TABBY AND FRIENDS WREAKING HAVOC ON NATIVE WILDLIFE.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - To environmentalists, the tiny songbirds found along Santa Clarita's dry riverbeds are rare treasures to be protected.

To cats moving into new neighborhoods, they're lunch.

In a battle of nature vs. nature, there is a move under way across the nation to convince pet owners to keep their cats indoors. The goal is to protect rare birds, reptiles, fish and small mammals from roaming cats, with the added benefit of shielding the pets from their own predators.

``I don't hate cats,'' said Teresa Savaikie, a Santa Clarita mother of three and a voice for the endangered critters that populate the region's dry river beds.

``They're sweet pets, but they're wreaking havoc on our wildlife. Their place is in the house.''

While cities considering new housing tracts jump through hoops to protect endangered species, few do anything after the fact to ensure that cats that move into these neighborhoods don't view the array of wildlife as a main course.

In Santa Clarita, the concern lies along the Santa Clara River and its tributary, San Francisquito Creek, where wildlife is abundant and endangered species nest. In recent years, thousands of homes have been approved along the waterways' banks, spurring environmentalists to seek long-term protections for the least Bell's vireo, a small songbird; the southwestern arroyo toad and the tiny three-spined unarmored stickleback fish.

``When you look at the Santa Clara River, you know there are going to be cats there,'' said Savaikie, a member of the conservation committee of the San Fernando Valley chapter of the National Audubon Society. ``It's too exciting a place for an animal that roams to ignore, and there are so many birds that nest on the ground or just a few feet off the ground.''

Cats are not native to the U.S. and so native species don't have the defenses to fight them. Domesticated cats were imported centuries ago from Europe, Asia and northern Africa, likely to help with rodent control.

Now environmentalists want protections, but policy makers say it's not a matter of keeping cats indoors if their masters live near wildlife areas.

``It's tough to regulate that,'' said Vince Bertoni, the city's planning manager. ``We can regulate the number of cats you can have, but not whether you keep them inside.''

Any regulation, he added, would apply to households citywide.

``I think it would be difficult to apply throughout the city,'' Bertoni said. ``I don't think we can say you have to keep your cats indoors in Valencia, but not in Canyon Country.''

Savaikie suggests new homeowners associations draft regulations keeping cats indoors in neighborhoods bordering environmentally sensitive lands. The benefits, she said, would be twofold. The species protected by state and federal laws would have a better chance - as would the pet cats who often are lost to coyotes, mountain lions and other Southern California wildlife.

``We all scream when a coyote kills one of our kitty cats, but the truth of the matter is those kitty cats are killing our wildlife every day,'' Savaikie said. To advance their cause, conservation groups are sponsoring National Keep Your Cat Indoors Day on May 11 to educate cat owners. The U.S. Navy has banned outdoor pet cats from its bases because of the damage they do to the environment. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service also backs the cause.

``We have to look now at what will happen when we get thousands and thousands of homes built along the river and they bring cats. Cats will destroy the river if you don't address the problem,'' Savaikie said.