Topic: Don`t care if I tread on toes!

[jjt]

Fair play to you. I think cats play with mice because when they go to bite them they can't actually see them, and rodents have dangerous teeth, so the cat needs to be really sure that the prey is dead. I can't remember ever seeing a cat play with a bird. Also a mother cat will bring live things back to show her kittens what to do. So it is instinct I'd say, just maybe a bit dimly remembered when food comes out of a tin.

[norfolklass]

two weeks ago one of her FOUR cats died it was very old and in distress..... she had the vet CALL TO HER HOUSE  to have it put down.  About three years ago her family had a collection for vets bills of over £300 for another of her cats that was badly injured by a car. The vet advised putting it down but it is fine now....

so??? that's her business!!!
if my cat was very old and in distress I'd pay for the vet to come to my house rather than put her through further trauma of boxing her up and driving her to the vets, just as my dad did with his dog – I think of that as responsible pet ownership, and I'm afraid I don't think that's really relevant to your argument about cats catching birds!

I spent most of Sunday afternoon rescuing a blackbird that had caught it's foot in cotton wrapped around a branch and in its struggle to get away had broken it's leg badly. once we'd freed it I drove it 12 miles to the nearest wildlife sanctuary. and of the few dead blackbirds I've seen most have been on the side of the road hit by cars because they tend to fly very low across roads. but I'm not suggesting banning cotton, or cars.

I really do sympathise with you e4e5Kt-f3 and I'm really not trying to be argumentative, and I understand why you're angry! I agree that there are too many cats around but this is in large part due to cat owners not being responsible enough to get their cats spayed or neutered.

anyway! apparently, although I haven't tried it, the smell of the curry plant is supposed to keep cats away so that might be worth a try, and if you see any cats in your garden you can try squirting them with a water pistol – they hate water! I hope you get some more birds in your garden, and that they get cat-wise :)

[Jeannine]

If you scatter zoo poo especially lion poo they will not come in your garden, they really won't.

It makes me sad to hear that someone who chooses to pay a  vet to treat their animal at home, or pay a high price of treatment is considered  odd or wrong, I am not sure actually  but certainly it warranted a comment in capital letters. I completely agree woth Norfolklass, it is accepted good pet ownership . I find it odd that it would be commented on at all.


Quite strange.

XX Jeannine

[asbean]

Our vets don't recommend collars for cats. They can easily push their front leg under the collar (which one of ours did a couple of times so we dispensed with the collars on both of them). This can cut into the flesh of the cat's armpit which is almost impossible to heal properly. I've seen this several times on Pet Rescue and it is a horrible sight.  Not worth the risk for the sake of saving a few birds.  Don't get me wrong, I love birds as much as the next person, but a couple of magpies have killed more song birds in a day than my cats in a week.

The vets also said that the birds that are caught by cats are usually the runts which would not survive for long in the normal course of life. Nature takes its toll, outside cats are wild animals, they are only domesticated when indoors.

[wildthing]

Cats aren't the only predators. Foxes will kill birds, and grey squirrels will take eggs and fledglings and eat them.
My autistic grandson lives with me. He had 2 beautiful tom kittens which were the last birthday present my late husband bought him. I did the responsible thing and had them neutered. I put reflective collars on them so that they would be less likely to get run over. The reflective collars just made them easy targets for the game keeper. One crawled home after 5 days with 38 pieces of shot in him. We never found the other one.  My grandson couldn't understand why they had been shot. It was obvious from their sleek shiny coats, and collars that they were much loved pets, not strays or feral cats.My cats don't catch birds, so they couldn't even claim that the kittens were after the pheasants.  Early introduction to a broody hen taught them that feathered things were dangerous, and there are a few male pheasants round here that regularly attack humans, cats and dogs. The kittens did keep down the rats coming from the local barns. I don't leave any feed out at night, but rats still come across the garden. The remaining kitten and my old cat no longer wear collars. I don't intend to make them into easy targets again.

[Jeannine]

My cats do have collars but they are home made. I use very fine shirring elastic which breaks at the smallest pull, and I hang three tiny bellls on it like a necklace.  I have to repace them quite often but they can be heard a long way away and are safe. Each cat has a different sound so we know who os who even in the dark.

XX Jeannine

[SueSteve]

I have 2 cats, I do not have a problem with them killing birds, it's natural!
I am a vegetarian, I could not eat meat, I cannot bear to think of an animal being killed for me to eat when I can choose to eat things other foods which do not have an animal dying for my needs!
Animals cannot choose, they eat what they eat because of instinct. You say about imbalance in nature, but humans have tipped the balance way over.
I know it is upsetting for you to loose your birds, I find it really upsetting everyday when I see dead foxes and badgers in the road! I find it upsetting that some think that fox hunting/deer hunting should continue! I hurt to think of animals being used in testing, and being badly treated by humans, we have no right! But animals eating other animals is the most natural thing! It keeps populations down and attempts to keep a balance!
I am all for bringing back bears and wolves!! They would naturally keep the deer and fox populations down!!
If the bird populatioins are diminishing it is because of what we humans are doing to them, not the local cats!!

[northener]

We had two cats that had been reared on a farm then dumped to the cats protection league. They were terrible for killing anything that moved. Not just killing but playing with them it was horrible to watch. They once brought a baby wild rabbit to the back door, i managed to rescue it and released next morning into local woodland. unbelievably i found it dead at the back door the next night, ugh. They put me off cats to be honest but i'd never harm one. They deffinately need 2 or 3 bells on and maybe a flashing light and audible warning siren.

[Shirley]

A way to keep  other cats out of your garden is to have a cat yourself.  Territory is very important to cats, they usually have two, their own and a common or meeting ground.

It is easy to control your own cat in your garden and they in turn keep the other cats out (in theory).  The problem comes when your garden has become the common ground for all the cats in the neighbourhood!

I have had two cats in the past, but  do not have any cats myself now, but the next door's cat is made extremely welcome and regards our garden as his.  I in turn can keep an eye on him and have some measure of control over him and, yes, I feed the birds.