12/07/2025
The only HUMANE and EFFECTIVE way to address community cat overpopulation!
There are no documented extinctions in the Americas caused by cats since the advent of modern TNR programs. While cats remain significant local predators, peer-reviewed studies and agency reports confirm that the extinctions attributed to cats occurred historically ~ primarily on islands or during periods of unchecked introduction in the 1800s–early 1900s. Modern TNR and colony management have stabilized populations, and no species in the Americas has gone extinct due to cats under these systems.
🔎 What the science shows
Historical extinctions: Domestic cats have been linked to the extinction of dozens of species worldwide, especially on islands where ecosystems were fragile and cats were introduced without controls.
No modern extinctions in the Americas: Since the rise of TNR (Trap–Neuter–Return) and managed colony practices, there is no evidence of any species extinction in North or South America caused by cats. Reports from the USDA, USFWS, and The Wildlife Society highlight predation impacts but do not list extinctions in the Americas post-TNR
Population stabilization: TNR is not designed to eliminate colonies overnight but to stabilize them. Studies show that sterilization reduces growth rates and improves welfare, preventing the uncontrolled spread that historically caused ecological crises.
🐦 Cats and invasive birds
Cats in urban and suburban ecosystems often prey on invasive bird species such as European starlings, house sparrows, and pigeons, which dominate ground-level niches. These species are themselves ecological disruptors, and cats’ predation on them does not threaten native bird populations in the same way.
Native species most at risk are small mammals, reptiles, and ground-nesting birds in sensitive habitats ~ but again, no extinctions have been recorded in the Americas under modern management.
🌍 The balanced advocacy message
Compassion + respect: Cats are part of human-modified ecosystems and have coexisted with us for thousands of years.
Management, not eradication: The solution is TNR, colony care, and humane management, not demonization or mass killing.
Historical context matters: Extinctions tied to cats were a product of human deployment in the 19th - early 20th centuries, not of modern managed colonies.
Evidence-based advocacy: When critics claim cats are driving “mass extinctions,” the factual counterpoint is: “Name one extinction in the Americas since TNR began ~ you can’t.”
✅ Summary for advocacy use: “Cats are not causing mass extinctions in the Americas. Extinctions happened historically when humans spread cats unchecked, but ecosystems have since adapted. Today, managed colonies and TNR stabilize populations. Compassion, respect, and humane management ~ not fear ~ are the solution.”
