[fwdude]

Hawks are actually more adept at rat catching than cats.

[ek_hornbeck]

Owls would be even better - since they hunt at night when the rats are out.

Screech, barn, and even great horned owls do well in suburbs, I wonder if they could make it in urban areas. Seems like the bird of prey that does best in big cities is the peregrine falcon - lots of pigeons to hunt, and high-rises are the next-best thing to mountain cliffs for nesting.

[Bonemaker]

“In Australia, a 2017 review on cat predation on birds estimated that they consume up to a million native birds per day.”

I wonder how many cats are predated every day by Australia’s copious supply of poisonous snakes?