Hurricane sandy misplaces many cats; sad, but yet bad

When the major hurricane last year hit the northeastern coast, many domesticated animals were displaced from their homes.  There are various shelters that have taken in lost pets that were found in states like New York and New Jersey; it's a sad thing.  According to Russia Today, over 14 million cats were involved in hurricane sandy.  The amount of cats actually lost currently is not available.  However, this loss, even if it is small, will have substantial effects on the environment.  Below is a link to pictures of some lost pets that were found by rescue teams:

Lost Animals from Sandy 

The domestic cat, which has the universally accepted name, Felis catus, descends from a wild cat in Africa and Asia called Felis silvestris libyca.  Cats are a part of the feline family as their genus (or first name) shows. They are actually a nonnative species actually introduced to Europe initially about 2000 years ago and have made there way here from European trade starting in the early 19th century. Below is a picture of my cat, Paprika, who is now 7 years of age and got through hurricane sandy.  She is a spayed outdoor cat and survived hurricane sandy.

                                          Paprika is a wonderful pet, but this species is hurting
                                          the biodiversity level on this continent.

Since the time of introduction, their population has grown tremendously; US populations estimate anywhere from 60 to 100 million.  This number includes not just pet cats, but also stray cats that live across the states.  There are more stray then pet cats on this in the US.  Now, you are probably wondering; how do they do so well?

The fact is, Felis catus is considered an invasive species in the US.  Invasive species cause not only environmental harm but also economic harm.  Domesticated cats make wonderful pets but have a negative effect on the environment and when it comes to biodiversity. Below is a just a small list of negative effects:

1) They do very well in our ecosystems because they eat anything from canned food to litter.  The average cat could live to approximately 12 years.  Since they do live well, female cats produce countless litters of kittens.  This increases their population tremendously; the gestation period of cat is only less than 6 weeks!

2) They also are responsible for killing millions of birds every year; they are aggressive predators.  This can lead to the endangerment or extinction of native bird species to the US; thus a loss of biodiversity.      

3) Since they do very well, they compete with native US species for food, shelter and mates and occupy the niches of many native species. This can also drive native species to extinction due to the environmental stresses of cats; yet another decreased in biodiversity.

Now, if you think about all the cats misplaced from hurricane sandy, each domesticated or strayed cat have the ability to carry out these bad affects.  So, yes, sad but bad for the loss of cats due to hurricane sandy.  If you see lost cats or any misplaced pet, report them to agencies such as Animal Rescue or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (ASPCA).  That goes a long to way to curb the negative effect of cats have on maintaining biodiversity.