Birder, cats hadn't gotten along for years

Remember Jim Stevenson, the bird expert accused of shooting a cat to death at San Luis Pass last week? He hasn't admitted that he shot the cat, but the Chronicle reports today that the incident apparently wouldn't be that unusual for Stevenson, who claims to have shot dozens of cats after building his home on Galveston Island in the late 1990s. The anti-cat manifesto came in a 1999 Internet posting:

"And I'm sorry if this offends, but I sighted in my .22 rifle and killed about two dozen cats in about the first year," the passionate birdwatcher and professional birding guide wrote. "When we allow feral cats to roam free, we might as well be out there with BB guns plinking away at the songbirds ourselves."

Stevenson's argument is that feral cats kill birds, so it's important to kill the feral cats before they do. The jury seems to still be out on that — some people say the cats do, indeed, go after birds, but others claim they prefer snakes, rats, field mice and other small animals. In either case, Stevenson apparently hates cats: In addition to the Web post, Stevenson wrote an anti-cat article in the magazine for the Galveston Ornithological Society, which he founded. Kathi Richardson, who traps and spays or neuters feral cats to try to curb the size of their colonies, wasn't happy about the article: "I was appalled and I sent a copy to the national humane society," she said. Others say they don't think Stevenson is the cat-shooting type: "He loves the environment and all its wild creatures and is truly repulsed by people who don't share his attitude," Seabrook Eco-Tourism Committee chair Dori Nelson said. Unless, of course, those wild creatures happen to be cats.

Stevenson, arrested and jailed for animal cruelty after the shooting Wednesday, has hired an attorney. He faces six months to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine if he's convicted.