killing so much?!? I guess she's run out of rodents to kill. My last gift, a vole, was about 3 weeks ago. Now she's turned her attention to the songbirds. So far 2 cardinals, a blue jay, and a chickadee have fallen prey to her. All my feeders are high, at least 6 ft. off the ground, but in addition to her killing skills she's also a climber. I put a collar with a bell on her today. She absolutely hates wearing the collar and has been trying to get it off all day. I know she'll get used to it. But will that tiny bell really make a difference? Is there anything else I can do? I hate that feeding the songbirds means I am also inviting them to their execution. And no, getting rid of Kitty is not an option.
I was told a long time ago, and still believe if you mix free-range cats and wild birds, you get two categories: the Quick and the Dead perhaps you can think of it as Darwin's "survival of the fittest" the collar may help for a little while, but if your kitty is anything like ours, that collar will be gone gone gone soon alternatively, the cat may get hung up by the collar somewhere and injured ... over the years our cats have caught and brought in: a live hummingbird a live flying squirrel a dead possum a live blue jay (Steller's Jay) a live full size brown rabbit (almost bigger than the cat door) you can just imagine the noise these make, at 6 AM, in a house with a 19 foot cathedral ceiling not to mention many moles, voles, kangaroo mice, regular mice, rats, and gophers ... and yes, wild birds of all sorts, from house sparrows (pest!) to varied thrushes (awwww) cats will do what cats will do, and it's awfully hard to herd them Candy here: two half-Siamese neutered half-brothers, one orange, one best-biscuit-and-white on Maui: two tamed feral "poi cats" ... one orange, possibly part Burmese, one cream-and-white
We struggle with this problem also. Make sure the feeders are not near any place that the cat can hide and ambush. Keep the cat indoors? Cats are very effective hunters and it is a challenge when you have one that is accomplished at it. Out of 6 resident cats ( all spayed and neutered, well cared for,fed,warm places to sleep) I have one who is a hunter. He thinks he is providing, because he brings his kills back to the pride calling them all the way and sets it down for someone else to take. It is mostly rodents the ocassional song bird is disappointing. I don't know if the bell will help or not, I have heard some bad stories about cats and collars.
If you have a collar on her make sure it is one with a safety snap on it and most likely she well ether A: loss it or B: learns how to make it not jingle
Yes, her collar is a safety collar...for as long as she keeps it on. Kitty was in the house for a few days when she got spayed and she absolutely hated it. She screamed non-stop at the door to be let out. She was a feral orphan when I got her, so I guess she will always be more wild than pet. I wish I could fatten her up. She only weighed 2.8 lbs. at her last vet visit (full grown). Guess we'll see how this bell does. :|
if she's essentially "tamed feral", keep an eye on her for tapeworms ... mine need re-dosing every so often as they eat rodents ... which are infested with worms also not a bad idea to buy "premium" cat food for her, rather than the well-advertised national brands ... made quite a difference to our kaboodle when we switched ... that is, if you don't already ... c
Keep it inside in the daytime and let it out at night. We've got one here who does the same with the song/wild birds and it gets me angry every time I see a dead one on the deck. He's a cool cat as cats go, almost like a dog, but if it weren't for mom liking the cat so much (I do too actually, but there's too many cats, many that are stray and screw up natures balance), I'd have proved that cats do *not* have nine lives when meeting a .22 bullet.
Oh, I hear you! I had a big old tuxedo cat once that was a mighty hunter. His most impressive prize was a ruffed grouse, of all things! He had to pull it home backwards it was so heavy. As I recall from other posts about Killer Kitty, it doesn't sound like she would enjoy being an indoor cat, so I don't think that's an option. You can try the bell, but certainly do get a break-away collar for Kitty's safety. As for me, I only feed the birds in the winter, because my current cat has a penchant for Chickadees and they are just too cute to see hanging out of a cat's mouth! Our cat isn't outside as much in the winter, and I put the feeders in the deep snow where she doesn't like to go. EDIT: I just looked again and see that you are from Arkansas, so probably my deep snow advice isn't very helpful, is it?