It turns out that Tweetie Pie was right to be on high alert. A recent study has found that our beloved cats are responsible for killing significantly more birds than any other animal!
Household felines were behind 47 per cent of all bird fatalities during research carried out in three suburban parks.
It confirms the long-held belief that cats and birds are among nature’s worst enemies, typified by the 1940s Disney cartoon Tweetie Pie, in which cartoon cat Sylvester relentlessly pursues his prey.
The American study set out to examine the survival rates of gray catbird fledglings in three suburban parks in Washington.
Researchers fixed tiny radio transmitters to the birds to monitor their progress between May and September.
During the course of the project they confirmed 19 instances of predators making a kill, nine attributable to household cats, more than any other animal.
Dr Peter Marra of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, one of the authors of the study, said:
‘Cats are way up there in terms of threats to birds – they are a formidable force in driving out native species.’
Cats are estimated to kill 275million animals each year in Britain, of which 55million are birds.
It's the anti cat brigade using science to have them destroyed
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