Collars to stop animal catching?

[kirinm]

We have a one year old rescue who, it turns out, is an extremely proficient and prolific hunter. This weekend alone we've had a mouse, a chick / baby bird and she was also found near a squirrel. All mice come in alive.

I really really hope she had nothing to do with the death of the bird or squirrel (!!) but it's all a bit coincidental. What can I do to try and stop this?

I read about quick release collars which I'm happy to try. I just don't know where to start. She is a wanderer and clearly is trying to climb trees etc so I think there is a risk of her getting caught on something which i obviously need to avoid.

Any other tips very welcomed.

My vet is not a fan of collars, says they cause too many accidents, as in strangulation. plus cats are not daft and learn to skulk so the bell is quiet.
I think this is the worst time of year for cats catching birds and mice, easier to keep them in, or just let out for short spells. Dawn and dusk typical hunting time for cats.
I have noticed with my own cats the older they get the less interest they have in hunting, not all of the m have a strong hunting instinct, they could literally perch on nose of my old ginger cat, he would wag his tail , that was him done.
I have recently put florescent quick release colours on my new solid black kittens but the girl got herself in a situation where she got it stuck over one of her legs trying to get it off, l was surprised the collar didn't release as it was very tight around her neck and l had to cut it off, l couldn't pull it apart.
So my advice is pay attention to cat after putting collar on because he will probably try and get it off.

My cat managed to have an accident with his collar in the house (not too serious thankfully but resulted in him bleeding and traumatised) so there's no way I'd ever put one on a cat again, especially to go outside. I'd never forgive myself if they got caught and the 'quick release' didn't work.

Can you keep him/her inside more in dark hours when small creatures are more active?

We are trying to keep her in around dusk but she also went out at 10pm last night and 5 mins came back with a mouse. We will have to start locking her in but the bird was daylight as was the squirrel. As you can see, she's very much an outdoorsy cat.

My last two cats barely left the house let alone the garden and the most they managed to bring back was a stick so this is all very new to us!

I think we will stay away from collars.

We have a large garden full of animals and I knew spring would be bad. The baby animals made for great entertainment for us during the first lockdown but they're like a box of chocolates do her at the moment.

Can you cut back foliage etc so she can't sneak up on them?

We have the same problem but double the trouble with two sisters. We can’t keep them locked in as one of them gets stressed and pees on beds if we lock them in. Had to clear up a murder scene this morning in downstairs loo and just found a dead mouse in the hallway this afternoon. I’m sure there will be some more corpses or live mice soon. Once it gets warmer I hope they won’t bring them In so much. I’m hoping as they get older they will get lazier.

Google the 'birdsbesafe' fabric ruff collar. They are absolutely great and completely safe for the cat. They will save many birds lives, but it doesn't work for mice sadly.