TAJ Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 My evil cat brought a bird in the house Thursday night about 3 am - unfortunately it was dead by the time we got to it. Then agin Saturday night 3 am. We had only just cleaned up the feathers Sunday morning and there was another dead bird in the hallway. At this point we were discussing locking him in at night whilst there are so many young birds about - then another one yesterday afternoon (which we rescued and put in a covered patch of garden, but was dead inside the Eglu run this morning - not sure how it got in there) - the cat is now confined to barracks 24/7. I know it is only natural for a cat, but 4 birds in 4 days - 3 were actually in 24hrs- is really too much - he is totally unimpressed but I will try and keep him in for a few days to allow the local bird population a chance. Evil cat! Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Why not attach a very large bell to his collar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 I can only sympathise - bell is one solution but they aren't always effective, however it might give the birds a fighting chance. I don't think there is any other solution, it tends to be this time of year when there are young, inexperienced birds about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share Posted July 14, 2008 He can get out of most cat collars - so the bell idea has been well and truely tested with this one. I have had cats all my life - this one is totally untrainable and known by all around us. In fact we didn't even get him - he just moved in 18 months ago and our other 2 cats accepted him and he was not on any missing registers or micro chipped so we felt sorry for him and kept him. DD loves him, but he is a true cat that does his own thing - you probably recall I do not trust him with the chickens - he jumped on the run the first day we had them and has taken a chunk of feathers out of one of them while I was sitting watching them. Evil, evil cat! Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnie&Moose Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Hi Tracy, Have you ever tried a CatAlert? You can get them from http://www.willana-lifesciences.co.uk I know they're not cheap (I buy at least 2 every year) but they appear to work. Both our cats are highly successful hunters so I put these on them each spring and then take them off again at the end of the summer (our male cat fights so loses collars very frequently which gets very expensive - however we have retrieved several of his lost collars over the last couple of years by following the 'beep' from the CatAlert!). When the cats are wearing these they don't appear to catch any birds (we never see any evidence of it anyway) but they do continue to catch rats and mice, so for me they're worth the expense. However, the collars they come with aren't that great - I switch the CatAlert onto the cats's existing collars. Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 wow - this looks like the answer to a prayer! Do they really not upset your cats, Kate? And do you have them so they go off in the dark, or just during daylight? I've just read the rather sad story of the family who tracked down their injured cat by listening for the 'beep' ... however it occurs to me that it might also prevent Welly from being shut in the garage again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnie&Moose Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Hi Olly, Neither cat has ever behaved in any way to suggest they were bothered by the beeping. I've always had the CatAlert set to beep only in the light, so when the cat settles down for a snooze on the sofa the beep is usually silenced because the sensor is tucked under their chin. I do turn them off sometimes in the evening - it's a bit disconcerting to have a beeping cat perched on the back of the sofa right behind ones ear ; on the few occasions when I've forgotten to switch the beep back on before heading off to bed, we've had a feathery present first thing next morning My only complaint about them is that the collars they come with are not very good (though this may have changed since the 2 we're currently using are both from last year) - so I put them on collars that have buckles, with an elasticated section so the cat can slip it should they get caught up. I did read up on these when they first came out - the limited scientific literature available suggested that most cats they were trialled on tolerated them just fine. I definitely think they're worth a try - I've been very pleased with them. Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 We got out another collare & bell - he got it off in a minute, once adjusted he kept it on in the house for the evening, so we opened the cat flap - by next morning yet another lost collar & bell! No more birds in as yet though. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
