There is an important perspective missing from The Beachcomber’s account of recent coyote activity on the island (“Coyote reports rise, group aims to educate islanders,” Aug. 26/2015).

Cats are carnivores and behave, by instinct, as predators. Domestic cats have the advantage of being kept healthy and fit thanks to our care, enabling them to be highly successful in this role. Our free-roaming domestic cats decimate populations of native small mammals and birds. University of Washington ornithologist John Marzluff and other scientists point to strong evidence that domestic cats are among the most serious causes of songbird deaths (see Marzluff’s 2014 book “Welcome to Subirdia” for scientific references), and a 2012 study by the University of Georgia and National Geographic estimated that outdoor cats kill more than a billion small mammals and birds every year (abcbirds.org/article/kittycam-reveals-high-levels-of-wildlife-being-killed-by-outdoor-cats/ ).

Many of our migratory songbird populations are already in decline due to human activities and face mounting obstacles to survival as they lose more and more habitat to development and, increasingly, to climate change. Encountering a substantial number of introduced felines prowling their nesting grounds, in addition to the natural predators that have always been around, places an additional, unnecessary stress on bird populations already at risk.

As The Beachcomber reported, allowing domestic cats to roam free also places them at risk of their own encounters with larger predators, like coyotes, that work higher up on the food chain. But there is a solution that can help protect cats, birds and maybe even coyotes. By keeping our pets indoors, we not only help ensure a longer life for beloved companions, but we play a positive role in sustaining wild songbirds, an irreplaceable part of our natural heritage. And we have one less reason to demonize coyotes.

— Jim Evans