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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / October 2003Did my cat just killed a bird?
I cannot believe it but I think my cat killed a bird. She sleeps 23 and a half hours a day and spends the rest of the time eating and sitting like a spinx before sleeping again. This morning was as per normal but I noticed a sorta dead bird about two feet away from her favorite sleeping spot on the flower bed and bird feathers all over her sleeping spot. Could she have killed the bird? But she did not bring it up to me as an "offering" which birds usually do for their owners. I had to pick up the dead bird and put it in the trash. Yucks to think that I would cuddle her and nuzzle up to her face, etc. > I cannot believe it but I think my cat killed a bird. She sleeps 23 and a > half [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > to > think that I would cuddle her and nuzzle up to her face, etc. She's a cat, and that's what cats do. Nature isn't always pretty. Priscilla Despite her usual appearances to the contrary, I'd say, yep, she most likely killed a bird. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon > I cannot believe it but I think my cat killed a bird. She sleeps 23 and a half > hours a day and spends the rest of the time eating and sitting like a spinx [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > their owners. I had to pick up the dead bird and put it in the trash. Yucks to > think that I would cuddle her and nuzzle up to her face, etc. Kuisse0002 <kuisse0002@aol.com> wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav: > I cannot believe it but I think my cat killed a bird. She sleeps > 23 and a half hours a day and spends the rest of the time eating [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > and put it in the trash. Yucks to think that I would cuddle her > and nuzzle up to her face, etc. It's a CAT! They kill stuff and they don't always want to give us presents.  SignatureBrandy??Alexandre? http://www.swydm.com/?refer=BrandyAlx Well, would you? Hi, Be grateful it's not a live mouse. Kim brought me home alive baby mouse, yesterday . I put it in the garden shed and she did the same again today. It's in a cat carrier, uninjured as far as I can tell . If it survives tonight I'll take it to a wildlife rescue. Another cat could have killed the bird or she could have killed it herself. Its very sad but it happens . -- Alison > I cannot believe it but I think my cat killed a bird. She sleeps 23 and a half > hours a day and spends the rest of the time eating and sitting like a spinx [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > their owners. I had to pick up the dead bird and put it in the trash. Yucks to > think that I would cuddle her and nuzzle up to her face, etc. >Hi, > Be grateful it's not a live mouse. Kim brought me home alive baby [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Another cat could have killed the bird or she could have killed it >herself. Its very sad but it happens . Or it could have died of an illness. Not too long ago I remember reading a news article telling people to report to the "authorities" if dead birds were found. I cannot remember the details (sorry), but it was regarding a virus moving west. << Or it could have died of an illness. Not too long ago I remember reading a news article telling people to report to the "authorities" if dead birds were found. I cannot remember the details (sorry), but it was regarding a virus moving west. >> Wet Nile Virus, pretty much over most of the U.S. now, including most western states. If the bird had feathers all around it, though, it sounds like it was killed. You can usually tell the difference between a bird that just dropped dead and a bird killed by a cat. Personally, I wonder why we don't see more dead birds laying around. There are zillions of birds and they only live a year or 2 naturally, so where are their bodies? In rural areas, I suppose predators get them but in big cities, etc., I don't know where they go. I seldom see a dead bird in my neighborhood but there a ton of living ones. I don't think cats generally eat an animal that has died of natural causes and we don't have any natural predators in our neighborhood. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) I seldom see a dead bird in my neighborhood but > there a ton of living ones. I don't think cats generally eat an > animal that has died of natural causes and we don't have any > natural predators in our neighborhood. Things that make you think. :) One time I was driving down the road and a duck fell out of the sky and landed on the road in front of me. I always wondered what happened to it and why it was flying if it was sick. Maybe a heart attack or something; I doubt it was shot [here, city] but you never know. > Personally, I wonder why we don't see more > dead birds laying around. There are zillions of birds and they only live a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > we > don't have any natural predators in our neighborhood. I'll bet you don't prowl around on roof tops too much. They probably huddle down somewhere, not feeling well, and then die in place -- on the aforementioned rooftops, on cornices, under overhangs, in the same kind of places they'd nest. Priscilla << I'll bet you don't prowl around on roof tops too much. They probably huddle down somewhere, not feeling well, and then die in place -- on the aforementioned rooftops, on cornices, under overhangs, in the same kind of places they'd nest. Priscilla >> Hmmm, well, I suppose there are some up there but a lot of birds nest in trees so they oughtta drop outta them if they die in them. Actually, here in AZ, we're up on our roof fairly often as the a/c, the evaporative cooler, and the furnace are up there (common here for some reason) and we've never seen any. I've seen a couple of dead ones in my yard that appeared to die of natural causes. One day, a few minutes after I came home from work, there was a dead flicker in my driveway. He hadn't been there when I came home. My neighbor said she had heard him singing up in the tree earlier that day and he was right under "his" tree so I guess he probably was fortunate enough to just drop dead suddenly. We should all be so lucky. I see your point, Priscilla, but the sheer quantity of birds would seem to indicate there should be more dead ones laying around. IMHO, anyway. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) > << I'll bet you don't prowl around on roof tops too much. They probably > huddle down somewhere, not feeling well, and then die in place -- on the [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > I see your point, Priscilla, but the sheer quantity of birds would seem to > indicate there should be more dead ones laying around. IMHO, anyway. Never thought about it much, except on the rare occasion when I've seen one. Do crows eat dead birds, besides other carrion? We have a large crow population here (where I live) - they could explain part of the clean-up if they're not adverse to eating other expired birds. Otoh, what about dead crows (besides those reported for WNV testing)? Where do they disappear to? One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & there was an obviously ill crow on back lawn, poor guy (or girl). He wandered into the garden & I guess died in there someplace. 'Cause about an hour later I heard a large amount of cawing that lasted perhaps 30 minutes - lots of other crows gathered in a sort of circle around the place I'd last seen the sick one - I think they were holding a wake or funeral. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon << One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & there was an obviously ill crow on back lawn, poor guy (or girl). He wandered into the garden & I guess died in there someplace. 'Cause about an hour later I heard a large amount of cawing that lasted perhaps 30 minutes - lots of other crows gathered in a sort of circle around the place I'd last seen the sick one - I think they were holding a wake or funeral. Cathy >> Wow, that's pretty cool. I'll have to tell my cousin this as she considers the crow her personal totem. I've heard crows are exceedingly intelligent and able to use tools, etc. I read where they have been observed putting nuts in the path of cars and watching until the cars run over the nuts and then going and eating the innards. Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) > << One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & there > was an obviously ill crow on back lawn, poor guy (or girl). He wandered [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Candace Yep, I read that, too. Don't know if it was here, or as an OT post/thread on another ng. Also there was Betty the crow (she made the news maybe a year or so ago), who fashioned a hook out of a straight piece of wire to fish up a little tiny pail of food that was sitting inside a small cylinder - the little pail of food was placed out of her reach if she had used just her beak or feet. Then there was the crow who found a Styrofoam cup in a street & got inside of it & rolled down the hill - the street was on a hill. When other crows saw him/her doing that, they took turns - getting into the cup & rolling down the hill & bringing the cup back up to the top of the hill again to repeat the process - just having fun, I guess. Also the story I heard from Jean Craighead George - author of "Julie of the Wolves" & other wildlife books, at a conference. She told a story about a semi-pet crow named Crowbar that they had when her daughter was little. Her little girl was playing on the slide in their yard. Crowbar flew to the top of the slide, and tried to imitate her, but he couldn't slide - being a bird, his feet just "stuck". He looked around, flew over to the child's sandbox, picked up an aluminum pie pan that was in the sandbox, placed it at the top of the slide, stepped into it, and slid down. I agree; smart birds. :-) Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon > Then there was the crow who found a Styrofoam cup in a street & got > inside of it & rolled down the hill - the street was on a hill. > When other crows saw him/her doing that, they took turns - getting > into the cup & rolling down the hill & bringing the cup back up to > the top of the hill again to repeat the process - just having fun, > I guess. Funny!! :) I've observed birds quite a bit (hope to soon again, once the strays are all adopted) and they *are* smart. I love bluejays. My dad calls them trashcans with wings but I like them. > > Then there was the crow who found a Styrofoam cup in a street & got > > inside of it & rolled down the hill - the street was on a hill. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > the strays are all adopted) and they *are* smart. I love bluejays. > My dad calls them trashcans with wings but I like them. Oh, I like Bluejays, too. Besides their good looks - pretty spots of color in nature, when they yell their heads off because of potential danger, I figure they're acting as warning systems for all of the other birds in the immediate locale, too. Supposedly (I've read) they 'take over' feeders, but I've not seen that happen. They take turns w/ the finches, chickadees, whoever else happens to be around. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon >>>Then there was the crow who found a Styrofoam cup in a street & got >>>inside of it & rolled down the hill - the street was on a hill. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > I've not seen that happen. They take turns w/ the finches, chickadees, > whoever else happens to be around. Same here. I have lots of different birds at my feeders. I've found the jays like the squirrel feed I put down, so maybe they're duking it out with the squirrels and leaving the finches alone. :) K > Cathy > > -- > "Staccato signals of constant information..." > ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon << Yep, I read that, too. Don't know if it was here, or as an OT post/thread on another ng. >> Yeah, I think it might have been. I was wondering if it was you who posted it originally after I wrote that... Candace (take the litter out before replying by e-mail) See my cats: http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other than human." (Loren Eisely) > << Yep, I read that, too. Don't know if it was here, or as an OT post/thread > on another ng. >> > > Yeah, I think it might have been. I was wondering if it was you who posted it > originally after I wrote that... Nope, that one - about the crows figuring out that they could place the nuts in the paths of the car tires - wasn't me, although I did take part in that thread, in whichever ng it was. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon > One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & there > was an obviously ill crow on back lawn, poor guy (or girl). He wandered > into the garden & I guess died in there someplace. 'Cause about an hour > later I heard a large amount of cawing that lasted perhaps 30 minutes - lots > of other crows gathered in a sort of circle around the place I'd last seen > the sick one - I think they were holding a wake or funeral. No doubt with refreshments. Priscilla > > One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & there > > was an obviously ill crow on back lawn, poor guy (or girl). He wandered [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > No doubt with refreshments. Wahh hahaha! My thoughts exactly! I see them all the time in the roads having "wakes" for dead birds and squirrells. They are so charming I wonder why I don't worry about them getting hit. *S* I DO slow down and try to avoid them. I also try not to look at what they are doing. > Priscilla > > One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & there > > was an obviously ill crow on back lawn, poor guy (or girl). He wandered [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Priscilla Cynic. ;-) Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon > > > One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & > there [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Cynic. ;-) Realist. ;-) Priscilla > > > > One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & > > there [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Realist. ;-) I really *do* think it was a funeral. They were all perched on the fence top & in nearby trees around the area of the garden where I'd last seen the ill crow enter, & they were cawing like crazy for a long time (maybe half an hour). Whether or not they ate the victim later, I don't know. I didn't go hunting for its body right away, but neither did I later find it. Another possibility - that they carried it off? Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon > > << I'll bet you don't prowl around on roof tops too much. They probably > > huddle down somewhere, not feeling well, and then die in place -- on the [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > they're not adverse to eating other expired birds. Otoh, what about dead > crows (besides those reported for WNV testing)? Where do they disappear to? Other crows. :-) > One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & there > was an obviously ill crow on back lawn, poor guy (or girl). He wandered [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Cathy A little sympathy before the feast. :-) > I see your point, Priscilla, but the sheer quantity of birds would > seem to indicate there should be more dead ones laying around. > IMHO, anyway. I think insects get at them pretty quickly. Ants. > I see your point, Priscilla, but the sheer quantity of birds would seem to > indicate there should be more dead ones laying around. IMHO, anyway. Plenty of seagull poop, very few dead seagulls. I guess there's very little of a bird besides feathers so when they die they must decompose quickly, but it is true that you don't see many dead birds compared to say, dead squirrels or raccoons; at least around here. Apparently the lightness of a bird's being makes it difficult to trace their phylogeny as they have thin hollow bones that don't fossilize well. The crows usually scavenge very quickly what is lying around dead. Elaine > << Or it could have died of an illness. Not too long ago I remember > reading a news article telling people to report to the "authorities" [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > "One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other > than human." (Loren Eisely) If you're in an urban area, the local carrion/disposers of the dead are likely -- rats. Yes, it's yucky. Kate sitting with her cat Baku on her lap while Baku nurses her armpit Yesterday, my female cat Shiva caught a bird as I was walking outside the house. She got excited when she saw me and came over quickly to do her offering. She put it down in front of me and it was uninjured enough that it managed to fly away immediately. I was relieved. It was only because she didnt have time enough to play with it that the bird got out of it. My male cat, Chaka, has never ever did any offerings in all his 13 years. He even runs away with his prey to make sure he keeps it for himself. Offering depends on the cat personality. I would tend to think that females do it more, because they have the mother instinct. I can't know that for sure though. Elaine -- My cats: http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid906206 Article fran?ais sur le d?griffage http://chakashiva.tripod.com/degriffage.index.htm > I cannot believe it but I think my cat killed a bird. She sleeps 23 and a half > hours a day and spends the rest of the time eating and sitting like a spinx [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > their owners. I had to pick up the dead bird and put it in the trash. Yucks to > think that I would cuddle her and nuzzle up to her face, etc. > I cannot believe it but I think my cat killed a bird. She sleeps 23 and a half > hours a day and spends the rest of the time eating and sitting like a spinx > before sleeping again. So many dreams, so little time to eat and hunt. This morning was as per normal but I noticed a sorta > dead bird about two feet away from her favorite sleeping spot on the flower bed > and bird feathers all over her sleeping spot. Could she have killed the bird? With such evidence I think a jury would find her guilty, yes. > But she did not bring it up to me as an "offering" which birds usually do for > their owners. That DOES constitute reasonable doubt. That and the fact that she had so little time to commit the crime, what with all of her other responsibilities such as sleeping, grooming, stretching and defecating. I had to pick up the dead bird and put it in the trash. That was a trophy! |
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