Cats and bad owners

[janeyo]

Cats don't know that the area you have lovingly dug over isn't for them to go toilet on - maybe a no dig bed wouldn't attract them? I must experiment.
'
I have 3 and they all wear collars with bells. Jasper has 2 bells and still catches things. Maybe the birds and mice are deaf round here? Or suicidal?
Or like to play chicken with the cats and aren't very good at it?

We have the collar a) for identity as some people wouldn't realise they are chipped' inside, and if they go missing and can therefore hopefully be returned. and b) to put the bells on so they can hopefully catch less (although this doesn't work with ours, they are just too good), and c) they have little magnets on them to open the catflap as we get other cats coming in if not.

A collar is always a sign to me that a cat has a home and is not a stray.

I find the worst probs come the other cats round here, maybe I just have my own cat 'blinkers' on.

They are cats, they do what cats do, they are not consciously ruining your crops or gardens.

janeyo

[smallblueplanet]

I would think that if a cat is given a collar from a young age it will quickly get used to wearing it....

Nope, it doesn't work like that. Some cats will NEVER accept wearing them however young you start trying - I know this.

I just think we have many more cats now than we used to, and they are doing lots of damage. They're not the only cause of the decline in bird population, but they are a factor. I don't think we should ban or confine cats, but I do think we ought to consider what they get up to when they're out of our sight, and perhaps act to mitigate the harm they do.

How? Would like to see some facts to back up your 'thinking' on the damage cats cause to the bird populations - maybe they only take the 'spares'? Afterall not every bird born will live a 'full wholesome life' even without cats!

[Paul Wagland]

Would like to see some facts to back up your 'thinking' on the damage cats cause to the bird populations

Ok:
"In 1987, Peter Churcher and John Lawton asked the owners of cats in a Bedfordshire, England, village to keep any 'gifts' brought to them by their cats; owners of 78 house cats participated (all but 1 cat owner in the village), with the researchers extrapolating from these findings to estimate that the 5 million house cats in England were responsible for killing approximately 70 million animals each year, 20 million of which are birds. [PB Churcher and JH Lawton, 1987, "Predation by domestic cats in an English (UK) village. Journal of Zoology. (London.) 212:439-455.]"

There's lots more here:
THE EFFECT OF CATS ON WILDLIFE

[jeannine]

The RSPB and the Mammal Society have done extensive research which shows that cats kill an average of 5,200 animals in an average 10 year life.

That's a hell of a lot of wild birds and native species.

Yes our current farming practices make a huge impact on wildlife, but that's why the Wildlife Trusts and other conservation bodies all agree that our gardens are playing an increasingly important role in preserving our wildlife. The UK is more densely populated than ever before and we have far more cats than ever before.

I love cats - and have hand reared a number of kittens from just a day old because my mum used to rescue cats and kittens. We could have up to 50 cats and kittens at some points while we were finding homes for them, and each one would have a unique personality. They are fascinating, complex creatures and far more loyal and intelligent than a lot of people realise.

However, now I know what a massive impact they have on our wildlife, I would never choose to keep one as a pet again. It's just my opinion, but I don't think I have the right to decide that around 5,200 other animals should die just so I can enjoy a cat as a pet.

There are plenty of other pets that don't decimate our wild bird species. Now I know the facts about what damage cats do, I personally wouldn't choose to have a cat again.

I'm certainly not suggesting that anyone should harm cats and I totally accept anyone's right to choose to have a pet cat. However, I'm guessing that most cat owners are animal lovers and don't realise the huge damage that cats do. If anyone is considering getting a cat, I would advise them to make an informed decision and spend time researching the wider impact that their choice will create.

[Paul Wagland]

Keeping cats indoors at dawn and dusk would seem like a good idea - as this is when birds are most active; feeding, bathing, crapping on my car etc...

[Two_Sheds]

If it was rats or snakes and not cats killing all the little birds, people would say it was unacceptable. But because cats are fluffy and cuddly and cute, they literally get away with murder.

Sure, it's natural for cats to kill smaller mammals and birds. But then you could argue that it's natural for dogs to kill cats too - is that acceptable?

If people want a pet, they should look after it responsibly, not leave it outside all day and night to do as it pleases. Again, if it was dogs roaming the streets, there'd be uproar.

[smallblueplanet]

Neither of your two sources do anything but talk about the fact that cats kill lots of birds. It does not go on to state that that is whats causing a species decline.

Is there a link? The sort of link that can be proven, say like that between hunters shooting small birds migrating say? The sort of link that DDT/pesticides had in nearly wiping out certain bird species, say?

Yes nasty old cats kill birds, but do they really cause a species to be wiped out? There is a big difference. I'm interested in seeing some proof, not just kill count.

[smallblueplanet]

If it was rats or snakes and not cats killing all the little birds, people would say it was unacceptable...

Not necessarily I know people who've had cats and dogs killed by rats - they're doing us a favour surely?

[Snadger]

:confused

I believe the Maltese eat small birds, what shall we do with them then?

Eat Maltesers!

[smallblueplanet]

Eat Maltesers!

Rofl!!!

What about the Cypriots?

[Shortie]

Cat collars can be both pointless and dangerous. I used to religiously keep mine in collar specifically as a forewarning to wildlife, but the number of times they can home and the collar was missing (no use laying on the floor really), and then there was the time when one of my two staggers in with his front paw caught in it. I haven't used them since.

They can cause strangulation too... if a cat slips off (say) a fence and the collar gets caught.... .... ...

[Shortie]

Thinking on the collar thingy... mine hated wearing theirs and used to chew them off. But it also oddly extends to us and our ginger moggy often sits trying to chew of my ring or watch

[kirsty b]

I have two cats and I'm happy to have them.
As a 3 month old kitten my female, Litle Puss was knocked off the fence and savaged by neighbours german shephard and very nearly killed. She has never been the same since. She stays home, going out long enough to do her business, in OUR garden I might add and to my knowlegde has never hunted.
My neutered tom, Big Puss is a sod. He has only brought home one little corpse and that was 3 years ago but he is a wanderer. Both my cats wear collars, with easy release catches. They must work, as they sometimes come home without it and therefore need a new one.
Both my cats come down into the kitchen every morning, stay in all night and most of the day in winter. In summer they spend slightly more time outside, mostly sunning themselves on the garage roof.
There are loads of cats round my area, and loads of birds too.

Some peeps like cats, some don't, thats their prerogative, but its not all their fault that there has been a decline in wild bird life.

[ann1972]

Just new to this website and was really interested reading all the thoughts on "cats" I also have a cat who does his business as far as I know in our garden he is so clean though takes ages covering and digging his mess. Like many cats nowadays he has a magnetic collar which is great as now other neighbourhood cats cant come in the cat flap unless he opens it for them!! but as the collar has a magnet my poor wee cat does pick up a few pieces of metal largest being a household fork! on his travels...so maybe set a trap for your annoying cats and lay some teaspoons paper clips etc around your plants you never know just might do the trick..LOL

[Geo]

Rofl!!!

What about the Cypriots?

My Dad is a Greek Cypriot lives in Cyprus with my German Mother...

And yes he eats Ambelopoulia he knows I disapprove...

When I mention the subject..he licks his lips and strokes his whiskers

To old to change..

My Mother has had endless arguments with the men of the village..to no avail

Geo..