I have enormous respect for you, @MargaretRenkl, as a writer [my NPR review of 'Late Migrations' last year said as much]. I've had a complicated response today to your new essay on this feral cat /1 nytimes.com/2020/08/03/opi… #feralcats #cats #animals
First, I very much appreciate the shift from 'I would never kill a cat, but I can surely hate one with a murderous rage' to 'A feral cat — like a house cat allowed to roam outdoors — is not an evil creature.' As someone who has rescued and loved feral cats, I am grateful. /2
I want to add that every single cat but one we've rescued over years is now enclosed, either indoors w/ us, or in a pen my husband built in our yard. You'll see that my Twitter feed here is full of bird photos, as the birds in our yard enchant us and we want to protect them/ 3
But the 'invasive cats kill billions' narrative is more layered than it seems-- or than you write. This piece lead-authored by @wlynnethics lays out some important points. theconversation.com/dont-blame-cat… / 5
Full disclosure, I co-authored one of the Conservation Biology articles linked to in the piece above--- it is here. Some cats do kill, but we must think and act w/ compassion beyond the sensationalism. Thank you./6 conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…
