Nifty's Feral Kitty Adventure

[BigBlueHen53]

One of our cats often brings little lizards in, what we call bluetails, which are usually intact except for their missing tails. I don't think she has any intention of eating them, I think they are just toys. We take them away and release them outside. I say "them," it could be "it." She could be catching the same one over and over again!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

At least she is not killing the songbirds, sigh...

Unfortunately she's been known to do that too

We put a bell on our cat to keep the songbirds safe. Surprisingly the blue-bellies learned to hide from the bell as well.

We may end up having to do that. I wanted to avoid it since having her kill rats (she's caught at least 5 we know of) is a big pro... but the cons may start outweighing the pros.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Well. Sigh. They are predators after all. The only alternative I have heard of is to build a "catio" and keep them confined. This may be necessary for the survival of city kitties. We live in the country and is not really an option for us. Ours does not really do too much damage. Mostly her predation is beneficial as she controls vermin, so the very rare songbird is an unfortunate price we are willing to pay. Otherwise we would be overrun with mice and rats.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Mostly her predation is beneficial as she controls vermin, so the very rare songbird is an unfortunate price we are willing to pay. Otherwise we would be overrun with mice and rats.

Ya, I think we're kinda in a similar position. We don't love that she's killing the birds and lizards during the day, but we appreciate that she's done a great job with rats around the area.

So, I think we'll continue with our plan: Keep her outside at night to get worn-out hunting the nocturnal rats, and then keep her indoors *most* of the day to sleep.

 

[N F C]

Well. Sigh. They are predators after all. The only alternative I have heard of is to build a "catio" and keep them confined. This may be necessary for the survival of city kitties. We live in the country and is not really an option for us. Ours does not really do too much damage. Mostly her predation is beneficial as she controls vermin, so the very rare songbird is an unfortunate price we are willing to pay. Otherwise we would be overrun with mice and rats.

We're in the process of building a catio for our 3 house cats. Not only will it keep them from messing with the wild birds, it will protect them from dogs and traffic. Hardware cloth to the rescue again!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We're in the process of building a catio for our 3 house cats. Not only will it keep them from messing with the wild birds, it will protect them from dogs and traffic. Hardware cloth to the rescue again!

Sounds like a plan!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Ya, I think we're kinda in a similar position. We don't love that she's killing the birds and lizards during the day, but we appreciate that she's done a great job with rats around the area.

So, I think we'll continue with our plan: Keep her outside at night to get worn-out hunting the nocturnal rats, and then keep her indoors *most* of the day to sleep.

Best of luck!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have thought about belling my hunter, but I do want her to keep the vermin down. Really, she does not bring me birds very often, and more often than not they are releasable. So I guess I'll just let her be.

 

[N F C]

Rob, thought I'd share our catio (in progress):

Our 3 house cats will be able to go out and in via their cat tower in front of one of those house windows. DH is getting close to putting up the hardware cloth today. Opie, Pip and Bam Bam are going to love this!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

That's AMAZING!!!

DH is clearly skilled!

Keep us posted with more pics