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Original poster

Can you have bird feeders and a cat.?

27 replies

nachosTrafficante · 14/09/2019 09:19

About to get a garden, not huge but larger than current back yard. I’d love bird feeders. We have an outdoor cat and I’ve not been feeding the birds as any place I put them would be within catching distance.

OP posts:
Littlepond · 14/09/2019 09:21

I’ve always felt I couldn’t have bird feeders in my garden because of my cats.

Didiusfalco · 14/09/2019 09:22

I wouldn’t. I don’t think the two are particularly compatible. I have bird feeders and chase any cat I see out the garden, which isn’t many as we have foxes living at the bottom.

katseyes7 · 14/09/2019 09:23

My friend has tons of bird feeders and three cats. Two of her cats (the queen especially) are inveterate hunters and are always bringing birds and small animals into the house. l don't think she's made the connection.

Soubriquet · 14/09/2019 09:25

I did. And I had lots of birds that my cat ignored

Then one year she decided she liked hunting and the poor birds didn’t stand a chance

So now I don’t feed them. Gutted really as I loved watching them

theconstantinoplegardener · 14/09/2019 09:29

I do, but I only feed the birds during the winter months and my cat prefers to stay indoors when it's cold. She does like to watch the birds from the windowsill though.

Also, I keep her in at night, as dawn is apparently a key hunting time.

DrinkSangriaInThePark · 14/09/2019 09:31

In fairness, it does seem as if you'd be basically baiting the birds for the cat to kill!

Windydaysuponus · 14/09/2019 09:32

An all you can eat buffet?
In over 7 years dcats have only caught 1 bird.
And it took both of them to kill it!
We had bird feeders at our old house.
Only get bloody seagulls here!

Kpo58 · 14/09/2019 09:34

It depends on the cat. My parents cat wasn't a hunter (and the birds were willingly be within meters of her), so it was fine to do so. I wouldn't if your cat is a hunter though.

AnOojamaflip · 14/09/2019 09:37

Yes you can. Put it somewhere the cat can't get easily. When you place it try and put it near something (like a tree) that the birds can hide in whilst the scope out the area before getting to the feeder.

Just like you would with a bird feeder if you didn't have a cat.

Dodie66 · 14/09/2019 09:37

I have bird feeders and neighbours have several cats. It hasn’t been a problem. The bird fly in to the feeders and then away again so no chance of the cats catching them

PurpleWithRed · 14/09/2019 09:38

I have bird feeders and two cats. They very occasionally bring in a bird but more often bring in voles, shrews etc. The feeders are all hanging feeders, squirrel (rat) proof so most of the birds stay in the air, but the bits that drop off do get hoovered up by ground feeding birds. If the see the cats lurking on the patio they just stay away.

Just make sure there aren't spots for the cats to hide within reach of the stuff that falls to the ground and I'd say you'll be fine.

EntirelyAnonymised · 14/09/2019 09:42

It depends on your cats’ prey drive.

My previous cats haven’t had a big prey drive for birds. One didn’t hunt at all and the others preferred small furries (mice & voles), so a bird feeder was absolutely fine and presented no problem. However, the cat I have now is an absolute menace to the bird population and so a feeder would be madness.

HMArsey · 14/09/2019 09:46

I only have a freestanding bird feeder in an open area for this reason, not near trees or bushes so the cat has nowhere to lie in wait.

Inforthelonghaul · 14/09/2019 09:50

I do and my cat is a prolific hunter unfortunately. I have a pole with hanging feeders for all the finches etc. It’s a few feet off the ground and they aren’t remotely bothered by my cat. I also have a tray underneath for the ground feeders but they obviously have to be more careful. It’s in an open area with nothing a cat could hide in so they have plenty of warning and is very busy. Birds have to find food somewhere and if I don’t feed them they are all over the lawn anyway looking for insects etc. The busiest time tends to be first thing in the morning here and my cat is normally still snoozing. I don’t think it makes a huge difference although I feed much less in the summer to avoid them nesting nearby and in a cold winter I’d rather feed them than let them starve.

Vinorosso74 · 14/09/2019 09:50

I wouldn't. That said our cat is a terrible hunter so we probably could do. Every morning he spends an hour or so two gardens down whilst the birds feast on the bird feeders; he tries and fails to catch them which I'm glad about.

YeOldeTrout · 14/09/2019 09:59

Attracting squeaky playthings for my cats to torture to death: I'm not happy to do that.

Stompythedinosaur · 14/09/2019 10:01

We have one of those poles with hooks for feeders, it is in an open area, so i dont think the cats could get them.

MontStMichel · 14/09/2019 10:09

We do - we have 2 cats. One is useless at catching birds - his method is to run across the lawn and take a flying leap at the bird. As he is black and white, they can see him coming and fly away, to his astonishment. He has however, caught about 30 mice.

His sister can catch birds, but mainly at dawn - we try to keep her in at night. Anyway, she is terrified of the cold and goes out for approximately 5 minutes a day between October and May - thanks to being born feral in December! Had they survived as feral kittens, and not been trapped in a TNR, they would be living off their prey along with the rest of their colony!

TonTonMacoute · 14/09/2019 11:53

I have two cats and a bird feeder, no problem. You have to take care with the positioning of the feeders, that's all.

MrsTommyBanks · 14/09/2019 11:58

I've had both for years. My cat brings in lots of mice but never birds.

Fleetheart · 14/09/2019 12:02

We have two cats and bird feeders. The cats both have very bad eyesight, they never catch anything so the birds are pretty safe. So all you need is a shortsighted cat 🙂

TheQueef · 14/09/2019 12:06

Outdoor cat wears a bell which our resident blackbirds appreciate.
Very occasionally she catches baby voles but on the whole the birds just laugh at her.

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 14/09/2019 12:07

Feeders that dangle from a pole are OK, if you have one of the baffle things on them (also keeps rats and squirrels from climbing the pole to raid the feeders). Forget bird tables and ground level feeders though.

TimeIhadaNameChange · 14/09/2019 12:19

My cat's a hunter but rarely manages to catch birds, despite having had feeders up for many years and our garden being very popular with our feathery friends.

Heartofglass12345 · 14/09/2019 12:27

We did, and we had more of a problem with our cats catching mice/ voles. My husband thinks it was due to them coming to eat the food off the ground Sad we got rid of the feeders which was shame because we had lots of birds coming in, but it wasn't fair on the little animals