Cats killing birds ... Nieghbours keep feeding birds!

Lokolo

Collars haven't worked for my cat all her life. She would catch mice, birds, fish from the neighbour garden.

She would routinely bring them to my bed in the middle of the night, let them fly around before eventually killing them and eating them (all but the kidneys!).

We eventually didn't bother with the collar and let her go out without one. She stopped when she got too old, she's now deaf so gets scared when going outside but she loves watching the birds from the window.

I love my cat

marleyboy

I feed the birds and over time they have become regulars that now form orderly queues when feeding. I still feed my cat and would not sacrifice feeding one for the other. My cat has a collar, collars are no issue with the cat other than the bell, which warns all those little birdies of his approach.

Most of my time is spent chasing other cats out of the garden, but I have witnessed a young Kestrel snatch one of the birds. Nature is both cruel and kind, so long as we leave nature to its habits, the wildlife adapts itself accordingly.

meg72

I no longer feed the birds in my garden due to neighbours cats, so I buy fat balls and feeders and put them as high as I can in a hedge along a footpath behind my garden. So although I no longer have the pleasure of sitting in my window and watching them at least I am doing my bit to feed them.

Buckslad_2

Person_one wrote: »

Its just one of those things. That's life, sometimes you just have to put up with stuff you don't like.

The OP obviously shouldn't be throwing dead birds into their garden, frankly the OP sounds a bit odd to be honest, but there's no point getting upset that cats kill birds, or mice, or rats, or spiders.

If you choose to keep your cat indoors, fair enough, but its not compulsory, some people feel its not fair to keep cats indoors and as it stands they are within their rights not to.

I can't believe you called me odd, lol .. :rotfl:

I take full responsibility for my animals when and where possible, I am a good owner and animal lover, hence why i dont want my cats killing the birds that they encourage into their garden at the same time as encouraging my cats into there garden. If anyone is odd they are the odd ones!

Had i posted saying i owned cats and fed birds in my garden and was upset that they were being killed then i would say i was odd and frankly being cruel and twisted.

The bells seem to be working so far and those sonic gadgets dont work as they just walk straight up to them and then ignore them but they have been installed so it was worth a try

I fully admit that my actions were wrong by throwing the carcas over the fence, it was a silly thing to do but i was angry and upset and wanted them to see first hand what was happening but it was wrong and i would never dream of doing it again.

I cannot keep one of the cats indoors 24/7 for reasons i am not going into and so think its wrong to let one out but not the other. I am very fortunate in that both cats stay within a couple of gardens worth to the house and we live in a quiet area so they are not roaming the streets and gardens like some cats do.

The annoyance of the bell has been resolved. Both cats stay in at night and the collars are hung up on the door ready for them to go back on in the morning when/ if they go out. This seems to be working well and neither show any issue with having them put on and taken off. I know some cats would try and fight to the death rather than have a collar put on but our cats are so cuddly and soft that they just think its an extra fuss and they have been conditioned from very young to accept its normal to have their teeth, ears, paws etc checked without a fuss. Our vets are forever thankful that we do this training/ conditioning with them as it makes them a pleasure to see for their yearly health check and booster

So all in all with the collars/ bells and being open and honest with our neighbours who we class as friends we are getting there. Plans are coming along well with the boundary fence so we are hoping to make the garden more secure to keep the cats in (the eldest cat will not like this at all but he will get over it, the garden is beautiful and more than enough for him). Feeling much better about the situation and it seems the young starlings are wising up and staying alive :T

Person_one

Buckslad wrote: »

I can't believe you called me odd, lol .. :rotfl:

Hey, I'm not the one chucking dead birds over into my neighbour's garden!

Buckslad_2

Person_one wrote: »

Hey, I'm not the one chucking dead birds over into my neighbour's garden!

Hahaa very true I did have a bit of a 'odd' moment

catkins

krlyr wrote: »

How can they not be the owner's responsibility? They are not wild animals, they belong to someone, that owner is responsible for placing them into that house/garden/environment. Who else is responsible?
If you want to stop a cat killing birds, put a bell on it for example. OP has said that it's helped but it's annoying them - well, it's a trade between a jingling bell or clearing up dead birds from your garden. Alternatively, adapt the fencing, keep the cats indoors at certain times or permanently, provide a cat run for outdoor exercise, etc.
It's natural for dogs to poo. I don't let them wander into people's front gardens and poo when we're out on walks. If they poo on the pavement, I don't say "Well, there's a fox poo on the other side, it's only nature", I pick it up and bin it so it doesn't become someone else's problem when they step in it. Natural behaviour from a pet does not mean we should allow it/ignore it.

Did you read my post? My cats have bells on their collars and they still catch and kill birds. One cat I had years ago ended up with 4 small bells and 1 large bell on his collar and he still managed to catch and kill birds.

I keep my cats indoors at night but they catch and kill the birds during the day. I am not going to keep them in all the time. One is a rescue anyway who was used to being out. Unless a cat is kept in from a kitten I believe it is cruel to keep them in.

As for a cat run, well my garden is so small it would be pointless.

Comparing responsibility for cats and clearing up dog poo is just silly. A dog has to be walked and when it poos you clear it up. Should I follow my cat, climbing over fences, to pick it's poo up? I have tried telling my cats only to poo in my garden and not to kill any living creatures but they just ignore me!

krlyr

I haven't even started on the whole indoor/outdoor cat debate on here because I've done it to death and just cannot see why cats are the only exception to the responsibility of pet ownership but my comments are based on the OP feeling that it's OK to chuck birds that their cats killed, and left in their garden, into someone else's garden simply because that neighbour likes cats and calls them over for fuss. OP has realised that it's the wrong thing to do so problem solved.

Plushchris

Dont fall for that "Silent roar" cat repellent either, its made from Lion poo and is supposed to put cats off because they think there is a big cat nearby..

Two things..

1, How many domestic cats have seen or smelt a lion (or its poo for that matter)? So why would they be frightened of it?

2, After doing some volunteer work at a local big cat sancturary, I came home having helped clean out the lion house and my cats couldnt get enough of my shoes, rubbing themselves around them and acting like they were made of catnip.. Hardly what you would want from a cat repellent..

We get the odd bird but worst of all is slow worms, frogs and one time we even had a bat (which luckily survived and flew off when I released it)

Pechow

krlyr wrote: »

I haven't even started on the whole indoor/outdoor cat debate on here because I've done it to death and just cannot see why cats are the only exception to the responsibility of pet ownership but my comments are based on the OP feeling that it's OK to chuck birds that their cats killed, and left in their garden, into someone else's garden simply because that neighbour likes cats and calls them over for fuss. OP has realised that it's the wrong thing to do so problem solved.

I was just thinking while reading this thread, how different US and UK attitudes towards cats are-how if you'd posted this on a US forum everyone would be saying to keep the cats indoors, and here for most people it isn't even an option. It's interesting.