There were about 5.4 million cats killed by cars in 2001 [1], the last year I could find an estimate, out of roughly 46 million owned outdoor cats and 55 million feral cats [2]. If these numbers are accurate, this would mean 5.3% of outdoor cats are killed by cars each year, and an outdoor cat's chances of being killed by a car over a 10 year period would be 42%. This is just one of the many easy ways for a cat to die outdoors.
So perhaps poisoned rats are the least of your concerns if you let your cats roam the streets.
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Date: 2014-02-06 02:01 am (UTC)So perhaps poisoned rats are the least of your concerns if you let your cats roam the streets.
[1]: http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Practical/Pets/PetCare/Cats/KeepingCatsSafe.htm
[2]: http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/pdf/Loss_et_al_2013.pdf