Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
How keeping your cat indoors helps birds
Posted
August 1, 2026
Views
1,458
Likes
109
Engagement
7.48%
August 1, 2026
1,458
109
7.48%
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1:58Now PlayingKeeping cats indoors can "absolutely" help protect birds, ornithologist Peter Marra says, as migratory bird populations decline.
Hunting is in the "cat's nature. It does it, not because it's hungry, but because it's what it does," he told Horizons host William Brangham.
A new study from the science journal Nature indicates that more than half of all migratory bird species are in decline. Birds are an important part of life on Earth by helping to grow food, keeping pests at bay and spreading seeds across the globe.
Marra, the lead author of the study, said outdoor cats killing birds are "absolutely a problem," and cat owners should try to "minimize" their pet's time outside.
"Cats have caused the extinction of 63 species," Marra added. "Forty species of birds, 20 species of mammals, and three species of reptiles that we know about. There's probably others as well."
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