Pet cat hunting endangered wildlife..

There has to be SOME way of stopping a family member's pet cat from killing all the local wildlife.

Said family member lives in an absolute wildlife haven on a river bank surrounded by wonderful countryside. Some of you might remember the Nightjar that turned up in the garden which I posted a photograph of. Well there are also Redwings, Otters, Kingfishers and tonnes of other interesting creatures (some obviously in trouble).

Unfortunately a wild Tom kitten was brought into the household at the start of the year and since then I've seen a dramatic drop in wildlife around the garden. Lots of things are being caught, a Water Vole and Tree Sparrow being the most recent (both survived due to swift action).

I can't bear to watch this happen any longer, but the family member absolutely refuses to place a collar on the cat, not even one that breaks off if the cat gets caught. Infact she barely responds when I mention it to her.. I just don't get it.

Surely there's some other way of helping this problem? Please help, I desperately need it.

  • As the said "family member"will not consider a collar on the cat there would seem no chance of a curfew as had been suggested by Chris Packham a little while back.I cannot think of a sensible suggestion so maybe you will have to get rid of family member,there may be time off for good behaviour !!!

  • If this is a wild tom kitten it will always wander off, so a collar will denote ownership to other cat lovers who will see it and take it in. get it neutred and collared with a good bell. We have had cats for years with two new kittens this year, the birds soon learn the bell and avoid the kittens when out. Put your feeders about 6ft up in height on metal poles that cats can't climb.

  • The collar is completely out of the question, brought up the subject tonight and was told "I want my cat to live a completely natural life!"

    To which I responded with "Well is it ok for me to bring out a pack of hunting type dogs and let them kill everything in the area just because I want them to live a natural life now?" and compared it to Fox hunting, which apparently "isn't the same" lol....

    I just can't believe that the family member isn't bothered by the fact that endangered wildlife is being killed here! Why is one single domestic animal more important than 100's of wild ones?? That makes no sense!

    Anyway I give up really, unless there is some sort of device that can be attached to the house which sets off when a cat is in range... does anyone know?

  • I think you might start something off with this one...

    Cats are natural predators to small birds and mammals just the same as larger wild mammals and birds of prey are.

    I dont really know if there is an all out solution to this problem, just many differences of opinion :)

  • Is the tom entire?  If he is try suggesting to her that she should get him neutered as he will start to wander in search of females and this can and does lead to a lot of toms dead on the roads, ending up seriously injured from fighting against other toms, not to mention creating more unwanted kittens, and cats are also vulnerable to a range of STD's and other diseases including a feline form of HIV for which there is no cure and cat flu which can also be fatal.  The risk of a cat catching these is increased if the cat is allowed to wander and left entire because the more cats the cat comes into contact with the higher the chances of them coming home with something nasty (and potentially costly in vets bills).  At the very least, you might be able to prevent him creating more unwanted kittens to flood rescue centres or ending up dead and unwanted. There is nothing natural about a domestic cats life - if they were leading natural lives they wouldn't be vaccinated and if they caught something nasty they wouldn't get treatment for it they would be left to die like any other "natural" creature.  I'm sure (I hope) that she would have him straight to the vet if there was something wrong with him, or will she just sit back and let nature take it's course (though that would be illegal)?  

    For the wildlife, if the person doesn't want to take responsibliity for their pet to limit their impact on the wildlife there isn't a lot you can do I'm afraid :-(