Mockingbirds!!!!!!!!!!

[lovetheprincesses]

How in the WORLD do I get rid of mockingbirds??? I have two at my house that attack my two cats ALL day LONG EVERY day. I have looked and looked for a nest, and cannot find one, and my poor cats stay in hiding under the cars all day and night now! any suggestions??

 

[barkley]

no suggestions but i sympathize with you-we had lots of them in our old neighborhood. they did'nt physicaly attack the cats but one would mimic the barking of the neighbor's dog when our cat went out then turn around and 'meow' at the neighbor dog setting it off barking worst one was smart enough to figure out how to mimic our neighbor's car alarm-it would sit in a tree, start in with this alarm sound and just watach the neighbor come racing out the door (actualy was pretty amusing to sit on the porch and watch it repeat several times over the course of an evening).

 

[GeorgeG]

We have lots of mockingbirds here... lots! We also have two cats, but they are inside cats. There are a few mockingbirds that like to tease them when they're out on the lanai, but never anything aggressive. I've never seen a nest, but I believe they are the state bird of Florida.

 

[Mermaid02]

Send them to my house!! I love them- could listen to them all day long!

 

[HunnyPots]

All I know is, it's a sin to kill one...

 

[zalansky]

We have them too, as a matter of fact a pair built a nest on our tree outside and we are waiting on the babies to arrive next week. I read online about people getting attacked (cats too) and those people using water bottles to spray at them to keep them away without hurting them.

 

[Seahunt]

They could be attacking your cats due to this:

When the chicks are about 12 days old, they will venture from the nest and hop around on the ground or in low shrubs. During this transitional period (after leaving the nest and before they can fly), the young birds are still in the care of the parents, who feed them up to five times per hour. If found hopping around on the ground, they should be placed low in a tree or in a shrub and left alone. The parents will continue to care for them for several days until they learn to forage for themselves.

We had a nest in our bougainvilla bushes and watched the parents fly in and out feeding the babies. One night we heard an awful commotion and my DH ran out and scared off the neighbor's cat - it was too late though as all we found were bird feathers and birdy feet on the ground. Yuck. But what can you do, nature is sure cruel sometimes

BTW We're cat lovers too so we feel your pain about them getting attacked by the bird parents too, but hopefully they will stop attacking your cats as soon as the chicks that must be out there will be on their own.

Good luck!

 

[Amlee]

I agree they most likely have babies somewhere close by. Which means they are MEAN!

With out hurting the babies, I don't see how you can do something about them. Nature just has to take it's course.


In the mean time, get out that video camera and try to make that $100,000 dollar winning video for AFV.

 

[lovetheprincesses]

Thanks for the replies! HAhA! I am at least smiling now! I cannot find a nest, nor any babies, so I am not sure what the deal is. My giant lazy cats are terrified though! They stand at the glass door, BEGGING to come in! I may HAVE to let them in. I have never heard of cats being terrorized by birds!

 

[Chipmunk89]

I heard of a book that might help.

It's called To Kill a Mockingbird.

Hahahaha! JK

Sorry, no advice. Good luck

 

[Amlee]

At our office we have a nest every year. Well the mockingbirds would give our pups hell when they would go to the potty. It was so funny to watch! The pups would be out sniffing to find that oh so perfect spot and those birds would be dive bombing them.

But the best and would that made my step-grandfather laugh until he cried was the time a Mockingbird went after a squirrel. It was the first time I had ever heard a squirrel scream. That Mockingbird chased that poor squirrel all over the place.

 

[Diznygrl]

I love mockingbirds. We have some that come every year to make their nest in our ivy. I think they sound heavenly! It's the crows and magpies that drive me up the wall.

About birds terrorizing cats, there was a bluejay that used to go after my kitty all the time. It would swoop back and forth at her head, but never actually touched her. It was pretty big and aggressive and made a bunch of noise so my kitty never even attempted an attack. Since it never seemed to cause her any physical or emotional harm, I thought it was pretty funny.