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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Cats killing all the baby birds

300 replies

paperdollar · 01/06/2021 22:26

There are so many cats in the neighbourhood the baby birds don’t stand a chance. I don’t understand how people can’t take responsibility for their cats and keep them inside during nesting season (at the very least) to stop them butchering all the local wildlife. All that time and energy spent by birds tending to their nest and providing food for them to be killed without even having a chance. One cat in particular has been stalking mine and my 2 neighbours gardens and taken most of the baby birds that have come this year, this is the least we have ever seen. Despite shooing it, chasing it, using water pistols/jugs of water, dogs chasing it, lions poo, high up feeders, removing feeders etc. I have been to the owners door to ask her to keep it inside for a bit to give the birds a chance but she said it is an outdoor cat and it is “nature” and nothing she can do about it. It is nature for birds and other wildlife to prey on baby birds as a means of survival, not your overbred, overfed domesticated cats. One cat owner has 9 cats with a nest in her gutter, next door to that has 3 with a nest also. One of them has a feeding pole in her garden low to the ground, so my stopping feeding the birds means they will be going there to take their chances. I can’t believe foxes are put down for killing cats for survival but nothing can be done about this. It is making me ill to witness, these irresponsible owners are not animal lovers. I post at the end of my rope having just chased one with a screaming baby in it’s mouth and dropping it only once it stopped. I’m wondering if anyone else has ever suffered the same and found something to do about it.

OP posts:
IwillbeyourUtomyT · 03/06/2021 16:29

Not holding your cat hostage….fuck me

SchrodingersImmigrant · 03/06/2021 16:31

The fact that they don't bring the bodies back doesn't mean they didn't kill or injure anything. It just means you didn't deserve the present at the time. 😂

EinAugenblickBitte · 03/06/2021 16:35

YABVU to focus all your energy on cats-there are other predators out there. And for anyone who thinks it is OK to attack a cat to "save" the bird population, you don't have a clue. If anyone ever laid a finger on any of my cats they would soon know about it. Amazing how many people think it is OK to kill a predator to save the prey. That is not how nature works

Poorlykitten · 03/06/2021 16:49

@IwillbeyourUtomyT but I think it is being monitored and so far nothing conclusive. do you know who causes the most environmental impact? It’s us. Maybe we should stay inside a bit more. 😂

3scape · 03/06/2021 16:52

Cat owners are irresponsible and reserve the right to cry all over the place when their "adored and loved" creature gets hit by a car when they've failed to care for it.

mrstt89 · 03/06/2021 16:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 03/06/2021 16:54

@EinAugenblickBitte

YABVU to focus all your energy on cats-there are other predators out there. And for anyone who thinks it is OK to attack a cat to "save" the bird population, you don't have a clue. If anyone ever laid a finger on any of my cats they would soon know about it. Amazing how many people think it is OK to kill a predator to save the prey. That is not how nature works
No one is planning to kill your cats. If you don't want them sprayed with water, just keep them on your property. Then you don't have to worry.

Again. There is nothing natural about 11 million cats.

It's like saying "well there are natural fires in the rain forest anyway so, yeah. Nature, innit" when talking about deforestation by fire

SchrodingersImmigrant · 03/06/2021 16:55

[quote Poorlykitten]@IwillbeyourUtomyT but I think it is being monitored and so far nothing conclusive. do you know who causes the most environmental impact? It’s us. Maybe we should stay inside a bit more. 😂[/quote]
Tbf, after last year and how nature loved our lockdown, you are not wrong😂

Poorlykitten · 03/06/2021 16:56

...hope all you bonkers mumsneters gets crying and ‘getting ill’ about animals being killed are vegan. 😉

mrstt89 · 03/06/2021 16:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Poorlykitten · 03/06/2021 16:58

@SchrodingersImmigrant yes, last summer we had otters in the middle of our village. This would never happen normally. Just there, in the daytime, playing in the beck. It was magical. Unfortunately they decimated the duckling population. It’s a favourite supper of theirs...fresh duckling. Maybe we need to keep the otters inside too? I’d have one. 😂

3scape · 03/06/2021 17:00

Do you deliberately allow a child without road awareness or skills (so under 11 ish or with additional needs) to play unsupervised for hours out of your house? If you do then yes I am fairly confident a court of law would consider it the parents fault for putting the child at risk. Cats are left at risk by irresponsible owners every single day.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 03/06/2021 17:02

[quote Poorlykitten]@SchrodingersImmigrant yes, last summer we had otters in the middle of our village. This would never happen normally. Just there, in the daytime, playing in the beck. It was magical. Unfortunately they decimated the duckling population. It’s a favourite supper of theirs...fresh duckling. Maybe we need to keep the otters inside too? I’d have one. 😂[/quote]
Have younseen the Lladnudno goats😂

BarbarianMum · 03/06/2021 17:03

@EinAugenblickBitte the sad truth is that, if someone did want to harm your cats- or more likely harmed them unintentionally with their car - youd know nothing about it, because you,like other cat "lovers" think nothing of letting your cats stray at will.

BarbarianMum · 03/06/2021 17:04

@Poorlykitten theudual density of otters is 1pair per several square miles. What's the density of cats down your way?

Poorlykitten · 03/06/2021 17:05

@BarbarianMum about the same as otters at the moment. We live very rurally. 😂

Poorlykitten · 03/06/2021 17:06

@SchrodingersImmigrant No! But I think I need to. 😂

Poorlykitten · 03/06/2021 17:09

Just googled the goats. Superb!

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 03/06/2021 17:12

I live in a small cul de sac with lots of cats. There are plenty of birds including young every year. If anything my neighbour next door is over feeding the birds, we are overrun and they steal all the cherries from my trees :(

The cats don't seem to impact it. Hasn't the RSPB published stuff saying domestic cats aren't an issue to bird populations?

SchrodingersImmigrant · 03/06/2021 17:21

[quote Poorlykitten]@BarbarianMum about the same as otters at the moment. We live very rurally. 😂[/quote]
Tbh this is probably ehy you see it differently. I had 4 cats in my garden in 1 day. None are mine. That's not even all of the neighbourhood ones by far.
This is when the problems arise. Eith high concentration in a small area.

Rats are everywhere. No problem with them until you have x per area. This is simply true for everything including people.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 03/06/2021 17:26

I can assure you that if you have plenty of cats you get less rats and mice.

Grin
SchrodingersImmigrant · 03/06/2021 17:31

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

I can assure you that if you have plenty of cats you get less rats and mice.

Grin

Yeah. You would think that... That two rats I had to use traps for are proof of these cats having different priorities. Also had field mice living there. They just come here to poop and go after the birds
Poorlykitten · 03/06/2021 17:49

I did say that, up thread, that It’s more of a problem in built up areas of course and you will notice it much more. We have the opposite problem, a dog problem. Nearly every person around us has at least one ( our closets neighbours have 6!!!) and the Lake District is full of very irresponsible people letting their dogs roam all over. Sheep get worried and killed near me on a weekly basis. I don’t even want to start on the amount of dog excrement left. What it boils down to is people really...irresponsible pet owners. I would never have cats if I lived in the middle of a town or near a main road. I do not let mine out without bells. Even though they are not big bird killers (although many will say this is untrue) however they do not roam far and are very happy to deposit rats and move on the doorstep so you would think the odd bird would appear too? I do think pet ownership has reached epic proportions, especially during lockdown. The amount of people I know who have got lockdown puppies and kittens is huge.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 03/06/2021 17:53

Absolutely agreed.

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