Is This Normal?

[Auntiemoll]

I have a NINE month kitten who already is bringing to me mice,bird chicks, and full grown birds which he has caught and killed. Is this usual for someone so young.?

Although upsetting to see the demise of birds and mice I realise this is a natural instinct for a cat,just wish he wouldn't look so pleased with himself!!!

[Sharingan]

Yes totally normal, they start killing and maiming quite early:)

[anneasquith]

reason no 1 not to have a cat !!!!!!!!!

[rowanwitch]

perfectly normal the pounce/ kill instinct comes in at about 6 weeks old I believe just being a puss I'm afraid time for a collar with a bell I suppose

[Canary42]

As a bird-lover it's my natural instinct to kill cats - unfortunately I'm not allowed to so the decline of our lovely garden birds continues.

I hope you can sleep at nights knowing your cat is contributing to this wholesale slaughter.

P.S. In the "natural" state cat populations would be declining as their food source diminished, but because their owners happily feed them they continue to multiply and murder.

[emmie]

i am a cat lover, but always hated the moggy bringing home something it has killed. a bell round the neck helps a bit,

[Purple_Popple]

They learn to 'stalk' so the bell doesnt make a noise though... clever cats are.

[FredPuli43]

Yes, Canary,that's the answer. Nobody should feed their cat. They should let it out to hunt its food for itself. That might not improve the bird loss statistics ! But it might, on the other hand, reduce the cat population since the weaker hunters would starve :).

Only cats we ever had here were farm cats. Curiously, I never saw one catch a bird or bringing one back. Presumably there were so many rats, mice and shrews that trying to catch a bird was considered a wholly unnecessary exertion.

[emmie]

his made a noise, there can be other deterrents. if anyone watched the programme on recently about the life of cats, their habits, and how far they wander, it was quite illuminating, most don't roam far at all, it would seem.

[ladybirder]

Put a self-releasing collar on your cat with a large bell. This will at least give the prey a chance, albeit a second or two, to escape unharmed. Keep it in and dawn and dusk when birds and their young are feeding either because they are very hungry after the night or stocking up before they go to roost. And always keep your cat in at night as this is when most cats come to harm.

[daffy654]

Canary, the RSPB themselves have said there is no evidence that domestic cats are in any way responsible for the decline in the bird populations. Maybe you should read up on the subject before you start to get all nasty about cats eh?

[tonyav]

Yep, quite normal behavior murdering little gits ain't they.

[daffy654]

Despite the large numbers of birds killed, there is no scientific evidence that predation by cats in gardens is having any impact on bird populations UK-wide. This may be surprising, but many millions of birds die naturally every year, mainly through starvation, disease, or other forms of predation. There is evidence that cats tend to take weak or sickly birds.


We also know that of the millions of baby birds hatched each year, most will die before they reach breeding age. This is also quite natural, and each pair needs only to rear two young that survive to breeding age to replace themselves and maintain the population.

It is likely that most of the birds killed by cats would have died anyway from other causes before the next breeding season, so cats are unlikely to have a major impact on populations. If their predation was additional to these other causes of mortality, this might have a serious impact on bird populations.

Those bird species that have undergone the most serious population declines in the UK (such as skylarks, tree sparrows and corn buntings) rarely encounter cats, so cats cannot be causing their declines. Research shows that these declines are usually caused by habitat change or loss, particularly on farmland.


From here:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/gardening/unwantedvisitors/cats/birddeclines.aspx

[daisya]

I don't live on or near farmland but certainly noticed the loss of the birds we used have such as blackbirds, thrushes, wrens, blue-tits, wagtails etc and it's not as though the area is being built up here. However the cat population in our area has increased over the time we've lived where we do. I think there are several reasons why the birds are in decline, even down to climate change but I don't suppose we will have the full answer for a while yet.

[ladybirder]

Still doesn't hurt to collar and bell them as I said. At least you don't have the upset then Auntie.

[tonyav]

Our cat somehow manages to lose her bell !.

[ladybirder]

Tony mine too and the collar as well sometimes. Used to find them stuck on the fence mostly. Just had to keep replacing. Mine's 20 now and hardly goes out. But she still does her "chatter" if she sees a bird at the window feeder.

[daffy654]

My neighbours have a bird feeder in their back garden, they have attached wind chimes to it and the birds have now become unafraid of the sound of bells anywhere near them.
My cats have collars with bells on in case anyone wonders, I bought them an Ancol safety collar each that unclips really easily if they get it caught on anything. Collar injuries are horrible and avoidable and I would never use an ordinary/elasticated collar on my cats!

[ladybirder]

Me neither Daffy.

[tonyav]

I/we must replace Daisy's collar at least 4 or 5 times a year, how do they manage to lose them ?, accidentally on purpose.

[Auntiemoll]

Thanks to all for your imput, the kitten has lost two collars with bell so far!!!I will take on board the advice about keeping him in at dusk and dawn.
My previous cat who lived to 21 years hardly ever killed,but he was a pedigree, this one is a right little moggy we rescued from absolute squalor.