Hello
I have two cats. One prefers chasing the moths and butterflies much to our dismay as I like butterflies and my partner is a 'moth-er' and the other cat is the 'hunter' with mice and birds. thankfully he doesn't get too many but when he does his mother comes marching out of the house shouting obscenities and clapping her hands like some demented mad woman....it normally works I found him with a young collared dove last week which thankfully after half hour in box to calm down was released with no obvious signs of damage over than the loss of several fluffy feathers.
Both cats have bells though am going to get another bell each so they jingle a bit more. I keep them both in early morning and they come in early evening, plus they are not allowed out after its been raining.
However I have a couple of questions....the rspb say that birds are most active an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset - but for how long are they active? Sunset is around 9pm which means my cats need to be in by 8pm but Sunrise for may/june is about 5am in the morning, at present my cats go out at about 6.30/7am. Is this giving the birds enough time?
Also I have read somewhere that birds are safer if you do encourage feeding in a cat garden though using bird feeders on tall poles and with prickly bushes underneath. I read that they are safer in groups feeding than one lone bird coming into the garden on its own. We do occasionally get the odd blackbird and I think the other ones that come in are a it of some kind but I can't remember.
Any advice would be much appreciated!
Hello Birdie
I have two cats and also feed the birds. The RSPB advice is excellent but I can also tell you what I do and hope it is of some extra help. I am certainly no expert!
I did laugh at your description, "marching out of the house shouting obscenities and clapping her hands like some demented mad woman" I recognize myself there. :-)
I think that leaving it as late as possible in the morning to let the cats out is preferable, but of course, we all have different routines of work etc. I would say 7 am does give the birds time to wake up and have their first feed.
Both my cats wear bells and, the one which hunts, wears two collars, she can still manage to walk and keep the bells silent! I am very strict and only allow my cats out for a few hours in the evening after the majority of birds have left the garden. I always walk into the garden clapping my hands and shouting to warn the birds just before I let the cats out.( Now the baby birds are about, the cats are only allowed out for an hour or two and I stay in the garden with them.)
I have two bird tables (only using one at the moment), both away from bushes so the birds have a clear view of any pesky cats approaching. I think the advice about putting prickly bushes underneath is very good but I haven't got round to that yet. I would imagine they are safer in groups as there are more birds to spot any approaching danger and warn the others. You could always put food out in the open for blackbirds to enable them to see any cats in plenty of time. I also have a bird cage for ground feeders, bought at the RSPB online shop. It prevents large birds eating all the seed as well as deterring cats.
We have just bought loads of chicken wire. We are going to separate an area for the cats and reserve the other area for feeding the birds. We are lucky to have a large garden. The wire will be a bit of an eyesore but we plan to plant a hedge to disguise it. Luckily, most of the area for the cats is already lined with a hawthorn hedge we planted a few years ago.
I am very pleased to say I cannot remember the last time my cats caught a bird, although I realise I cannot be sure they haven't, as I don't watch them every minute.
I wish you success in attracting the birds and I hope this has helped a little.
Kind regards Jane
Kind regards Jane.
Thanks for asking this question, My daughter really wants a cat and it will have to be a kitten rather than a rescue cat so that it will start life living with my dog. (I have not told the dog this news yet!!)
do you have any advice for introducing kittens to birds, is there a way to train them not to chase them, it was easy with the dog, but have never tried to train a cat before.
Sarah
I've learned that I still have a lot to learn...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bramble67/
Hi Jane
Thanks for replying. I am glad I am not the only mad cat owner about! I think I must have woke most of my neighbours up last week...one of my cats escaped after his curfew and at gone midnight i discovered him outside with another cat 'having words'. I didn't shout but I'm sure just my calling to the cat to come in must of stirred some people given it being a very warm night with peoples windows being wide open!
I let mine out at about 7-7.30 as I leave for work then. I
I hadn't thought of putting two collars on but I guess adding another bell would probably have the same effect.
I've been looking at the poles you can get for bird feeders, I have a tiny garden with quite large borders with plants where the cats seem to like hanging out as it can be quite shady, but i do worry that they also can hide very well out of sight too....I couldn't believe it last week when two goldfinches (a flock of them seem to sit on the tree behind my garden) came into my garden and were just sitting on the lavender bushes. It was a lovely sight to see but thank god the cats were in at the time. i though that these poles could be situated in the middle of my lawn where there is nowhere for the cats to hide.
Yes you're very lucky having a large garden, if I did then I would probably have a permanent area for just the cats and another wildlife garden for birds and other insects. One day maybe!
Thanks again, if I get any bird feeders I'll let you know how it progresses.
Hi Sarah
I can't imagine being able to train a kitten not to chase birds, would be great if you could though its just in their nature to do so.
By the way you can rehome a rescue kitten, try the cats protection league :O)