Cat killing wildlife

[Greyhorses]

I wondered if anyone had any ideas to stop this?

We have a two year old neutered male cat, really sweet boy but recently he has learned how to hunt and is bringing in wildlife far too often! We live in an area where it's nice for him to go out but the fields and trees mean lots of birds.

We put a collar on him with 2 bells and also a large multicoloured bandana as someone told me this would help birds spot him but he must be sneaky and is still catching them.

We have had him in for 2 days now but he is driving me crazy clawing at the windows and trying to race through doors every time I open one. I would rather this than dead birds but I would love to find a soloution!

We can't build a cat run as garden isn't big enough for one so it would have to be something we fit on the cat?

Would he cope with being kept in overnight? This is when cats do a lot of their hunting.

You can't stop it. Sorry.

Every garden I've had has acquired a Watch Blackbird which seems to help enormously. I don't know whether this was blind chance, though, or something I've been doing.

I don't think there's much you can do apart from watching your garden layout - eg cutting back 'lurking' areas/long grass and positioning any food most carefully - and keeping cats on a curfew to avoid those low-light conditions when prey might still be around and cats are at their best as hunters.

Watch Blackbirds? Are they a thing?

BogBastard is tormented by one that sits on next doors TV aerial, well out of reach, and shouts what I suspect are very rude things in Blackbird.

Let the poor cat out. Did you not know that cats did this before you got one? You can't stop it. The mild weather and lighter evenings and mornings mean it happens more often in my experience.

Our cat is a hunter but at least she has the decency to eat what she kills. I just get the odd remains to bin.

I need a watch bird! Sadly I think that may be the one he recently caught

Yes dubious I did know cats killed the odd thing before I got one, but 5 birds in one 2 hour session is a little more than I expected... He dosent eat them just lines them up on the patio!
Cat 2 never hunts and never has, just sleeps on the grass and minds his own business!

I can keep him in overnight and do when he is already in but he will try and escape any way possible where he can!

I thought most hunting was done at night. Can you keep him in then? Mine couldn't hunt if he was starving but he's always in at night.

some cats are just better at hunting than others.

You've done pretty much all you can!

I don't know if they're a 'thing', bog. I just seem to have them.

It doesn't seem to help the small mammals much but having something up high chattering CAT in an angry fashion looks to warn off many of the birds. (Sadly, it doesn't much help, either, with predation from the big birds such as magpies and small raptors.)

For me, the best things have been curfews and watching the garden layout/placing and timing of any food.

But after all that, you pretty well have to accept the inevitable if your cat goes out. Remembering as well that any measures you take in your own garden might just shift the issue elsewhere. Cats have big ranges and if your own garden is not good hunting territory, they'll likely be able to find somewhere that is.

Could you cat proof your garden? Limits his opportunities and gives the wildlife a chance to escape.

The feral beast that lives with me got chased off her food by a magpie yesterday, oh how I laughed!

We have a pair of magpies nesting in a nearby tree and I've seen/heard local cats stalking them. I think most just give up fast due to the sheer noise. (That's if I haven't leaned out of the window and intervened to preserve my eardrums.)

I had a blackbird watchman once. Made Saturday morning hangovers hell. Thing is, it would actually bring it's brood of fledglings into my garden!

The Creature, (my cat at the time - a feisty little tortie) , would begin stalking it, then lose her bottle at his screaming, and run back into the house.

Our new rescue cat has been a terror for hunting, she was bringing in 2 or 3 kills a day plus I know there were a few she just ate. We have started keeping her in overnight, and it's cut it down a huge amount. I don't think there's much else you can do.

It's a bad time of year for that. Better weather, lots of new growth for hiding behind and young, inexperienced birds who flobble around at ground level.

At this time of the year an awful lot of the "kills" are fledglings that would not have survived anyway.

You can't stop it