Can you help me to decide please?

Just as an add on, the rescue centres are great but they no very little about the true behaviour of an abandoned cat when released to the outside world. Our latest psycho came with a frightful behavioural statememt, even landed the centre's vet at A & E, but here with us is totally the opposite!

About 7 neighbour's cats patrol our garden every day (and I'm happy that they do as it keeps the rats and mice away). We have numerous feeders and many birds visit every day and I've never seen a cat bother them. Some of them sit and stare at the birds and sniff around under the feeders but they've never tried to get up in the feeders or chase the birds. They do love to chase the squirrels though. And the occasional butterfly. Sparrowhawks, on the other hand, have had a few goldfinches and a woodpecker but they are just staying alive.

Hi henetha, I remember Wiggy. I like to think he is telling you to move on to a four legged friend. 🐈

I had to smile at your "Cats kill birds" statement! In my experience cats kill everything in sight! In London ours killed mice and rats and even took on urban foxes, lots of pigeons and parakeets. In France ours killed all the above plus voles and shrews, and even took on wild boar. In the bird department they went for anything including beautiful green woodpeckers. In Devon our latest kills anything which moves and monitors the trees and bushes 24/7. The pickings are plentiful. What I'm saying is that I'm not sure there is such a thing as an outdoor non killing cat, though DD2 has a posh long haired Persian(?) who has never showed any inclination to chase or hunt.
Good luck!

I think most cats will be happy enough as an indoor cat if reared that way, I have heard owners of indoor cats saying how irresponsible it is to let cats roam outside (infection, fights, RTAs). But if a cat has been an outdoor cat all its life & ends in a rescue centre, then they probably do need a home where they can go out.There are lots of cat activity stations available with climbing & claw-sharpening sufaces, & indoor cats get a lot of fun from these.I would say get a cat, keep them in & don't feel sorry for not letting them out.

We've had cats that go out. After one went missing and a big building site starting next door we stuck to indoor cats. They're not wild animals and are domesticated. Ours are VG boys, always use the litter trays, eat what they are given and never scratch anywhere except their scratching posts. The breeder was extremely good. All her cats live in the family home and are accustomed to family life.
Things to think about Henetha- litter trays. Are you prepared to get cat litter (heavy sacks)? Buy good quality cat food? And of course vet bills which can be extortionate. Also what about if you're away from home? Do you have helpful neighbours who might look after him/her?
If no luck at local cat rescue try phoning round breeders. They might have a poor soul who's surplus to requirements. That's where we struck very lucky.

Sorry link www.catchat.org/index.php

If you look at the website Catchat.org you will find any organisations near you that have cats for adoption. Some of those cats are only to be rehomed as indoor cats for one reason or another. There are details explaining this. I'm sure if you contact the organisations near you they will find something to suit you.
Indoor cats are perfectly happy if they have space to play and some cats prefer to stay indoors.

Not to mention dead mice Henetha. Cat Rescue Centres do try to marry you up with a suitable match for both you and the cat so you will maybe get one that isn’t a hunter. On the other hand with an indoor cat you don’t need to worry about it going missing. I do wonder however if it’s really kind to keep a cat indoors all the time, I suppose it depends on the cat.

I have a cat who lives inside he is a rescue cat he is happy to look out of the window he isn’t interested in going outside at all I thought it was not “normal “ for a cat just to stay indoors but seems not .
Best of both worlds for me

Our first cat caught the occasional bird - he used to sit on the bird table and wait. The birds were cleverer than him though.

Second cat didn’t do feathers at all, but regularly brought back mice and baby bunnies and once hauled a stoat through the cat flap! We’d rescued him and I think it was his way of thanking us.

Cat 3 was originally DD2s. A Maine Coon, he was as daft as a brush, totally harmless and wasn’t interested in catching anything at all.

Loved them all and cried buckets when they died.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your replies. It is a dilemma isn't it. But it's a good idea for me to contact a rescue centre and find out if they have any docile cats who are happy to stay indoors, or don't like hunting, etc.
If I can't get a satisfactory answer from the rescue centre then I think I will have to give up my dream of having a cat. I don't think I could live with dead birds being brought in.

I d definitely go for an older cat I have had four in my pet lifetime and none were hunters as they were kept well fed although hunting is second nature but I guess if they are food content there is not the same need

I cannot stand the thought of indoor cats sorry Avaline it is so far against the nature of a cat They need to be free to explore climb jump and meet others if you restrict them to the house it’s little better than a zoo life in my opinion
I totally understand if the cat is old or infirm but a normal cat …no …but that’s just my opinion so don’t take offence
There’s many thing I don’t agree with docking tails, cutting ears, indoor dog cages, declawing These are all things for the humans sake not the animal
Anyway back to question I d go through a rescue centre get a fully grown a little older cat and talk to the centre about it

My Oliver has always gone out since he was about a year old he is now 7 yrs old,he is a big British Blue and could not chase a bird to save his life he is so big, but I have 2 x bells on his collar so any bird in the garden can hear him wandering about.
Rescue centre's will help you rehome an indoor cat maybe an older cat who needs rehoming and can live a safe life indoors.

Maybe contact your nearest animal shelter and see if they have an indoor cat? We've had cats in the past some serious hunters and others who couldn't be bothered. We put a collar with a bell on the hunter. She was gone for 3 days and limped back with her paw caught up in the collar. I would be reluctant to have another one as I couldn't deal with half dead birds THB.

Our cats have never been outside so don't expect to go out. We rehomed them aged 6 from a breeder who didn't need them any more. Our gain. The 'boys' are sleepy old things with occasional daft turns but mostly like being with us or on us as much as possible. Great company.

GrannyGravy13

henetha many cats nowadays are indoor cats, maybe look to get one of those.

Yes also much safer too . Seems like almost every day there’s a post on our local hub telling of cats being knocked down by traffic .

I suppose if you get a cat from a rescue place they will have more of an idea of its temperament anyway? whether its an indoor cat or an outdoor cat etc

Why don't you ring them or email to lodge an interest in rehoming?

It does depend a lot on the cat. At one point, I had 4 cats and only one was a hunter.

Think it depends on where you place your bird feeder , best to put it out in the open well away from walls , tree branches ect ect so then cats can’t get at it . I’ve had my multi bird feeder for many many years , and have never had a problem with the neighbours cats 🐱 .

henetha many cats nowadays are indoor cats, maybe look to get one of those.

Not all cats are hunters, my last old cat slept a lot and was too slow to catch anything, but it's probably safer to assume that many cats are hunters, so as your situation is rural with many birds it would be better not to get a cat at all. It's a sad reality, I'm afraid.

I’ve stopped putting out food and nesting boxes for birds because of neighbours cats who kill them. It was like I was luring the birds to their deaths.

I think you may have to chose or harden yourself to sight of dead birds and their bits☹️