Stopping cat from killing birds

oliverp_2

My cat has been able to go outside for about a year now, shes around 18 months old - and she never seemed to be too interested in birds. Now though, in the last week she has caught 3 birds. The neighbours have complained because they have a nest in their garden, and I'm not keen on her catching them because it is cruel and I don't want dead stuff in the house!!!

She has a bell, but it doesn't do much good - it is only small. Is there anything else I can get to put on her collar so it alerts the birds - or am I being mean denying her the chance to use her natural instincts!!!???

TIA

HariboJunkie

Our 7 month old kitten brought 3 birds and 5 mice into the house last week.:eek:

I bought her the loudest bell I could find last week and it has stopped. Well, she did get a mouse this morning but I think it must have been deaf.

tanith

you have tried the usual deterent which is a bell if thats not worked than apart from turning her into a 'house cat' which is not very satisfactory there is not a lot you can do to stop what comes naturally to all cats....

ellybelly89

our cat is nearly 1. she catches mice and voles every day. she killed 3 baby birds and was playing with one which i saved. i put that bird pack in its nest in the hollow oof the tree. we then hammered a flower pot over the entrance with a hole in the bottom so the mum can fly in and the babies can fly out. before the cat was just fishing them out one by one!

oliverp_2

I think I may try getting a bigger bell...eBay here I come.

I'd like her to be inside all the time but she loves being outside...sunbathing and patrolling the garden!

Doonhamer

This post shows exactly why the domestic cat should be banned, it decimates the local wildlife, especially birds. Sad really. Get a dog!

If cats could talk, they would just tell you lies.

HariboJunkie

Doonhamer wrote: »

This post shows exactly why the domestic cat should be banned, it decimates the local wildlife, especially birds. Sad really. Get a dog!

If cats could talk, they would just tell you lies.

Any other animals you think should be "banned" because they follow their natural instincts? :rolleyes:

oliverp_2

Banned!!! :eek:

Aww my cat is so loving though. In the dark she will jump up on the bed, bite your face, you turn on the light, she stops biting and begins to purr and paw you. That has to be love!

Hapless_2

it's just their preydrive, pure nature.

Kimitatsu

Doonhamer wrote: »

This post shows exactly why the domestic cat should be banned, it decimates the local wildlife, especially birds. Sad really. Get a dog!

If cats could talk, they would just tell you lies.

Should we ban all the terriers as well then for killing the rats? Rats after all are wild animals :cool:

There is little you can do if you have put a bell on her, it is instictive

Doonhamer

Cats follow their natural instinct. Of course they do. The problem is that humans have domesticated a wild animal and keep it in vast quantities all over the country. The cat is not the problem, it's the number of them, and the number of song birds they kill that is the problem. It's because people love them and want to have them as a pet that is the issure. The OP has a problem, and that problem is that the cat is killing things. Well, that is my point, that is what members of the cat family do. The problem is the natural balance has been skewed by domestic cats. The wild bird population has not had time to evolve defences proportional to the rate of introduction of domestic cats. That is all I am really saying. I'm not having a pop at cat owners, just a Saturday night red wine induced rant perhaps!

The thing is if you have a cat, it will kill things, especially young birds and rabbits which is not nice. The OP is quite rightly unimpressed with this and wants to find a way to stop or reduce it.

I was probably holding the said beasts rear entrance to the sun a little and in fact pulling the tail of cat owners in my post. But I was just trying to make a point.

So sorry to the OP for hyjacking the post a little.

But Kimitatsu, really, do you think that people who own terriers find half eaten rats on their doorstep every morning. Come on, a dog only kills things if prompted to do so by it's owner.

Anyway sorry again to Oliverp, I hope someone has a good solution to your problem and it can be adopted by all cat owners, then we will all be happy.

So over to the cat owners.....