Out killing

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Ok, I've tried to make my cat more accepting of the outdoors...but to no avail. Which is fine.

He will go out on the front steps for like 10 minutes then come back in, or hang out on the back patio while I garden if the weather is nice. He was even leashed trained at one point and went on some short walks/explorations. He's killed the occasional fly and he did scrap a mouse that came into our last house. The mouse made an escape and we never saw another one again. He was waiting by the door to the garage for ages, so knew they were close, when one squeezed in, he was ready.

I think outdoor cats can indeed be damaging, and I don't feel like I need to force the outdoors thing with this cat.

No need to force the cat, the important part is choice...

My cats have caught nought and sod all in near on 23 years, they never have roamed much out of the garden and have been fat their whole lives which may or may not have been causation of the preference for not hunting.

ETA: Sorry for the loss of the bantams C, I get why you would be upset! Friends cat has just lost a leg due to their neighbours dog, so what goes around comes around in a roundabout sort of way I suppose!

 

[smolmaus]

I think outdoor cats can indeed be damaging, and I don't feel like I need to force the outdoors thing with this cat.

Same, my two get stressed if we have the windows (with cat-proof screens) open too long. Patrolling and guarding territory might be "natural" for cats but it's a stressor these two neurotic creatures neither need nor want. I'm happier with indoor cats and there will probably never be a shortage of cats in shelters who have no experience of the outdoors, have medical issues (like FIV) or haven't the good sense the Lord gave them to not get themselves killed, so it works. When we eventually get the extension sorted I will think about a catio but given the cats we have I dont think they even need it, I just want it as a little project!

I am a bit sad I can't put up a bird table in the garden because I love watching them, but all my neighbours let their cats roam so I would just be setting up a buffet table instead ?

 

[Clodagh]

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Would it be possible to make them a large run with chicken wire and put a chicken wire lid on it? You've already thought of that I know and think it looks ugly and prefer them free range ??

Or how about electric chicken fencing? I seem to remember getting 50metres of it ...

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They are in lockdown at the moment. The old ones it killed before lockdown and then I didn’t lose one until one got out while I was feeding. They will be behind electric net and two strand wire, for fox sake, but the cat can come through the neighbours hedge behind to get them.
I won’t keep them locked down 24/7. I’ll get rid and just get a few large hens for eggs if it’s an ongoing thing.

 

[Cloball]

My mum's old cat used to cause carnage by bringing in rodents and rabbits and letting them loose in the house for the terrier.

 

[Clodagh]

ETA: Sorry for the loss of the bantams C, I get why you would be upset! Friends cat has just lost a leg due to their neighbours dog, so what goes around comes around in a roundabout sort of way I suppose!

Rather depends in whose garden it happened, if the cat was in the dogs garden then it’s sort of karma. Horrible for the owner though. (And the cat).

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

I am a bit sad I can't put up a bird table in the garden because I love watching them, but all my neighbours let their cats roam so I would just be setting up a buffet table instead ?

Could you hang feeders somewhere? I’ve got two swinging off a shepherd’s crook thing from B&Q: it just sticks into the ground. There’s no way cats could shimmy up it and we’ve screened off that area or the pups would wreck the daffs etc. The massive fat wood pigeons are enjoying parading around under the feeders whilst sneering at the dogs.

 

[milliepops]

yeah i have hanging bird feeders. the neighbourhood cats come to my garden quite often (grrrrr) but the birds seem to be pretty safe, they scoot between the feeders and the trees.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

There was a cat running along the new fence last year. The dogs were chasing, although the fence is 8 ft, so no chance. Haven’t seen it since! 3 dogs is very off putting, I guess. ? We tend to keep them in after breakfast so the goldfinch and bluetit flocks can do their morning ablutions on the waterfall.

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

Rather depends in whose garden it happened, if the cat was in the dogs garden then it’s sort of karma. Horrible for the owner though. (And the cat).

Neighbours garden, owner not too upset in general other than seeing cat in pain of course, but she's of the opinion that it's the risk you take. Cat perfectly happy on three legs thankfully and fully insured against the operation costs.

 

[GSD Woman]

I agree with you, but you’d be surprised at how many times my dog has been labelled aggressive because she does what comes naturally. She’s perfect with people and dogs and perfectly trustworthy (even little dogs). It is strange that those same people will ask to borrow her to catch a stray mouse in their house or praise her achievements if she catches one in the barn.

There are areas of the US where a dog is labelled aggressive if it kills a cat or wild animal. To me that is absurd. Cats kill things and so do dogs.

I've had a cat killed by a dog, had two shot by the neighbor's brat with BBs, and have a broken leg due to being hit by a car. Maybe now you can understand why I'm not so wild about letting my cats roam. My last cat didn't like going out and would come back when I called him when he accidently managed to get out.

I have a black snake living in my back garden so hopefully that will take care of any rodents. 3 of my indoor/outdoor cats were excellent hunters of rats, mice, squirrels, fish from the creek and the occasional snake. I do miss that benefit of the cats going outside.

 

[smolmaus]

Could you hang feeders somewhere? I’ve got two swinging off a shepherd’s crook thing from B&Q: it just sticks into the ground. There’s no way cats could shimmy up it and we’ve screened off that area or the pups would wreck the daffs etc. The massive fat wood pigeons are enjoying parading around under the feeders whilst sneering at the dogs.

It wouldn't feel right encouraging smaller birds when they would run such a risk of getting murdered honestly ? we do have a few wood pigeons but mostly corvids and gulls who can handle themselves. Come to think of it, it might be the giant dog-sized gulls keeping the small birds away as much as the cats, and it would be a very brave kitty to take one of them on!

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

The feeders I have could be middle of the lawn, anywhere. Honestly, I don’t see how cats could get to the birds on them.

 

[Keith_Beef]

It wouldn't feel right encouraging smaller birds when they would run such a risk of getting murdered honestly ? we do have a few wood pigeons but mostly corvids and gulls who can handle themselves. Come to think of it, it might be the giant dog-sized gulls keeping the small birds away as much as the cats, and it would be a very brave kitty to take one of them on!

This is why I hang two bird feeders on two trees, about fifteen metres apart. When both are stocked with feed, the birds have the choice of which to go to. If they are at one feeder and they see a cat approaching, they are not tempted to try to stay until the last moment; they can flit to the other and leave the cat behind.

This has a side benefit: Tabitha gets plenty of exercise running from one feeder to the other.

 

[GSD Woman]

The feeders I have could be middle of the lawn, anywhere. Honestly, I don’t see how cats could get to the birds on them.

Do the birds not spill the seeds and then try and get them off of the lawn? My mother has that problem at her home. I help her keep the seeds from making too much of a mess.

Also, do the squirrels not get into the feeders?

 

[Books'n'dogs]

There are areas of the US where a dog is labelled aggressive if it kills a cat or wild animal. To me that is absurd. Cats kill things and so do dogs.

I've had a cat killed by a dog, had two shot by the neighbor's brat with BBs, and have a broken leg due to being hit by a car. Maybe now you can understand why I'm not so wild about letting my cats roam. My last cat didn't like going out and would come back when I called him when he accidently managed to get out.

I have a black snake living in my back garden so hopefully that will take care of any rodents. 3 of my indoor/outdoor cats were excellent hunters of rats, mice, squirrels, fish from the creek and the occasional snake. I do miss that benefit of the cats going outside.

I don't have a cat because I have family members who are horribly allergic but if I did I wouldn't let them outside. I have a sort of neighbor who shoots cats (something I detest but it's legal in my State), I live on a busy street, there's a Bald Eagle nest down the road and I frequently see the pair hunting out my window, plus there's also a Great Horned Owl nest in the neighborhood. I wouldn't feel like I was providing a safe home if I let a cat roam and I don't think my situation is unique which is why I think most Americans keep their cats indoors. Not to mention the growing risk of coyotes.

My brother is a birder and he says cats may not be getting the birds coming to your bird feeders but they are getting the nestlings and fledglings, which is detrimental to future of many, if not most, songbirds.

 

[Clodagh]

Any feeders out in the open here would be a drive through for the sparrow hawks!

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Do the birds not spill the seeds and then try and get them off of the lawn? My mother has that problem at her home. I help her keep the seeds from making too much of a mess.

Also, do the squirrels not get into the feeders?

It's in soil. We have weird grass growing occasionally, which Bear grazes on like a cow, but mostly the galleons in full sail (wood pigeons) scoff any dropped seed very enthusiastically.

The stand the feeders swing from is thin, like half an inch thick, I’ve never seen squirrels attempt to go up it, but 3 dogs mostly keeps them away. You can just about see the black shepherd’s crook in front of the statue here.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Any feeders out in the open here would be a drive through for the sparrow hawks!

Don’t think we have many of those! Lots of red tailed kites but they don’t come in the garden. Our garden is teeming with sparrows-nice to see them making a comeback recently-goldfinches, bluetits, robins, blackbirds, starlings. They all wait their turn on the waterfall, the waiting room is a conifer. We also have a flock of parakeets, noisy blasted things.

There are multiple sparrows nesting in the shrubbery behind the pond. I’m worried about disturbing them, the shed with all the gardening stuff is practically against the shrubbery, it’s the first time I remember anything nesting there.

 

[scats]

We had a cat whose preference was moths and worms, which she would bring in the house and leave on your bed. I’d often see her trotting along the landing with a wiggling earthworm hanging out of her mouth.

 

[Nasicus]

Two indoor cats here, both used to be allowed outdoors until the 12yo decided she'd rather stay inside about 5 years ago, and the 5yo has never even tried to leave since we got her at 3. Fine by me, I wised up to indoor cats a while back and don't think I'd have indoor/outdoor cats in the future unless I could get a catio built.

The other 12yo (my sisters cat) is still allowed outside, if mostly because he is an absolute d**khead if kept indoors against his will. Attacks the girls, pulls chunks of their hair out, swipes at people, beats the dog up etc. And unfortunately he is a keen hunter, and bloody smart. He's thwarted your standard bells, a motion sensor beeper, enough bells sewn onto his collar to resemble a tambourine, even a god damn catbib. He even bought a squirrel home once, although jury's out if he killed it (unlikely) or if he's a killstealing a**hole gloryhog (most likely). Mercifully for him we live in a quiet cul-de-sac, and his territory has shrunk drastically over the years due to the increase in other cats in the area so he doesn't wander far. And we do try to keep him indoors during prime songbird time, so he mostly just leaves us headless rodents now. If he were a human, he'd have an ASBO, an ankle tag and probably a suspended sentence too. If he were a dog he's probably be PTS! But he's a cat, so its okay. (Disclaimer: he does have some redeeming qualities, I promise!)

 

[HashRouge]

He even bought a squirrel home once, although jury's out if he killed it (unlikely) or if he's a killstealing a**hole gloryhog (most likely).

I would not be so sure if I were you! Last year I was standing in the kitchen with my Mum, laughing at the cat as he tried to stalk a grey squirrel. We both said he hadn't a hope of hell in catching it - next thing we knew, he had it in his mouth! And he was 16 at the time, and is pure white and a bit arthritic poor chap, so I would have bet against him. That's the last thing I remember him catching actually.

 

[Clodagh]

This thread has turned into another celebration of cat kills ??

 

[GSD Woman]

I don't have a cat because I have family members who are horribly allergic but if I did I wouldn't let them outside. I have a sort of neighbor who shoots cats (something I detest but it's legal in my State), I live on a busy street, there's a Bald Eagle nest down the road and I frequently see the pair hunting out my window, plus there's also a Great Horned Owl nest in the neighborhood. I wouldn't feel like I was providing a safe home if I let a cat roam and I don't think my situation is unique which is why I think most Americans keep their cats indoors. Not to mention the growing risk of coyotes.

I have hawks and owls around here. I did see an eagle fly over the other day about fell out. I'm far enough from the river or swamp that this is first time I've seen one here. The coyotes here aren't in my neighborhood yet. I have no desire for my cat to be eaten.

A friend in the North East has fishers and weasels as well as cougars, coyotes and bears. Outdoor cats don't last long. I guess in most parts of the USA we take a large risk letting our cats go outside.

 

[some show]

He even bought a squirrel home once, although jury's out if he killed it (unlikely) or if he's a killstealing a**hole gloryhog (most likely)

Joe picked this up off the road once with his tiny front teeth, through his muzzle, think he wanted to pretend he'd done it ?

 

[Keith_Beef]

Joe picked this up off the road once with his tiny front teeth, through his muzzle, think he wanted to pretend he'd done it ?

I hope you turned out into a desk tidy or pencil pot.

 

[some show]

I hope you turned out into a desk tidy or pencil pot.

I'll remember that for next time! Maybe a hat.

 

[Cortez]

I'll remember that for next time! Maybe a hat.

Or one glove……

 

[TheresaW]

Luna has a very high prey drive so always walked on long lead if not in a secure field. She’s caught a couple of hares and rabbits (whilst on lead). We had a mixy outbreak at the horses a couple of years ago. I did let her get those if she was with me and I saw any.

 

[HeresHoping]

My own Labrabugger kills and eats the butter pat with alarming alacrity. Alas, when he catches the wildlife, he likes to carry it around and let it live. He hides bunnies down the back of the sofa.

My half Labrabugger, half GWP is called, with some originality, Gunner. He is a gun dog. Most of his retrieves are already dead. However he whispers squirrels down from trees (he can't catch the dastardly chicken food thief - that millet must contain turbo diesel) and currently goes through two rabbits a day. We call it Double Bunning. Any regular enthusiasts will get this joke.

 

[Nasicus]

Joe picked this up off the road once with his tiny front teeth, through his muzzle, think he wanted to pretend he'd done it ?

It's the smooshed up nose for me LOL!