Found this really interesting.

[borderdawn]

Bare with me it might be long!!

About a week ago at work, we noticed a LOT of young Greenfiches that were not afraid of us and in the last few days lots and lots of dead ones. We thought it was really odd and did some research as well as contacting the RSPB. It seems that these birds can get "Salmonella" and its very common in grouple of birds at feeders and is particularly prevelant in Greenfinches and Sparrows. It kills them and all the symptoms we have been seeing are identical to what we have been told. It apparently kills thousands of young birds of fledgling age and this has me thinking.

Are people blaming the Cat for the decrease in bird numbers when this disease clearly is wiping out thousands at a time? could this be a more likely explanation? With them mentioning the Sparrow it makes me think even more so that the Cat is not to blame for all the deaths they are given the responsibility for.

These photos are of 4 different Greenfinches taken yesterday, 2 of these Birds died within an hour, dont know about the other two. We noticed 2 things before knowing about the Salmonella, 1, they were breathing heavilly and 2, they looked puffed up, classic symptoms of the disease.

So, are our Cats to blame as much as we are led to believe, or are they scapegoats for diseases like this?

http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/health...salmonella.asp
Dawn.

[dinahsmum]

That is interesting.
I'm sure some people are way too quick to blame cats. Theer are changes in farming and gardening, including insecticides and other chemicals to consider too.
In the olden days, when cats were lucky to get very much food at all at home, I'm sure they hunted a lot more. Ours are a bit fat and lazy now (or many are).

Poor babies - so we try to be kind by feeding them but it backfires and they get sick.

[Snoof]

While I think it's a pity that so many of them die, cats and birds are pretty natural enemies. While we may have more cats now (although I don't know for certain that we do; certainly today more are being spayed/neutered and road accidents are more likely to end a life, but then again more are being cared for properly and therefore live longer lives), not nearly all of those cats need to hunt for their food (and while some still do even when they're fed, they don't always catch birds, nevermind those birds specifically).

A lot of the people I know who dislike cats dislike them because they kill birds, and I think that's a pretty widespread idea, so maybe the blame was apportioned in a knee-jerk reaction.

[Donna]

There are hardly any birds in my area and I have never seen a bird in my garden!! Strange but true!!

Interesting post and it has me thinking one thing: if these birds have this disease, what happens to a cat that kills and eats the bird?? Does it then infect the cat??

Or am I just being daft again??

[Naomi]

Now that is interesting.

Maybe we are being too quick in blaming cats.

[Emm]

that is so sad for these poor birds.

I have never believed the theory that our cats are totally to blame. I think it our way of life that is to blame more changes in farming and gardening all the chemicals and pollution. Also I see more dead birds from RTA than anything else. My own cats in 9 years have only ever caught less than a handful of birds they are more mice catchers.


Its alwys annoyed me when people are so quick to blame rather than look at the full facts.

I also hardly ever see any of the small birds but when I go to my mum and dads they feed the birds and I see the most amzing amount of birds I don't know where they go after they have been fed because I only ever see them there at the birds table.


Is there no way of putting any medicine into their food that would help?

[CathyW]

would if a cat ate an infected bird would the cat get salmonella??

[borderdawn]

I have spoken to a lovely lady at the RSPB wildlife rescue team and she is very interested. There have been outbreaks of another disease called "Trichomoniasis (canker)" in Somerset, and she feels this may be the case. She said Salmonella is more likely in the winter although it is possible and do NOT let Cats or dogs munch on dead birds as there is a very small risk of cross infection.

We have found 6 dead Birds today, its horrible to see, the adult bird will have infected its young by feeding them regurgitated food, the disease is in the throat and they pass it on this way, the adults often fight the disease, but it takes around 3 weeks to kill a youngster and this is about the age we are seeing in the birds that are dying. Their throat swells with ulcers and they cant eat or breath in the end, this disease is bird specific.

We have to send a body to a laboratory for a post mortem, they can then identify the cause of death. She also said that the numbers of dead birds in all areas had increased this year, and for the last 5yrs they have been following reported numerous deaths closely.
Dawn.

[Kim]

This is really really sad Dawn. I spend a fortune on feeding 'my birds' and I love to watch them. It annoys me that cats are blamed for the declining bird population, although I dislike this about cats, it is just nature. There are a great many things about nature I do not like, but each animal has to feed on something! My cats very, very rarely catch birds or any other wildlife. They are well fed and too lazy!

Fascinating thread, thanks!

[dandysmom]

Fascinating article, Dawn, thanks for posting. I agree it may be a knee-jerk reation to blame the decline on cats; as several have noted, agricultural practices, pesticides, and climate and habitat change have to be involved. How does the salmonella get into the bird seed...is there anything that can be done to disinfect it? My cats have always been indoors, walking on leashes only, but still have managed to kill the odd bird...including one that got in the house somehow & was promptly dispatched by Leia!