It's baby bird hunting season - any advice?

[nicecatBUT]

Our otherwise-lovely cat has brought in a bleeding, broken baby bird this morning and left it flapping forlornly in the kitchen. She can't catch adult birds (not quick enough, and has a bell), but this time last year she brought in a whole nest-full of chicks, one by one as they hatched - some of them were still damp from the hatching. It was heartbreaking.

Any advice? We can't really keep her inside for the whole season. Keeping her inside in the early morning won't really help either as the nest is obviously within reach at any time of the day.

I'm thinking of trying a "cat bib" which is supposed to prevent climbing trees - anyone had any experience with one of those? She'll hate it of course, but if it keeps the birds safe until they can fly it'll be worth it. (I know this is all par for the course with cats, but we live in a city suburb and birds need all the help they can get to survive.)

Also, would it be reasonable to assume that a broken baby bird is beyond help? We put it in an open shoebox in a safe place (the zipped up trampoline) so it could at least die in peace, perhaps within earshot of its parents. I think it may be a great-tit, as there were some angry-sounding adult birds hanging around the trees at the bottom of the garden.

Is the cat bib safe for the cat? Can’t hurt her if she tries to climb? If so then no harm in giving it a go. I would just be slightly worried re choking / injuries.

Regarding the baby bird - I’m not sure putting it within earshot of parents but unreachable by them is kind tbh? Sounds quite like torture. If you’re not sure enough to put it out of its misery then maybe put it within earshot but reachable that way at least there’s maybe some point? Disclaimer though: know nothing about birds. Hopefully a bird person might be along to advise.

Finally: it’s just nature. Sad but only so much you can / should do.

Honestly kill the bird. There's nothing that can be done for it and it's cruel to be left like that. Regarding your cat a bib doesn't sound very safe tbh and I'd try and keep them in. How long does it take for birds to fly? My cat only brings in bigger birds and we kill them when he brings them inside.

To be clear, it's reachable by its parents in the trampoline - just not reachable by the cat!

Last year we found one in the house and put it out in the garden. It was tweeting a lot. Its parents came and landed on the washing line calling back to it, but then seemed to suddenly realise they couldn't do anything for it and both flew off simultaneously. So sad.

Euthanise the baby bird. Why can you not keep your cat inside?

Here's what you want:

www.birdsbesafe.com

Put a second bell on right next to the first so they jangle next to each other

Kill the birds. And get over it. That's how nature works.

Bells and other things designed to scare birds away from the cat surely won't work in this case - it sounds like the cat is stealing the baby birds out of the nest before they're old enough to fly away. Is it your tree? Can you put something around it to stop her climbing it?

I'd have to get someone else to euthanise the chick, there's no way on this earth I could do it myself. No chance. But agree that's what needs to be done. What a horrible situation.

My girl is doing the same! I chased her round the garden to get her to drop a little bird the other day, shouting at her that she was a mean, fluffy bastard, the neighbours must think I’m potty!

She seems to be quite good at actually killing them, though, which means I’ve not had to euthanise any little fluffy baby birds yet. Think I’d be heartbroken!

I’m keeping my cat in except for an hour or so early evening. And only feeding her once she’s home so she comes back for it. Some birds have made a nest in a bird box that’s in a daft place and I’m really hoping the babies make it.

shouting at her that she was a mean, fluffy bastard

I took a baby bird to the vet who euthanised it, cruel to let them die from blood poisoning (cat bites full of bacteria) in pain. My cats don’t do it any more as they now wear 3(!) bells on their collars. They sound like mini Morris dancers but who cares. No dead or injured birds for 2 years.

Thanks for the suggestion ScurfyTwiglet. I've wrapped some very sticky tape - sticky side out - round the tree trunks in our garden. I hope that will be enough to put her off. (I also texted my next-door neighbours to encourage them to do the same, but they probably just think I'm mad! ).

I took the bird to the vet in the end and I think they were planning to contact a wildlife rescue centre. It seemed fairly healthy after a few hours in a shoebox in the trampoline, but I couldn't see how it's parents could rescue it when it couldn't fly. I'm slightly regretting that decision now though after reading a bit more - apparently they don't need to get them back to the nest; so long as they're in a secure place the parents fly down and feed them until they're strong enough to fly.

@KellyBailey the neighbour poked her head over the fence and asked if I had ‘cat trouble’ I was shouting, the cat was growling and thrashing this poor floppy little dead thing around.

I eventually wrestled it off her and took it to the end of the garden...and managed to hit our other cat squarely on the head with it when I threw the poor thing into the long grass

Other cat was

Don't euthanise baby birds yourself - a vet or wildlife rescue will be able to judge the chances of survival and if euthanasia is needed, will do it painlessly. There are a lot of wildlife hospitals around. I found two baby birds last spring and thought they would have no chance but took them to a place called Tiggywinkles hospital. It was lovely to find out later that they had been nursed and were able to be released later.

Kill the birds. And get over it. That's how nature works.

Nice

Do you think that ridiculous clown collar thing works? Might get one for my cats.

There's a magpie family who scare the crap out of my furidiots. I'm pretty sure all my wildlife is safe. The cats streak inside every so often because the birds caw at them, and cry behind my legs.

I've cat-proofed their escape from the garden with chicken wire though - bracketed on the fence to prevent them jumping out (they're old, and poor at jumping, so I don't want them straying).

Can you make a guard on the tree so the cat can't climb it?

I did something like this on my trees when the cat was a kitten to stop him getting up the trees and then saying he was stuck.
www.ragdoll.co.za/About%20Ragdolls.html