Please help!! My cat catches too many birds!!!!

[x-Jade-x]

I have a one year old tom cat and i absolutely love him!!
He's really well trained and such a loving cat. He is my first pet and it took me ages to pursuade my parents to let me have him. But now he's catching lots of birds and my mum says he'll have to go if he continues like this because she is soooo scared of birds especially when he brings them in the house. We got him a safety collar with a bell on it thinking it would be safe and ward of birds but it must have come off too easy cos the next day it was gone! Is there anything else i can do to stop the bird and mice catching!
Thanks, Jade

[tonyav]

hi jade i dont think there is a lot you can do about this unless you keep him indoors.it dos'nt matter how well fed or looked after they are they will still catch birds,mice ect because they are preditors.

[paddywak]

As tonyav says there's not a lot you can do as cats are natural predators, love them or loathe them but altogether cats are responsible for the deaths of a HUGE number of other animals and birds annually

[madboutcats]

sorry jade but its in a cats nature to hunt, well they are distant cousins to lions and tigers and they hunt to survive, and how ever well fed your puss is, its second nature to stalk and kill, its horrible i know as my margo is bringing lots of mice in and a bird the other morning. has your boy got lots of toys to play with, things he could chase, pat and sniff, cat nip toys being a favourite of my mums cat. please tell your mum not to get rid of him, its not fair on you or your cat who i suspect is your best mate as well as your pet. maybe you could get rid of the evidence for your mum. i do hope that you get it sorted without having to rehome your friend.xx

[bensmum]

As everyone else says it's a cat's nature to catch things like that. They love to chase and unfortunately kill birds and small animals. The only sure way to stop him is to keep him in. You could see if you could get a collar with a sturdier bell, or maybe one with two bells on! Mine still catch things occasionally but generally they are worse when they are younger - they get lazier as they get older. It seems a shame to have to get rid of an animal for doing something which is so natural to it.

[gelda]

You should mention to your mum that if you find him another home he will still catch things. My friend has a cat that is a real hunter so at this time of year they only let him out in the evening supervised.

[showcatbenga]

The only absolute 'cure' is to build him an outdoor run - like an aviary, that he can freely access from the house & not let him have free run of outside with all the wildlife.
This has the added advantage of your never losing him through him wandering off, getting into a strange vehicle, getting locked in a shed, being catnapped, hit by a car or any of the other things that can happen to the average cat on the prowl.
You will have to satisfy his natural predatory urges by playing with him. Use 'fishing rod' style toys so you don't get hurt. Try catnip as well - most cats love it. If you can get him to engage with you he'll hopefully be too tired out to go hunting as actively. Good luck - x.

[madboutcats]

yes what a good suggestion from showcat, i dont know if you read your cat magazine but if you look in the ads at the back you can often find companies that supply runs for cats plus theres loads of information on cats and lovely stories from cat owners. let your mum read our ideas and hopefully this will help you all.xxx

[Kleiber]

Hi, Jade, sorry to hear about your problem, but as the others have said, it's in a cat's nature to hunt. I have 5 cats (4 females & a male), the 2 youngsters are exceptional hunters (the others are getting a bit too old to be bothered now!). What I do, to minimise the carnage, especially at this time of year when there are lots of baby birds just fledging, is that I don't let the cats out in the morning till about 7o'clock - by that time the birds will mostly have had their breakfast. Then I get them all in again when I go to work and they stay in all day till I get home, I then let them out at about 4.30 till they come home for supper (usually 7 or 8p.m.) and then I keep them in for the night. This stops them hunting at the times when the birds are most vulnerable and by keeping them in at night also negates the risk of them getting injured or killed on the road. Although we're very rural here, we still get the odd idiot who uses the road by the farm like a race-track. Hope this helps. Good luck (by the way, is your cat neutered? If not, get him done as it will stop him wandering), K xx

[LoftyLottie]

I do just the same as Kleiber! Cats soon get used to going out at regular times as well. My cat is 'grounded' quite a lot at the moment as we have swallows nesting above the front door!

Cats will catch far more birds first thing in the morning when the birds are actively feeding or at dusk when they begin to roost.

Also, I have always shouted at my cats if they bring a bird inside and they have then run away outside with it. It doesn't take too long for them to realise it's not a good idea to bring them home. Bit sad really because they are very proud of themselves. As the others have said though, you can't stop them doing what comes naturally.