Calgary was awarded the inaugural Safe Cats Safe Birds Award by Nature Canada! Wow, impressive that Calgary is the leader on this issue and that many cities around the world are following our model. The impact that cats have on birds alone is they kill 100 – 350 million of them each year. Stop and ponder that number for just a minute…! This is a sensitive subject in our store and one that I have been very passionate about and have no qualms about letting people know that there is a bylaw in the City of Calgary that cats are not allowed to roam free. If you feel the need to let your cat outside it must be leashed, this not only protects the birds but it increases the life of your beloved pet. I am always amazed when someone tells me they let their cat outside to roam free and follow it up with “my cat is part of my family and I love her/him!”, I can tell you I did not and would not let one of my family members wander the city alone if they could not determine what danger was and avoid it. Cats are generally after two things when they roam; food or sex, and if that happens to be across the street they will just walk across the street, they don’t know that a car is coming and that it could kill them, or they wander through a yard and come across a really big guard dog. If you love your cat, please, please, please keep it indoors, keep the birds safe, keep your cat safe and keep your neighbors happy. Here is a link to the article.