Advice please: one of my cats has just caught his third bird this week

[CharleytheFrenchPoodle]

I suspect there isn't much we can do, but am just after any advice about if we can make our two cats any more 'noticeable' to the local wildlife. They already have collars with bells on but that doesn't seem to be stopping them catching birds.
It doesn't help that there are loads of birds around at the moment as next door have just installed a big feeding station in their garden, right above a bush that the cats make a beeline for, hide in, then pounce when a bird goes onto the ground to hoover up any spare food- it's almost too easy for them!

[FaFoutis]

I'm interested in this too. My cat caught 4 birds in a morning this week, it was a massacre. Every night is a mouse massacre.
He has a bell on, I feel like changing it for some kind of warning siren.

[therealeasterbunny]

My cat has had two birds this week...it almost makes me hate cats! I don't mind so much when they kill them quickly, but mine has a habit of bringing them in alive, injured and petrified, and then I never know whether it is kinder to attempt to rescue them, or let him finish them off?! Bloody cats! isn't iams enough?!

[CharleytheFrenchPoodle]

I've just had this dilemma therealeasterbunny Was putting DD down for her nap and heard a lot of screeching from outside, looked out the window to see EvilCat emerging through the fence panel with a bird in his mouth. Ran downstairs, saw he was carrying it by its wing, banged on the window, he dropped it and the bird ran off. So the bird is probably somewhere injured now and not sure if I've done the right thing or whether I should have just let him finish

[pigsDOfly]

As far as the bell thing goes OP, I've heard that cats will learn to do their stalking so the bell doesn't make a noise, don't know if that's true.

My lovely ginger cat - no longer with us unfortunately - was a devil with mice, he'd bring them in alive and then get bored with the hunt.

One summer morning we had five in the house that we managed to rescue.

I fear it's one of the unpleasant facts of having a cat in your life.

[Fluffycloudland77]

You can buy anti-hunting bibs.

Google it.

Weigh up the chances of the cat HATING you forever.

[FoxSticks]

I was going to suggest the bib to although it will make your cat the laughingstock of the neighbourhood. There are a lot of mixed views about if they are unfair to the cat or not.

[Migsy1]

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B004TW6OZA?pc_redir=1400037570&robot_redir=1&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

My cats would not wear it!

[CharleytheFrenchPoodle]

I actually just laughed out loud at that bib! I showed my DH and he just walked away shaking his head. I think you're right pigsDOfly it's just something that unfortunately happens when you have cats Just wish they'd stop bringing them back home!

[WitchWay]

Fortunately mine don't catch many birds - fewer than a dozen between the two of them in 5 years. Lots of small furries though. If they're wearing a bell I'm not sure what else you could do - no-one actually makes their poor cat wear one of those bibs do they?

[FoxSticks]

Do they wear more than one bell each? My cat caught a couple of birds and we put three bells on his collar. They bang together so it's difficult for him to stalk quietly. He hasn't had a bird since.

[issynoho]

Nearly wet myself at that cat bib. The review written by the sparrow is ace.

I have double- belled our cats but it hasn't stopped the carnage, just slowed it down a bit. Always worst in spring cos the fledglings haven't learnt to fear the cats yet. And blackbirds are ground feeders and a bit stupid sometimes.

[issynoho]

x post! Respect for three bells.

[edamsavestheday]

at that bib. Blimey. Here's hoping any self-respecting moggie manages to wriggle out of it PDQ.

Cats eat birds, birds eat worms, worms eat soil - all part of nature's rich tapestry doo-dah. No-one said Mother Nature was nice...

[shoppingfrenzy]

Agree with Edam. They are CATS. They are programmed to catch & eat birds.

[BetweenDogandWolf]

You could try seeing if your neighbours could move the feeding station away from the bushes if that was possible. Only one of my three catches birds but not too often. My youngest brings us worms and 2 toads so far

[FoxSticks]

Thanks, we call him Toby the Christmas cat, because he sounds like Father Christmas's sleigh! Even my neighbours comment on his jingling.

I did get criticised on here once for cruelty as I was supposedly inflicting the cat equivalent of tinnitus from an occasional sufferer. I out trumped her occasional with my permanent condition and said I felt they were worlds apart as the jingling stops when he does so he can sleep peacefully. The real pain with tinnitus is when you are trying to find some peace or sleep and all you can hear is the bloody ringing :( Bit of a tangent there - sorry!

[CharleytheFrenchPoodle]

Maybe I'll try the double/triple bell thing.... Although chances are they are just too quick for the younger birds. edam and shopping I know you're right- it's in their nature and I guess if I really objected I wouldn't have got cats in the first place. Am just a wuss when it comes to things like this

[Itsfab]

Apparently if a cat brings in a live mouse it is because they think you are ready to learn hunting .

Mine have killed 3 birds but never brought one in. They have brought numerous mice, lots of worms and a bloody live frog once though.

[pigsDOfly]

Put that bib on your cat at your own risk.

He/she might not bring home any more birds or mice but there's a very strong possibility your cat will kill you while you sleep.

[Blondieminx]

Oh I sympathise - Blondiecat is hunter extraordinaire. Since Wednesday she's had a mouse, a bird, a lizard and a spider (that I've seen her with!).

She had 3 bells on at one point, didn't make an iota of difference to her hunting rate, but she made far too much noise arriving on our bed at 2.30am.

[edamsavestheday]

at three bells merely serving to wake the owner. That'll teach you!

Interesting idea that the bring live mice home because they think puny humans might just be ready to learn how to hunt. Maybe that's why we keep intercepting our moggie on the stairs, on the way up to ds's room... he's definitely ds's cat (as in, the cat treats ds as HIS person, dh and I are merely secondary characters. Particularly since ds got older and became able to feed the cat).

[edamsavestheday]

they bring live mice home. Sheesh. I always know it's bedtime when I start making basic typing errors...

[HaveAGander]

My two are awful. Cat One brought a live mouse in this evening, which I promptly rescued and put out into the garden. 10 minutes later Cat Two struts in with the same mouse! I felt so sorry for it, captured twice by different cats. It must have been injured and unable to move quickly.

I put it out a second time and kept the cats in for a while so it had a bit of time to hopefully get away.

[sashh]

I'm waiting for this year's baby sparrows.

I live in a bungalow, the sparrows nest in my roof.

I have a cat, I feed a couple of strays, my next door neighbour has 5 cats.

There is a 6ft fence between me and my neighbour's garden (semi) all the cats climb the fence and then it is about 1ft jump to the roof.

The baby sparrows never survive.

Every year.

[BloominNora]

If they are using a bush to hide in by the bird feeder, can you string the bush with bells and wind chimes so that they ring when they try to pounce or stalk?

The bringing live mice in is interesting - we used to have two cats, one a brilliant hunter and the other not. The good hunter used to bring in live shrews which the not so good hunter would then gum to death if we didn't rescue them in time (he had no teeth due to several severe bouts of gingivitis). I wonder if she was trying to teach him how to hunt?