The cat next door!

Hello everyone, I am new here and this is my first post - I am after some general advice please about garden birds.

I always keep food out for the birds that visit my garden, and love seeing the sparrows coming to raid the bushes for insects and have a communal bath. I have blackbirds who visit, too, and I’ve even grown to love the pigeons who clumsily raid the feeders. My problem is that my next door neighbour has recently got a cat, and it turns out he is a keen hunter. At first he wore a bell, but she took it off him because she doesn’t want him to wear a collar, for his safety (which is fair enough, I love all animals).

A few pigeons have had near misses with this cat, as there are lots of bushes where he can hide, and I’ve seen him bring home a sparrow from another neighbour’s garden (and I’ve learned that they are category red?) Disappointed I stopped putting food out then, because I was afraid I was just creating a complete playzone for him. But since then, the birds have been coming as usual to the table and where the feeders were, but of course just finding them empty. I’m conscious that it’s breeding season and they will have young to feed. A local bird rescue posted about young starving birds being brought in to them and I just feel so much guilt.

I’m wondering really if anyone has advice on what I should do? Am I wrong to put out food when I know there is a predator around? Or is it wrong to not provide food when it has been so readily available? I’ve put ground coffee along the places the cat was hiding to try to deter him, and I’ve not seen him in a few days now. I’d love to hear what other people think as I’m torn completely on what to do for the best. 

Here’s some pictures of some of my visitors (Though I’m not great with a camera) Thank you for reading, Kath x 

  • Our back garden has bushes around a lot of it and we did lose a few birds to local cats. To prevent more losses we moved the bird table well out into the lawn, away from the bushes, so that the birds have a better chance of seeing the cat. Also, I bought some green plastic covered fencing wire and fixed it just inside the bushes at places where the cat used to suddenly rush out of hiding. The same effect could be done by placing small branches and twigs. Cats like to stalk, then make a sudden dash, they can't do that if there's obstacles. I've also bought a number of rigid plastic snakes that are fixed in the strike positions. These I've placed at points where the cat patrols and I keep moving them - the cats avoid them like the plague.
  • Thank you so much for this. The bath is in the middle of the lawn(ish) and the feeders are to the sides because we used to have the odd Sparrow-hawk years ago. What does the green fencing wire look like please? I want to be subtle because I don’t want to start a war with my neighbour but I’ve left the garden grow pretty wild for the sake of the birds and the bees and as lovely as her cat is, I don’t want him hanging around here!
  • You could also ask your neighbour if they could put a bell on the cat so the birds know if she's there.
  • It's just the type of wire mesh fencing you would use in a garden. It's covered with a green plastic to make it easier on the eye than silver. I bought a small roll at a garden centre and cut off the bits I needed. The whole idea is to put something in place (whatever it may be) to prevent cats suddenly rushing out of the bushes to catch birds. I used the wire mesh in parts of the garden and it isn't really noticeable as it's concealed just inside the foliage. In other parts of the garden I've used small branches pruned from bigger shrubs and just pushed them into the ground. It's trial and error really. Cats like to patrol the same route, so any interruption of their routine, they don't like it. We still get the odd cat in the garden, but there's been no bird kills in the last year or two.
  • Ladybarefoot said:

    Hello everyone, I am new here and this is my first post - I am after some general advice please about garden birds.

    I always keep food out for the birds that visit my garden, and love seeing the sparrows coming to raid the bushes for insects and have a communal bath. I have blackbirds who visit, too, and I’ve even grown to love the pigeons who clumsily raid the feeders. My problem is that my next door neighbour has recently got a cat, and it turns out he is a keen hunter. At first he wore a bell, but she took it off him because she doesn’t want him to wear a collar, for his safety (which is fair enough, I love all animals).

    A few pigeons have had near misses with this cat, as there are lots of bushes where he can hide, and I’ve seen him bring home a sparrow from another neighbour’s garden (and I’ve learned that they are category red?)  I stopped putting food out then, because I was afraid I was just creating a complete playzone for him. But since then, the birds have been coming as usual to the table and where the feeders were, but of course just finding them empty. I’m conscious that it’s breeding season and they will have young to feed. A local bird rescue posted about young starving birds being brought in to them and I just feel so much guilt.

    I’m wondering really if anyone has advice on what I should do? Am I wrong to put out food when I know there is a predator around? Or is it wrong to not provide food when it has been so readily available? I’ve put ground coffee along the places the cat was hiding to try to deter him, and I’ve not seen him in a few days now. I’d love to hear what other people think as I’m torn completely on what to do for the best. 

    Here’s some pictures of some of my visitors (Though I’m not great with a camera) Thank you for reading, Kath x 

    Hi Kath, we also have cats that frequent our garden here, and thankfully, damage to birds and squirrels is extremely limited to just a few feathers in the successful attempts to get away from danger.

    The birds and squirrels have got our local cats sussed out, so hopefully any that do suffer would probably be at the end of their life, which I know seems hard, but that is nature and if it isn't the cats, then other predators will get and do their job.

    However, it does provide endless amusement watching these birds and squirrels taunt the cats.

    As per suggestions already made, plenty of cover in the form of bushes and shrubs, which we have plenty of here, along with trees and one garden border is a privet hedge which many birds fly in and out of.

    All feeders are high enough for cats not to get to, while low enough for us to view and easy access to top them up.

  • Thank you all so much for your advice. Cats have never been a problem here in the 7 years I have lived here, so the birds seem completely oblivious to any danger and merrily poke about every nook and cranny without seeming to be on their guard at all. Maybe they will suss out this one with time.

    I’ve raided the shed today and put old plant pots under the bushes the cat has been hiding under. I’ll definitely pick up some of that mesh fencing and run it along a length of bushes where the bird table is (which is sadly now fixed in cement, because the pigeons and magpies were knocking it over... seemed a good idea at the time eh).

    I almost ordered the sonic cat repeller device the other day, but the reviews were so mixed, and since it’s only 1 cat I’m dealing with, if it doesn’t work on him then it’s completely useless. I’m going to speak to the owner again about a bell being worn, and invest in a pole stand for feeders that I can put in the middle of my lawn. I’m relieved that the general consensus isn’t to stop feeding altogether, truthfully, as I thought I would have to leave them try to search for food elsewhere. Looks like I have a lot of cat-proofing to do!
  • Sorry, I didn't see the bit about the bell that used to be on him.
  • Is there a chance you could speak to your neighbour about putting the bell back on?
  • We bought the RSPB detector, which does help, BUT we have a wildlife garden, and it does not transmit through bushes. However, we have seen on film a cat approach the detector and it rushed away as the detector apparently emitted the signal. This detector does not harm other wildlife. We have a garden full of birds, and hedgehogs, which do not have a problem. The detectors are a deterrent for cats only.
    We had a lot of "special needs" animals, and 6 cats at any one time. We also had the garden simply fenced in such a way, our cats could not get out to the neighbours gardens, wildlife, or road. But failing that, with my experience, a collar which is designed to stretch and come apart works very well, and as a consequence a cat can wear one of these and a couple of bells attached, with no problems.
    The rigid snake idea is worth thinking about, may try a couple of those myself.
    My husband thinks along the same lines as you, and is a very compassionate man, so I do understand how you feel. He also deliberates about this and that, but it is good to do the best you can, otherwise you will be constantly in a state of "flux". Wildlife leads a very fragile existence, but fortunately there are loads of like minded people out there, and I am just grateful for that.
  • I have wonderful news! I had great success with blocking up under the bushes with random obstacles and possibly the coffee helped as a deterrent (can’t say for sure but I’ll keep doing it.) Have seen no feathers strewn across the garden all week and had only seen the cat pass through once. I very rarely see the lady who lives next door but I know at least two other neighbours who feed the birds have been keeping an eye out to talk to her about this too (she’s out working in the evenings and weekends more often than not).

    On Saturday, the cat comes over the fence and crosses straight through into his own garden, which I suppose I can’t stop him doing - but to my joy, he was wearing a collar with a bell on it! I’ll call on my other neighbour tomorrow to see if someone managed to have a word with her, or I’m thinking if maybe he brought something home with him and she decided to put a bell back on him for that reason. I feel much better knowing he’s wearing a bell, hopefully that will be the end of his little hunting spree and my little patch of overgrown greenery in the city can go back to being bird territory :) I really appreciate all of your advice on here, thank you for taking the time to help. I was worried I would have to stop feeding and seeing them altogether, but we might have won this one!