Outdoor cats kill hundreds of millions of wild birds and small mammals annually, creating tension between cat welfare and wildlife welfare.
The welfare tension between outdoor cat access and wildlife predation is genuine and unresolved. Cats denied outdoor access may suffer from boredom and frustration. Wildlife subject to cat predation suffers fear and injury. Songbird populations in areas with high cat density show reduced fledgling survival. A welfare-positive approach seeks to manage rather than eliminate outdoor access while using tools like bell collars to reduce predation impact.