Catching Birds

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Blanco - 03 Jul 2006 13:53 GMT

I have a male and female cat and I do not like them wearing collars but the
only thing the collars had bells which I believed gave the birds a chance to
get away. It is only my female cat that brings them home but sometimes she
has brought several young chicks and even a nest. She also brings loads of
mice, she is a very small cat could this give her an advantage over other
cats, her sisters and many other cats live in my close but do not catch as
many as her. I do not expect there is anything I can do about it and I know
that the cat is not doing anything wrong, its natural for her to do so. My
concern is that in the UK where I live more people are cat owners than ever
before, more people have cats than dogs. With so many cats as pets more
birds are being killed than ever and that is not a good thing.

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(PeteCresswell) - 03 Jul 2006 15:59 GMT

Per Blanco:

>only thing the collars had bells which I believed gave the birds a chance to
>get away.

Somewhere I read that someone had studied the effectiveness of bells in
preventing bird-killing and found that after a short while the cats learned to
work around/compensate for the bell and the kill rate returned to normal.

Maybe somebody with better recall can cite/comment on this?

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PeteCresswell

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pussygalore - 06 Jul 2006 20:31 GMT

Hi, I agree about the bell on the collar. I live next to a nature
reserve and the assortmentof 'gifts' that my cats bring through the cat
flap vary from a screaming bat (elbowing its way round my living room!)
to the maic squirrel who was disgruntled to say the least!!!! I have a
problem with my cats plucking at my new carpet. We have a scratching
post but they prefer the carpet and do this every time they walk into
the room. Any suggestions?????????????

> I have a male and female cat and I do not like them wearing collars but the
> only thing the collars had bells which I believed gave the birds a chance to
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> before, more people have cats than dogs. With so many cats as pets more
> birds are being killed than ever and that is not a good thing.

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Sara - 07 Jul 2006 01:06 GMT

do you have any carpet scraps left over from getting the new
carpeting installed? Maybe you or a friend can build a
scratching post or two, using the new carpet?

> Hi, I agree about the bell on the collar. I live next to a
> nature
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
>> pets more
>> birds are being killed than ever and that is not a good thing.

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Catlover Medway - 08 Jul 2006 16:42 GMT

Hi, Blanco/Pete - I think the study you're referring to is the joint study
between the Feline Advisory Bureau and the Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds. Here's a link to the article, but I'm sure in the full survey they
mentioned that sonic collars were also being looked at as some cats found
bells profoundly disturbing. I can't recollect any conclusions however. The
cat really needs to wear two bells.

Re the chicks, which trees the nests are in? You could try looking at tree
protectors or spirals if the tree doesn't have squirrels.

Puss will settle down as she gets older. The way Desmond Morris put it was
that cats see us as terrible hunters; live prey is brought in for us to
practice on. Dead prey left in a prominent place is a gift and we must never
scream!

http://www.fabcats.org/collars.html

There might be more info on the RSPB website or that of the Mammal Society.

>I have a male and female cat and I do not like them wearing collars but the
>only thing the collars had bells which I believed gave the birds a chance to
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>before, more people have cats than dogs. With so many cats as pets more
>birds are being killed than ever and that is not a good thing.

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kraut - 08 Jul 2006 17:16 GMT

>I have a male and female cat and I do not like them wearing collars but the
>only thing the collars had bells which I believed gave the birds a chance to
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>before, more people have cats than dogs. With so many cats as pets more
>birds are being killed than ever and that is not a good thing.

Keep them indoors and you will not have a problem with them killing
wildlife and they will not need collars niether.

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