To the editor:

The West Sound Wildlife Shelter on Bainbridge recently published its annual report. The number one reason for admission to the shelter/hospital was injury or orphaning by cat bites or attacks. The majority of victims were birds.

The Oct. 30 New York Times published a new report from the Smithsonian Institute and the Fish and Wildlife Service estimating that domestic cats in the US, both house cats and feral strays, kill an average of 2.4 billion birds a year — many more than had previously been estimated.

Free-roaming cats are an invasive species and should be kept in. Not only do they harm wildlife, cats outdoors have been seen lapping antifreeze, dodging cars and being terrified by dogs.

I’m not even an avid birder; I just like to see the resident and migrating birds as they visit our parks and backyards and enhance the beauty of nature.

Neuter your pet, keep it inside and report feral cats to the Kitsap Humane Society at 360-692-6977.

JEANNETTE FRANKS

Bainbridge Island