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[Claireylou]

 

[cubagirl]

I know nothing about such things, but would wind chimes work? You know the high pitched ones made of glass? 

[CLKD]

Nope.  We have chimes all over our plot 

Of course cats are killers, just like humans ..........  how else will cats get fed in the wild?  If the blackbird had a male near by he would have taken over the feeding ........ if they were meant to have survived, they would have done.  Otherwise years ago birds would have died out!

Birds after all can fly out of the way but if they aren't on guard, they won't survive - end of.  Cats, sparrow hawks, weasels, stoats will all take birds .......

MrsB what did you decide?

[Mbrown001]

I've decided on a machine gun 

I've a little baby robin in the garden. It's not being fed any more but is not quite ready to fly quickly. Oh it so worries me, I've been lurking around the garden all day checking on it.

Yes cats are killers by nature...but if they are domesticated then they are well fed.....so they kill not to eat but for fun. I'm not a fan. Seeing a cat take a big pigeon is really not nice. If this was a homeless hungry cat then I could get the point.

We have decided to buy the humane cat spikes to lay along its preferred route. Hopefully that will make lurking in the bushes less appealing, and a whole lot less comfortable. It won't harm the cat but will make walking on that part of the garden very uncomfortable. I'm also going to put it along the top part of the fence where it comes in.

Oh and dogs are killers too but mine manages to avoid killing anything for fun.


Mrs Brown

[Hurdity]

I love cats and I love wild birds. We feed our birds with multiple feeders and I watch all the birds fledge. Sadly our cat gets some of them but I want to have both so live with it! Plenty of them (birds) make it to adulthood quite happily - but it's always sad to see a dead baby bird. Our feeders are surrounded by hollyhocks and have lots of places for the birds to perch - I try to keep some of the vegetation down around the feeders although growth is fast at this time of year - there are always sparrows, blackbirds, robins and dunnocks hopping about eating the fallen seed. None of our cats have ever had collars. This is a rural area though so perhaps that makes a difference - there are plenty of places for them to forage (birds and cats!).

If you don't work then I suggest you lie in wait and just keep chasing the cat or tip some water on it - we have to do this sometimes chase errant toms away from our back room where they sometimes terrorise our female cat. It works for a while!

Hurdity x

[CaroleM]

My late Dad could tell you all about geese in bad moods.!!!

Just thinking, I cannot think a worse combination of a hormonal woman and evil temper ganders

Most felines tend to be wary of geese. No idea why!

[littleminnie]

I think cats go for birds because it is a natural instinct. I don't think it's fun or for food. They may be domesticated but that will not stop them.
Having said that, our cat tries to get the birds but has no idea.  She doesn't patiently lie it wait, she goes in all guns blazing.  She's never got one yet.

[Claireylou]

 

[Elizabethrose]

Carol, if this forum is anything to go by, hormonal women could take down those evil tempered 'bloshy ganders' anytime!! 

We have a little cat next door with half a brain, such a shame. It takes her half an hour of very loud scrambling to climb the fence but once up there all she can do is fall off. The birds sit and stare at her with a very smug look on their little faces. However, we have two huge panther like beasts locally, who terrorise the neighbourhood birds ripping down every nest they can. They leave the baby birds dead underneath, don't even bother to eat them. This is the third year running that blackbirds have nested in a huge climbing hydrangea, have managed to raise a brood only to have them killed just before they fledge. It's heartbreaking after seeing how hard the parent birds work feeding the little things.

I know what you mean Mrs B about feeling responsible about your nesting birds. I find myself outside reacting every time I hear the blackbirds or robins warning calls and chasing the cats up the garden. I almost wish they'd nest elsewhere and just drop by on a visit! x

[CaroleM]

We have 4 cats, 3 of whom are hunters. Occasionally we get a bird, however mice, shrews and slow worms are their preferred prey.

Ultimately, cats hunt whatever is in greatest abundance and the only answer will be to relocate your feeders to an area that is not sheltered by plants, so the suggested middle of the lawn could work. It's going to be a case of trial and error.

We don't feed the birds for this exact reason, and we're sorry that it wouldn't be kind to the birds if we did. We have had gold fish presented to us on a few occasions, whether from pond or tank we have no idea!

[CLKD]

The blackbirds are being thick then! if they were observant they would realise that their hard work was wasted ..........  .  Many years ago we had a robin nesting in a sack of compost in a shaded corner and another in the greenhouse, I thought that the alter would fry but 4 fledged 

[CaroleM]

I was thinking more bloshy ganders seeing off neighbouring cats

[CaroleM]

My late Dad could tell you all about geese in bad moods.!!!

Just thinking, I cannot think a worse combination of a hormonal woman and evil temper ganders

Most felines tend to be wary of geese. No idea why!

Would that be 'bloshy ganders' CaroleM ?!! 

S x

Me being the hormonal female and the ganders being bolshy!    Any sensible cat gives most geese a wide berth.

My Dad was an emergency electrician with South West Electricity Board (SWEB) and got a call to a farm.  There was a total failure of supply, not good at milking time.  He got out of the van in the yard and was about to knock on the house door.  The next thing he knew, there was a flock of honking (sound not smell) geese, necks and wings outstretched making right for him.  He got back in the van at a great speed and kept one hand on the horn until someone came to rescue him!  Mum always says it must be the 2nd time he ran for his life.  The first was on their honeymoon, the cow in the field turned out to be a bad tempered BULL.  Apparently, he cleared a 5 barred gate

[CLKD]

 

[CLKD]

I don't like geese or goats ......... they both make good guards as do llamas  which will take on a fox.  Maybe that's the answer