To not have a cat because there are too many birds in my garden?

[userhank]

So my mum has been looking after our cat while I've been moving house and doing my house up. It's almost ready. My cat has been with my mum for about 3 months now, really settled and gets in fine with my mums other cats.

My mum came to my new house this morning to wait for a delivery while I did the school run. When I came back, she said she noticed just how many birds there are in my garden. I have a large garden with trees also down each side which are full of nests. My house also backs on to the local park so it's full of greenery and wildlife.

Now while I know it's all part of nature, my mum questioned wether I should actually bring my cat. He is definitely a hunter and my mum thinks that while he will absolutely be in his element, the amount of birds especially he will catch will be very high and it's quite unfair.

Just to add - my mum is not trying to keep my cat. She has 3 of her own and definitely doesn't want anymore but she would be happy to carry on looking after mine.

I would of never thought of this in a million years....thoughts?

There are an estimated 12 million pet cats in the UK, so even if they only kill an average of 2 birds a year each, those small numbers really add up.

I totally see what your saying. However he would be at my mums who lives in the same village as me. She lives in a quite large estate (still quiet roads) and much less wildlife about. I'd still see my cat daily as I do now so it's not like I would be giving him up - I'd never re home him for this reason. I love him too much!

I have 2 cats plus one neighbouring cat that visits a lot and my garden is full of birds. We even get ducks.

We have 2 cats and still have loads of birds in the garden.

Whilst they do hunt them they are far more interested in the mice and shrews.

I think it's a very lovely and selfless idea to let her keep the cat. Best of both worlds perhaps - your mum could come to yours to enjoy the birds, and you could go to hers to enjoy the cat! But no one would blame you for having him back and most cat owners must feel they get more out of their cat's company than from listening to birdsong.

Do you think he would be happier with the other cats, or with your undivided attention? Younger cats often enjoy cat company but many older cats, especially boys, would naturally be loners in the wild and can find multi cat households stressful.

If you have visible nests I would leave the cat where he is at least for now.
It would be so cruel to bring him and just not care what impact he has on the nesting birds as some have suggested.
If he is happy where he is there is no harm leaving him there for a bit longer, I think your mum is right.

If they were ‘babies’ they had probably been pushed out of the nest by competing siblings. Parent birds also eject weak or malformed nestlings because they don’t ‘think’ they are worth the trouble of raising ( although they often just kill it and give it to the others to eat, no point wasting high value protein). It’s unlikely that your cat was climbing up to a nest and taking out one nestling. ( though I did see that once in about fifty years of gardening with birds).

Given the panic that having a mouse in the house seems to generate on Mumsnet, you could have rented him out. 😊

Our last cat died a few years ago and whilst ever he was alive he never presented us with dead birds But he fiercely defended his own garden.Now he's gone we get a pair of our neighbours cats constantly in our big garden actively staking out nests.Apparently they rarely let them in the house.I love garden birds and it's made me realise I won't get another cat.I have wondered if I could politely ask if they could put bell collars in the nesting season.They did have them a while ago. I swear they wait for me to drive off in the morning and know my dogs aren't around and move in.

My neighbours have cats who love to hunt the birds in my garden.

Well, they did until we adopted two retired racing greyhounds! Now I have a garden full of birds and two hounds far too lazy to move off the couch 😁

They don't bother the birds and the cats have disappeared.

I have 3 bells on my male cats collar for this reason. My female cat only has one bell. My male cat loves chasing birds but they fly away. He's only caught one bird in 4 years. Unfortunately that was a little Robbin, which upset me. I don't feed the birds as I don't want to encourage them into my garden. Are you sure your Mum has not become attached to your 🐈?

Our tree-filled garden also backs on to woods, and our cat is a keen hunter of rodents, but rarely brings back birds.

Even if he doesn't catch many his presence might discourage them from using your garden.

We don't have a cat of our own but we have relatively new neighbours who do. It is quite a friendly cat and often comes to me when I am in the garden to be stroked.

However, I have a couple of bird feeders and a pond and, until a few months ago, would get lots of smaller birds using them. Now it is mainly only the bigger birds that cone like magpies, pigeons and the occasional blackbird. Don't know if it is the cat putting them off but I wondered.

I looked after my daughter's cat one summer and it literally killed everything in our garden including the entire resident family of robins who had been with us for years. It was carnage.

Mine catches birds constantly. He also catches rabbits, moles, mice. You name it he gets it. I bought a bird collar and bells that made no difference.

Once this cat goes I’ll never have another for this reason.

A horrid fat cat knocked out bird box to the ground today. The little bluetits have been coming and going for weeks and are really distressed now.

We put it back up but an egg fell out and the bastard cat ate it.

I'm just taking a punt here and suggest you don't like cats much?

I think your mum doesn’t want him to leave! Your cat has moved out.

The birds will be wary and stay away.

I have a cat, and my garden is full of birds. He does catch the odd one, two or three a year, but catches mice daily. You know who is eating all our baby birds at the moment? Fucking Crows and Magpies. I detest then. DH saved two doves yesterday being attacked by a crow, who then flew off with a baby in its mouth. Every bloody year. We've seen them kill blackbirds before, to raid nests. It's heartbreaking. So don't necessarily think your cat will be the worst.

You could be my neighbour.
they moved into an area which is flourishing with wildlife with their cat who proceeded to kill every nesting bird there was last year and didn’t put a bell on it “because it didn’t like it”

Vile

We always kept ours well fed, and he wasn't then overly bothered about hunting.

As previous posters have said - a collar with a bell is also good.

I think your mum just doesn't want to give your cat back

Been waiting nearly 5 hours now and I've felt worse and worse in that time, my hands are clammy my head is spinning I feel sick and now having stomach pains, is this what proper withdrawals are like?

My cats are currently in kitty jail itching to get back into the garden but I’m letting the nests empty first.

Can’t wait to let them back out to get rid of the bloody pigeons tho 🤬 the other birds can stay. Cats all have bells on but big Bertha cat even eyes up the hawks 😅

Ll sorts of inaccurate stuff there. There are very few malformed birds, most birds dont eat their young...