How to keep roaming cat from killing birds?

[Jockaroo]

I'm looking for some advice. My next door neighbors have an outside cat that like to kill birds. So far it has killed two nests of baby robins, and an assortment of song birds. I've never caught it doing this, but am sure it is this cat. Monday I found an adult wood thrush dead in my yard. Monday, evening, I found the cat trying to kill a baby wood thrush. I suspect the dead bird in my yard was one of the parents. Right now the baby wood thrush is in a cardboard box and the remaining parent is trying to feed it. The baby does appear injured. At night we put the box in the garage so the cat can't get the bird.

I have a friendly relationship with the family. I told the daughter that the cat had tried to kill the baby bird and asked if she could watch her cat. The cat is very friendly and spends a great deal of time in my yard. I don't dislike the cat, only its behavior killing birds. This cat is constantly leaving me "presents" such as dead mice, shrews, a juvenile copperhead and a goldfish. Obviously, the cat enjoys killing things for play. The family provides the cat with plenty of food, so it is not hungry. Is there any way I can prevent this cat from harming birds. Is there anything safe I can use in my yard around my trees to discourage the cat's visits? I don't want to harm the cat. I also don't want anything that will bother my 2 dogs.

Please don't debate the indoor/outdoor cat issue. I strongly believe that cats should be indoors--but it is not my cat, so that is not my choice.

 

[pearlieq]

Could you ask the neighbors to put a bell or some other kind of noisemaker on the cat's collar? It doesn't always work--some cats can learn to walk without jangling the bell--but it might help some.

Good luck to you--that is a sad situation. It's very nice of you to look out for the birds!

 

[Dan Murphy]

If your city, village, county, whatever has a law against roaming pets, I would call that governing body to handle it.

 

[Tina]

I feel your pain. I have 2 indoor-only cats. My neighbor has an outdoor cat. They had 2, but one died at only 5 years old (imagine that - ) Anyway... this cat kills everything in sight. My neighbor tried putting a bell on her collar, which helped for awhile, but she eventually got used to it and learned to move silently. Just last week we discovered a nest of 4 baby bunnies in my front yard. They had been buried pretty well under my daylillies, but all this rain washed out the garden and exposed them. She killed 3 on the first day, we saved the 4th from her, but she came back for it the next morning. I also have some chipmunks living under my concrete porch. I always see her sitting on my porch staring down at the hole, just waiting for them to stick their little noses out. I hate it, but there's really nothing I can do about it. She's still a nice cat anyway and I pet her often. Its just a bummer that she does this - cats will be cats.

 

[Buckalew11]

If your city, village, county, whatever has a law against roaming pets, I would call that governing body to handle it.

Good idea.

I have taken matters into my own hands but this is the right thing to do...

 

[MrsNick]

I understand your distress about the loss of the birds (i.e. you thought they were pretty, or made pretty music, etc.).

But, the cat is a cat, and it is going to behave like a cat. I like the pp's idea of adding a bell to the collar. Unless the cat learns to not jingle the bell, the birds will have fair warning. If the cat learns to stalk quietly while wearing the bell, I don't know what else you can really do.

 

[Cantw8]

This makes me nuts It is very disturbing to be sitting outside and see the neighbor's cat jog by with a squealing baby bunny in it's mouth I understand it's instinct but it really upsets me

 

[Gaspode]

Hiya,

Well I live in England and, over here, the norm is for cats to be 'outdoor' cats. And our three are. It truly is the norm here so please don't flame me for this.

Unfortunately, they also love to kill things and bring them into our house to leave as presents. *sigh*

The only thing I have heard of that deters them killing birds (but apparently doesn't work for rodents) is a collar with a small box which emits an alarm when they go to pounce and thus scares away the bird. Perhaps worth mentioning to your neighbours? If they are anything like me they would probably love to stop the cat hunting also so they might give it a try... we haven't tried this as mostly our cats catch rodents and apparently it isn't effective against that.

Also, a word on collar bells - they *dont* work. At all. I was shocked when, on a trip to a pet store (trying to find a solution to the hunting trouble), the shop assistant demonstrated with a collar with a bell on - he whipped it really fast from one side to another (to imitate a cat pouncing) and proved that the little ball inside which creates the noise just gets forced to the back by the pressure of the fast jump and doesn't make any sound whatsoever!

Anyway, good luck,
Gaspodé

 

[Gaspode]

Oh, also, when I was researching into all of this I discovered something called the 'Cat Bib' - do a google for it It helps with the rodent hunting but not birds

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We never seem to have any cats in our yard.

 

[hlbtimes2]

I really dont think there is a lot you can do. And, outdoor cats really serve a purpose. I would much rather have a few killed birds, then mice in my house. The cats get them before they can even get close.

Our big kitty loves to catch birds. Sometimes she brings them to me. It gross, but she is a cat. I bought her a collar with a bell. Within hours she brought me 3 birds. It didnt help at all. By the next day she had figured out how to remove the collar. She is a pain, but as I said, she keeps the mice away.

 

[canwegosoon]

We never seem to have any cats in our yard.

I agree get a dog!!!

But I also agree with the posters that have said the cat is only doing what it is susposed to do by design. Only other thing I can think of is a really good fence.

 

[Jockaroo]

Thank you for your advice. I guess that the cat/bird issue is a universal problem.

My city and county has leash laws/confinement laws in place for dogs, but excludes cats from these. My neighbors have the cat neutered and vacinated and I am grateful for that. I don't have feral, diseased cats on my property.

Pea-N-Me, your German Shepard is beautiful. I do have 2 dogs already--Scottish Terriers. The dogs are inside dogs and are only allowed outside on their leashes. For some reason, the dogs actually like this one particular cat. It is the only cat they like!

We would like to fence our property, but our neighbors who have fences still have the cat in their yard. Our subdivision has regulations regarding the height of fences and we are prohibited from fencing our front yards--which is where the birds build their nests.

Our lot has a very large number of trees and backs up to a natural area. For this reason we have a large amount of wildlife around us. I love it, but the death of the little creatures bothers me. I think I am oversensitive toward animals--I'm the crazy woman you see pulled off the road trying to rescue the turtle in the middle of the street. I'm going to be so sad if this little wood thrush dies. Thoreau said they had the most beautiful song of all birds.