Editor:

I am a cat owner and do not like what Ken Burton has to say ("Not So Cute," Aug. 20). Specifically, he says that the migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal to allow a cat to kill a native bird. Allow being the operative word here. My neighbors have a huge bird feeding station, which has turned into a cat feeding, and rat feeding station.

I do not allow my cats to kill birds, they do it on their own without permission. This is just what cats do. Putting a bib on a cat is cruel, not allowing it to live a normal life. And as far as "inflicting them on neighbors who don't want them around" is concerned, there are cats in every neighborhood and they will go where they want to. My cats like to be both inside and outside. Cats have been around for thousands of years, and none have been credited with any bird going extinct.

People have dogs which are seen in my yard on many occasions, and poo in my yard too, which I clean up. Are these people inflicting their dogs upon me? I don't think so. Dogs get loose and wander, just like cats do.

Keith Andersen, Arcata