Though conventional wisdom claims that there is a significant rivalry between cats lovers and dog lovers, the truth is that the real, long-simmering hostility is between cat lovers and bird lovers. Cats are natural predators, and those who have access to the outdoors can be a menace to the local bird population. According to the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, America’s approximately 58 million domestic cats kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds every year!*
These days, more and more cat owners are finding a compromise that makes pretty much everyone happy: the catio! The cats get access to the outdoors but can’t get at the birds, and at the same time, they are kept safe from predators like coyotes and accidents like cars. The Catio Guy has been working for several years across Southern California to help humans create these spaces for their pets, and he recently shared this Bloomberg article about how catios are going mainstream.
One of our favorite local nonprofits, The CatCafe Lounge was able to build a catio for their space during the pandemic so that they could safely have visitors to support their mission. Not only can catios keep birds and cats apart, they can also bring cats and humans together, outdoors.
*Links & statistics provided by Bloomberg
