To be really upset with my cat

[elprup]

I adopted a young male rescue cat last summer. He’d been living stray and had a difficult start in life, so I thought I was doing a good thing.

About six months after letting him outside he began catching quite a lot of mice, which although not ideal, I could just about cope with.

However, he has now moved on to birds and has caught about four in the space of two weeks. I’m so, so upset by it.

This morning he came into my bedroom for a snooze and then went outside into the garden. I went down about 20 minutes later to find him in the kitchen with another dead bird in his mouth. I can’t believe he’s managed to kill another one just 20 minutes after being let out this morning.

He’s a lovely cat apart from this but honestly, I’m really regretting adopting him now.

I’m considering a collar with a bell but have read they can cause injury to cats if the quick release mechanism fails or doesn’t work fast enough.

I just hate to see all these lovely birds being slaughtered. What can I do?

It’s why a cat will eat it’s dead owner

If your cat was bigger it wouldn't wait until you are dead.

OP please try not to be cross with him. He really is bringing you gifts. He's happy and settled in his new home thanks to you. I have indoor cats (not popular on MN I know) one of them was a stray, we have offered the garden to her but she has absolutely no interest. She does however "hunt" things around the house. She has brought me all sorts of things but mostly favours socks. I always wake up to one by the bed in the morning. If there are no socks around she'll bring me a toy, stood on a squeaky one at about 5 this morning and got the fright of my life.

Collars do cause injury. I used a stretchy one and my cat got caught on something and lost his leg. The quick release ones on another cat lasted on him long enough to get out the cat flap and he’d flick it off.

He will probably slow down as he gets older.

You're upset with your cat for being a cat. My cat used to catch birds, mice, frogs, and shrews. Wait until he brings in birds and mice that are still alive! Collar with bell is all you can do.

You do know that letting your cat outside (collar or no collar) massively decreases their lifespan? They are much more likely to be hit by a car, get lost or eat something dodgy than get trapped by their collar. The potential impact of a collar is no comparison to the risks of having an outdoor cat.

I let my cat out (with collar and bell) but I know it's certainly more risky than keeping him inside. He was also previously a stray and I don't want him decimating the local wildlife as he's very adept (and incredibly fast).

We have 2 both rescue the Male one is a brilliant hunter. We've tried collars they kept losing them. Best thing we've found is not to let them out early in the morning. Not before 8am. Also dont stay out overnight. Seems to be the best time to catch them,the birds just woke up looking for food. Young birds are especially vulnerable.

Plus if you're so cross and upset about this you probably shouldn't be a cat owner. Not fair on the cat.

Sadly it happens, I’ve had 7 cats over thirty years and only two were prolific killers. One of those is 14 and still doing probably about ten a year, mainly mice, but occasionally birds and rats. The other cat I still have is big, heavy and slow and manages just about to catch live frogs and bring them in. I hate frogs and have on 7-8 occasions over the last two years had to chase a hopper around the kitchen to catch and save it.

The only four cats I’ve had would sit and watch a live mouse and not make any attempt to catch it.

You can’t do anything but keep your windows and doors closed, he will let you know when he wants to come in, and make no fuss about your gifts. Just dispose of them.

They also wear real fur , do I tell them off for that?

Eh?

I’m glad to hear that he’s likely to slow down as he’s older.

He was a stray from 0-6 months I believe, and was living with a small group of cats - so I’m not sure how much hunting he’d have done himself or whether he’d have relied on the older cats for food. Either way he’s clearly very good at it!

Mine have never had issues with their safety collars. That and a big bell are your best bets.

It's the big downside to cats. The best you can do is give the bird a fighting chance by making the cats sound like Santa's sleigh.

Plus if you're so cross and upset about this you probably shouldn't be a cat owner. Not fair on the cat.

Apart from me getting upset about the birds he’s killed he has a truly brilliant life and lots of love and fuss. So I think he’s pretty happy!

I'm sorry op but I can't help laughing at you being upset and angry with a cat behaving like a cat

I also wouldn't be angry with him - it's what cats do! And honestly, being killed by a cat is usually a better death by far than anything a chicken faces in an abattoir.

And honestly, being killed by a cat is usually a better death by far than anything a chicken faces in an abattoir.

Yes, I completely accept that I'm a total hypocrite

Like others have said, nothing to be angry at him for. It's our fault for anthropomorphising our pets and forgetting they don't have human morals. My experience with man-cats is they have a mad pillage in their first year or so then they seem to chill out.

It's responsible to learn how to euthanase small fatally injured animals humanely if one has cats. Best to google around to know what to do in an emergency, (ie. can't get the little creature to vets).

I really think you need to get a grip. It's a cat and this is what cats do. You should have gotten a corn eating hamster if you cannot cope with a cat being a cat.

I agree with everyone else that this is what they do! I have 4 of them and they all do this to a greater or lesser extent.

The little one is the best hunter, but even my 14 year old, fat asthmatic cat manages to catch mice.

Agree that frogs are awful - they scream when they are pissed off. And the one that our cat brought in was very pissed off indeed!

Little cat massacred a blackbird in the front room the other day. She did get told off for that - the beak and feet were on the sofa!

Collars don't work on mine as they get each other to take them off - it's quite a fear of teamwork.

OP, your thread title betrays your fundamental misunderstanding of the situation.

He’s not YOUR cat

YOU are HIS human.

Once you understand this everything else will fall into place and you will no longer dare to question the behaviour of your feline master.

Its society fault for putting higher value on some animals than others, killing mice and pigeons fine killing sparrows not.

We went to longleat on the jungle cruise and the guide said the sealions like to catch freshwater fish hold them up so the seagulls come down and then eat them - fine. They also eat the ducks - some were horrified - why because ducks are seen as cute (they really arent if you ever see a male duck mate with a female duck its horrific). Somehow seagulls fine ducks not. Clearly though the sealion just sees it as food.

Its the circle of life its how it works.

My cat had a great start to life and does this all the time. It's in their nature. As the weather changes there will be less incidents.

Cats hunt, they often kill and not necessarily to eat whatever it is. Try the collar and bell though, might help.

Have the circle of life song in my head now @Quartz2208

OP, I know it’s horrible, but think about it this way... Do you eat fish or meat? Unlike humans, cats have not managed to organise themselves to create farms, slaughter houses, butchers or supermarkets where they can get someone else to do the killing for them and buy their meat packaged.

If they didn’t have the hunting instinct, they would have died out as a species long ago.

Some birds will kill other animals. Some animals will kill cats. It’s harsh, but it’s nature. It’s easy to pretend it shouldn’t happen when we’re top of the food chain and never have to kill or see our own meat being killed for us.

Think scout the millions of animals killed by eg. Tesco every month, that never get eaten and thrown away. This is what you should be angry about. At least in the wild, cats will consume whatever they kill and there’s not the piles of wasted carcasses that humans create.

This cat grew up wild for the first months of his life. He would not have survived if he hadn’t honed his hunting instincts.

He is actually bringing you a gift. I know it’s gross, but it’s a sign he identifies you as home.

As PP have said his great hunting skills is probably what kept him alive while he was a stray , now that he doesnt need to hunt for food he is probably doing it to return the favour of you feeding him.
I would second getting a collar with a bell as he is obviously very fit he could break free of most safety collars BUT make sure it fits correctly ( ie quite loose ) it would be worth going to your vets / good pet shop to get a couple of recommendations.

Perhaps get him something like this for you both to play with and wear him out before he goes outside . ( if you get one of the ones that seem to come with a kitten can I have the kitten pleeease )
www.amazon.co.uk/slp/remote-control-mouse/2q2as8ybwcao6mr?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Please make sure you get a quick release collar, I came home once to find my male cat unable to move with his back legs stuck in the collar (trying to get it off) I don't know how long he had been there like that I had been at work.
Luckily he was ok and in the garden but had he been out in the countryside he could have died slowly stuck in his collar.

The people next door to us have 6 cats and (because they love all animals) they have set up a huge bird feeding station.
The cats sit behind a low fence and when birds come in too land they pick them off.
It has made a real difference to bird numbers in our area. We live in woodland and used to get Bullfinch, Goldcrests and Firecrests, even lesser spotted woodpecker.
Oh not to mention endangered water shrews!! Sadly no more.
Cats do untold damage to our native wildlife.
Didnt Aistralia ban cats from going outside?