If you or someone you know received a cat or kitten for the holidays or even earlier during the pandemic, and are trying to incorporate the outdoors into your little one’s life, I suggest purchasing or even building a screened outdoor area (catio) so that your pet can still get fresh air without threatening native wildlife.

Last month, the Potomac Flier article “Three Billion Birds” summarized the alarming decline of birds in the US and Canada since 1970. Habitat loss is the biggest driver of that decline. The second biggest driver is free-roaming domestic and feral cats.