, with the single most destructive confirmation bias there is, money.
This situation is an opportunity for google to actually demonstrate their problem solving mettle.
Its starts with a grasp of the facts, and continues with accepting responsibility.
116
More social engineering gone wrong from big tech. And now they're venturing into experimenting on different species. Probably need more cats as guinea pigs in their new joint ventures with the US military. Maybe testing drones on them?
10