Blackbird

I thought cat collars were elastic so that if the collar was caught on a spike of branch or fence post the cat could easily wriggle out of it.

Cats are not part of British wildlife. They are vermin.

I love all animals and would like a cat but I love my garden birds and couldn't do it to them. Garden birds are so precious.

Nature isn’t nice! I wage a war of attrition with next door’s cat who hides under our fuchsia bush in wait for unsuspecting birds at the feeder. I get an unreasonable amount of pleasure when I turn the garden hose on the bush and the cat shoots out with an agonised yowl! Worse than the cats, though, are the magpies. I know they are intelligent birds but they are horrid. Our local farmer loses lambs every year to crows and magpies pecking eyes out.

Cat I had years ago had multiple bells on collar. She still managed to kill birds, even a swift.
I’ve just been offered a kitten, and was tempted having lost my dear dog a while ago. But then saw a blackbird bathing in my makeshift birdbath, which always makes me smile, and decided against it.

I am sorry about your blackbird. Blackbirds do seem to make their nests quite low and visible.

Would it help if cats were kept indoors at night? or are they opportune hunters?
We used to have a cat, she was a good mouser but occasionally would chase birds or young rabbits.

There are too many pet cats, and dogs for that matter. I think one is enough apart from working animals on farms .

So you haven't heard of Scottish wildcats then? Native animals and not vermin.

It's just the natural order of things. Very sad, especially as cats do this for sport and not to eat. But how anyone can say they don't like cats because of this I just don't understand. They're just following their hunting instinct. I much prefer dogs personally, but I like cats too. In fact I like all animals. Just wanted to say about robins, everyone loves them as they're such an attractive bird, but in the wild they are extremely territorial and aggressive to other birds.

O.M.G. how mean Callistemon! Im not a big dog lover,but i wouldnt say id strangle one! Or infer that they should not exist! You could be less nasty about it! I love my cat,hes one of the family to us,and im sure lots of other cat owners feel the same- my one has never killed birds,and hes a gentle soul who lets my grandkids pester him without a murmer- not all cats are killers! They might be the only company some people have had during the lockdown, and they dont need walking or fussing over all the time. I understand how the OP felt,as i have a blackbird visits my garden and nests in the hedge,and id be upset if a cat did that- but mines never bothered it and i certainly would not say such nasty things about any animal Their all Gods creatures!

Ladybella- cats are NOT vermin! They are animals- How nasty some of you are being on here about cats! As some have pointed out,its magpies are viscious too, and foxes, we have foxes round here as its semi- rural and they get the wood pigeons, and prowl a neighbour's chicken coop at night.

This is one of the reasons i wont have a cat. Nothing against them but i hate the fact they kill birds. Such a sad story namsnanny, i would be crying too.

My cat wont do his 'business' just anywhere either,he can be out in our garden 2hours but he always waits till he comes back in to use the litter tray. Some cats just arent that ferral.

My Siamese cats both wear collars with the loudest bells I can find. They have very occasionally killed voles and they have had a couple of birds over several years. The most distressing scenes of bird death I have seen have been caused by Magpies. On one occasion they went back and forth to a blackbirds nest, taking and eating all of the chicks. The mothers flapping around, crying out to no avail. On another occasion I had collared doves make a nest in one of my trees - a beautiful thing. One day, I heard a terrible commotion. The Magpies, a group of about 8, raided the nest and were fighting over the chicks, literally ripping them apart in the air and on the ground. A cat with a collar and a loud bell does little damage compared to omnivore birds!

Oh yes, and to those concerned about the safety of cat collars, I buy ours from Kittyboo who produces them with sensitive safety clasps that spring open when any pressure is applied.

I dislike magpies and they do seem to be on the increase.
We find blue eggshells in the garden, presumably raided eggs from the blackbirds.

Yes it's true magpies and crows are predators of song birds and all our garden birds.
But at least they are part of the natural cycle.

When I could move quicker I used to spend a lot of my time chasing cats and magpies away!
I cant do that now though [grin}

Like you Callistemon in the past I've found egg shells in and around the garden from their raiding.

I think by changing to the type of bird feeder that doesn't allow large birds to access the food, I've greatly reduced the attacks by magpies etc.
Over the last 2/3 years of using these feeders they don't nest nearby anymore. So the little birds are safer.

Maybe my garden isnt such a successful place for them to raise their young anymore?

The reason the cat caught the blackbird was I think, because it was very windy and all the plants in the garden were blowing this way and that.
Blackbird flew in and had barely even touched the ground, when the cat pounced from the cover of some waving plants.

stella14 … the info about collars with safety clasps is useful. Thanks.
Your story about the magpies is horrific though!
Red in tooth and claw.

Bluetits nest raided by magpies. Blackbird nest raided by a crow. I have seen a young woodpeckers at the feeders so I think that nest survived. Cats don't even kill for food, I detest them roaming all over wrecking areas of gardens.

Well, we all pick and choose what animal to demonize don't we ? It seems that instead of accepting that all predators eat some living creature the poor feline is the devil here. In the past the humble moggy was badly treated and was not considered to be a pet. Does anyone give any thought to the worm that your garden songbird is eating? Perhaps the worm is considered to be nothing because of its looks , what about insects that form a tasty meal for so many birds? No -one gives two hoots about them , do they? We either accept the natural order of things , i.e some animals hunt and kill others or we start to get very silly indeed. I can feel sorry for the songbird when it is killed/eaten by any other being but I do accept the process to be natural .

And , please don't get me started on human beings and their propensity to destroy animals . Hunting big game just to put a trophy on a wall, we are very brave when we have a large gun in hand. The Scottish wildcat was almost hunted to extinction by the Victorians , and of course human beings have succeeded in wiping various species off the face of the earth.
For the record my two elderly female cats haven't brought in any wildlife for years. I am not going to start demonizing them because it is in their nature to hunt. And they use a litter tray so I consider them to be innocent of that charge too.
End of early morning rant!

Not all cats kill birds. And most grow out of it as they get older, fatter and lazier.

We had two cats. Little Tabitha went after birds but rarely caught one and died young.

But not all cats are a problem for birds. Fred (answering to Frederick) Tabs brother, an enormous black panther of a cat, never bothered with them. Too much effort. His prey was rats, mice, moles and the occasional squirrel and rabbit. I always knew when he’d caught something as he went off his food, preferring his catch. We backed on to a farm where rats abounded and he kept our house clear of them. He did his job. Blackbirds safely pecked around him as he lazed in the sun.

Also, the next cat on our road lived at least 100 yards away. If you live where cats are the favoured pet and there are lots of cats the balance is upset. The bird population can stand the occasional loss from one cat out on the hunt, but not if there’s ten cats all out hunting each night.

Good post Louslovesstewie I agree.

Well, I wouldn't demonize cats.
I can see the attraction, although my love of birds prohibits me from having one.

I just think they need a different approach from us humans. After all there wouldn't be so many if it wasn't for us.

It's down to us to bring some rational to the harm that some cats cause wildlife.

Louiseloveslewis … I find it amusing that the animals humans deem attractive are the ones they care principally about.

I dare say no one would shout for the right to life of the Corona virus.
No, I agree with you, we are selective about the type life that is deserving of our attention, and that which is sacrificed for our needs.

My perspective on cats (fluffy, beautiful and very little hard work) is, we have supported their existence, and therefore we are responsible for finding a way for cats and wildlife to co exist.

They aren't part of the natural cycle as Magpies etc are, so that's where the difficulty lies.

Simply brushing the problem aside with the well worn phrase Oh it's their nature isn't enough.

Here in my garden there are, at any one time, at least 5 different cats roaming around. This has been the case since we moved here around 30 years ago.

My children were born here, and it drove me bonkers trying to clean up the garden after someone else's cat had used it as it's toilet...….everyday, just so the children could play safely in their own garden!

itsonlyme mentioned Toxoplasmosis earlier up the thread, that worried the socks of me when my children were very young.

eazybee .. No, I don't move as fast as I used to!

Nfkdumpling … Thanks so much for the link, I will
investigate.

Callistemon … love the humour

Oopsminty … we have Robins too, but not so tame as to feed from our hands!
I might try it though

Tillybell … how lovely it was to read your reply and I could say (of the last 2-3 sentences) the same of you!! Thankyou

Such a lot of empathetic replies, Thank you so much!

Some times GN is such a hostile place, I was quite touched by the genuine kindness shown.

Thank you all for recognising I was feeling vulnerable and allowing me to express it.
X

I love watching birds, at our old house we lived near a old quarry and we used to get all sorts, including a pair of Wrens (my favourite), Tree Creepers, Coal Tits. We loved it and fed them regularly. We moved and have a nice garden but can no longer feed the birds due to the high number of cats. Even though our Lurcher hates cats and is easily fast enough to catch them (thank God I caught him the only time he cornered one) the cats will not keep out of our garden and regularly dispatch birds. They also foul our garden and the neighbour used to have one that deliberately would wind up our Lurcher sitting on the edge of their single storey extension. I am not a cat fan and object to them coming in our garden all the time, killing the birds and using our garden as a cat litter tray!

I am sympathetic Mamma66!

Some areas in Australia have a dusk to dawn curfew on cats to protect songbirds which are most vulnerable at the first and last feed of the day.

Now that's interesting Tillypuppy, I haven't heard of that before.
I wonder if it's hard to enforce?