How do you stop Cats killing birds and small mammals?

[chris667]

Look people let their dog's crap everywhere, and I don't see that getting better.

Coming from a cat owner that's rich.

They're killers. Not really a good domestic animal. Cats would be happier doing what they want to do - killing small things on a farm.

I used to live on a boat and for a couple of years I was on a marina that won awards for conservation. A woman arrived with two cats one winter and next spring the cat killed everything - all the nesting birds. She refused to admit there was an issue.

Not that I'd condone this at all, but I believe someone took an air rifle to it eventually.

 

[fossyant]

Coming from a cat owner that's rich.

They're killers. Not really a good domestic animal. Cats would be happier doing what they want to do - killing small things on a farm.

I used to live on a boat and for a couple of years I was on a marina that won awards for conservation. A woman arrived with two cats one winter and next spring the cat killed everything - all the nesting birds. She refused to admit there was an issue.

Not that I'd condone this at all, but I believe someone took an air rifle to it eventually.

Actually I can. My cat's don't crap anywhere other in their cat run in my garden and in their litter - house cats.

 

[MontyVeda]

Coming from a cat owner that's rich.

They're killers. Not really a good domestic animal. Cats would be happier doing what they want to do - killing small things on a farm.

I used to live on a boat and for a couple of years I was on a marina that won awards for conservation. A woman arrived with two cats one winter and next spring the cat killed everything - all the nesting birds. She refused to admit there was an issue.

Not that I'd condone this at all, but I believe someone took an air rifle to it eventually.

If cats hadn't been 'domesticated' (i use the term lightly)... they'd be wildlife, killing other wildlife.

 

[GuyBoden]

Advice from the RSPCA website:
https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats/behaviour

A cat's natural instinct is to hunt its prey, but there's a real concern that domestic cats are impacting the welfare of local wildlife. To help prevent your cat bringing home unwanted surprises, and to protect local wildlife, we recommend:

• Keeping them inside at dusk and dawn when wildlife is most active, at least an hour before sunset and an hour after sunrise.
• Keeping them inside after bad weather such as rain, to allow birds to come out and feed.
• Attaching a bell to a quick-release safety collar.

 

[KnittyNorah]

This subject does grate on me , I can’t think of any other pet that is allowed to crap where it wants in neighbours garden and kill pond fish , birds etc and the owner can just turn round and say “ well that’s just what cats do “
I have a dog that I walk , clear up after
And make sure it’s not a pain for anyone else . I like my garden and if I wanted cat mess in it I would get a cat
Really think cat laws ought to be updated , if you can’t look after it enough to respect others then you shouldn’t have one - nothing says you can’t keep indoors and walk on a lead - problem solved

Even if cats were easily trained to walk on a lead, can you imagine the reactions of 95% of the dogs being walked at the same time by their owners? Some (fairly few) cats will be happy to be indoor cats; most aren't.
I had a cat who was happy to walk on a harness and who I could take to the vet for her vaccs on the bus, being carried like a small dog. There were always a few dog owners in the vet's waiting room who were not at all happy with an uncontainerised cat which behaved itself much better than their dogs, though, and they had to be 'spoken to' by the receptionist and, on one occasion, removed by the vet.

 

[berty bassett]

You've obviously never "owned" a cat. That isn't how they work.

Yes, you can keep them indoors, though it isn't ideal for the cat..

But it is a VERY rare cat that would accept being walked on a lead - you really can't train them the way you can a dog.

don't have one then ?

 

[DRM]

Well the cat who has taken pity on myself and Mrs DRM and partially adopted us, in between sleeping, rolling on cat nip in the garden & wanting to come inside, is too slow to catch a cold, she did catch a bee a couple of weeks back, but that didn’t end well, she was quite pleased with herself after presenting us with a feather, but the 2 pigeons that come to the garden just take the mickey and fly off lazily, despite being crept up on

 

[november4]

solar cat repeller .

I think I am going to try that. Despite chasing cats out of back garden with water pistol which is hilariously satisfying, one obstinate B keeps crapping in the middle of my front lawn.

The owners just let them run free and we have a lot of bird activity in our garden, which we love.

I read a biography from a new york pathologist and he summed it up - if you die in an apartment in your chair and are not found, your dog will pine away howling beside you, but your cat will start on your eyeballs, and they don't wait long either.

 

[MontyVeda]

Aren't there some strong scented plants they don't like?

Lavender maybe?

I might have dreamt it, not sure. It's late... for me.

 

[DRM]

Aren't there some strong scented plants they don't like?

Lavender maybe?

I might have dreamt it, not sure. It's late... for me.

Cat Nip or Cat Mint it’s the same plant, they get that excited over it they forget all about killing things, it’s like crack cocaine for felines, spend all day with their heads in it

 

[kayakerles]

I think I am going to try that. Despite chasing cats out of back garden with water pistol which is hilariously satisfying, one obstinate B keeps crapping in the middle of my front lawn.

The owners just let them run free and we have a lot of bird activity in our garden, which we love.

I read a biography from a new york pathologist and he summed it up - if you die in an apartment in your chair and are not found, your dog will pine away howling beside you, but your cat will start on your eyeballs, and they don't wait long either.

LOL. Survival of the fittest then. If I’m sittin’ dead in my apartment, my 2 kitties can have at me. I just hope someone discovers me before my they starve to death. No hard feelings. 😻 😻 It's not like I’m there anymore. 🫥

 

[Adam4868]

I love cats....my partner didn't ! We live near a golf course and used to get mice when we first moved in.
My partner now loves our cat 😁

 

[Alex321]

don't have one then ?

I currently have just one cat. I had two at any given time for most of the last 30 years.

The only cat I have ever known which would accept being put on a lead was a Siamese that my mother owned.

 

[GuyBoden]

Well the cat who has taken pity on myself and Mrs DRM and partially adopted us, in between sleeping, rolling on cat nip in the garden & wanting to come inside, is too slow to catch a cold, she did catch a bee a couple of weeks back, but that didn’t end well, she was quite pleased with herself after presenting us with a feather, but the 2 pigeons that come to the garden just take the mickey and fly off lazily, despite being crept up on

All cats are predators by nature, even old cats. If a small, flightless, helpless, baby bird flutters nearby the cat, the cat will pounce upon the baby bird repeatedly, until the cat eventually stops the baby bird from moving, then the baby bird is probably dead.

Blackbird fledglings spend a week on the ground before they can fly, this is when most are killed. 😢

 

[numbnuts]

Put large bell on said cat