Nearly half of all cat owners own backyard bird feeders and one of three cat owners own a bird bath, according to preliminary figures from a biannual pet owners' survey conducted by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.
The survey did not look into reasons why cat owners seemed more interested in feeding birds than dog owners.
By comparison, 40 percent of dog owners owned bird feeders and one in four dog owners owned a birdbath. Caged bird owners, incidentally, were more likely than either cat or dog owners to feed wild birds, with 57 percent owning bird feeders and 33 percent owning birdbaths.
The study also indicated that about 7 percent of surveyed cat owners also owned a garden pond, 11 percent owned a swimming pool and 6 percent owned an outdoor spa.