Printable View
The tabby cat( Sidewinder to y'all) was out front of the house chewing on a Titmouse (small bird here'bouts) she had caught. Got the wife upset, she was ready to go out and scold the cat and take the prize away from her. I told her it is what cats do, no bad or good about it, it just is and to leave the cat alone.
'Sides, if it had been a squirrel she wouldn't have said anything. (pestilent tree rats).
aww poor titmouse, and or squirrel! Are you not afraid the cat will get some horrible icky stuff from eating these wild animals, lice and whatever? I am a soft touch I do not let the Beagles or Ginger catch and eat wild prey. I am sorry but I think its gross. Yuck!
p.s I love tree rats and sea rats and even mice, if they live outside hahaha
They may get the icky stuff. What can you really do? They follow their nature, if we stopped them when we saw them they would do it when we did not see them. Besides, there is a whole lot more of the birds and squirrels than the cats can keep up with. Usual predator prey balance.Quote:
Originally Posted by donnad
I don't see how you can stop a cat from hunting.... or the rain from falling...
the strange thing is I wouldn't mind too much if she killed a bird! it would be a shame for the bird but .... heh! whachagonna do! My husband is the tender heart when it comes to birds, squirels or wikkle wabbits, I don't think he'd forgive her for at least 30 minutes! and then I'd get a lecture on teaching her not to hunt...
this being said, when ours do, it's for fun! coz they're fed at home and they're not so hungry that they have to hunt for their dinner... since they don't need to hunt, it's not exactly natural predator/prey balance, methinks... mine isn't even allowed outside - it's easier than getting the lecture from Himself - I mean what kind of terrible dangerous predator is grounded for life by her Mammy, I ask!?
did the Sidewinder-Tabby actually eat the bird? or play with it, kill it in the process, then play with it some more... (eww not sure which option is grosser)
They usually eat in part at least anything the bring down. Not that they are hungry, they have plenty of food available all the time (have to have, Ran-Gan is a voracious eater). They are just following instinct.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alekto
Alekto, Whyemier,
I know they are natural born killers. I have plenty of toys in the house for her to KILL. Whyemier, do you remember when the news story came out about how many birds that cats killed , it was in the billions. Whether it is true or not it is an eye opener!
Cats kill up to 3.7B birds annually
Ginger is not allowed outside unless on a leash, it is for her protection because we live in a city. She stalks anything in the house that moves including two fat Beagles who are not quite sure what her deal is! If it is inside the house, she can have at it. Here mousey, mousey, mousey.
Well, since the Audobon Encyclopedia says there were 5.6 billion birds in the US, 100 billion world wide, in 1951, I question whether cats have decimated the bird population by as much as 3.7 billion a year. Wouldn't cats have already wiped them out by now or if they are that prolific in breeding how can cats wipe them out? (See below)Quote:
Originally Posted by donnad
According to Terres, The Audubon Encyclopedia of North American Birds, "it is difficult if not impossible to get an accurate count of the total population of a widespread species..." Given that ornithologists are not even sure how many species there really are in the world, it would be most difficult to estimate total populations. Nevertheless, the same source says that in 1951 "Fisher, a British ornithologist, estimated there are more than 100 billion individual wild birds in the world," and that Leonard Wing (1956) estimated that there were about 5.6 billion birds in the U.S. in summer and about 3.75 billion in winter. In 1931 McAtee estimated 2.6 billion breeding land birds in the U.S. Obviously these numbers are quite dated and only estimates.
Also, free ranging cats, which I take to mean feral cause the most damage per the article you cited:
"Our findings suggest that free-ranging cats cause substantially greater wildlife mortality than previously thought and are likely the single greatest source of anthropogenic mortality for U.S. birds and mammals," Marra and his co-authors conclude. "Scientifically sound conservation and policy intervention is needed to reduce this impact."
I don't deny all wildlife is in danger and will continue to be as long as we (not cats) are on this planet. But I question the figures, they are either way too high, or those writing these reports have less an idea of the actual bird population than they should.
Touchy subject for some, guess I should leave it alone I'll delete this if it offends.
I thought it was kinda high also, people skew numbers to meet their particular agenda! I just think it was kind of interesting/ You put way more thought in it than I did haha. Thanks for shedding some light on the subject!
I live on an estate but up until about four years ago we could take part in any "bird watch" surveys as there are woods just behind us & we benefited from their visits into our gardens but not so now , would you believe we have got excited this year over seeing a sparrow actually in the garden.... I am afraid I do not believe that it should be classed as "nature" for a pet to be allowed to go out & kill anything,we domesticated canines,they are well fed,pampered but expected to conform to our civilised way of living,if one of them gives way to "nature" it is considered a pest so why is it ok for a pampered well fed domesticated feline to live a life of killing & pooing in other peoples gardens...... I have had two domestic furries & by moving tray from house to garden & then a corner we got them to toilet in our own garden not any one elses,neither of them ventured far from home & never did we see either of them stalk birds or bring anything home which I assumed as natural anyway when they were let out to play on full stomachs,as the estate has grown & our last cat managed to argue & loose the fight with a car I decided no more cats as it wasn't fair within the confines of where we live to inflict a cat that could go on to annoy other people,you can't expect everyone to have the same feeling about pets as you but sadly someone has recently moved in who got a pedigree cross {not going to name the breed as don't want to upset anyone but least to say it is not the type suited to estate living} & over two years it has just about completely wiped out the bird population in our corner,their elderly neighbour had bird tables & feeders & birds nesting in her garden & the owners couldn't understand why the lady got so upset at seeing all her beloved wildlife wiped out one by one,mums took off their nests & killed followed by the babies,nothing that moved was safe,they also couldn't understand why they got some ripe language when they said to her "well that's nature".... mind you they did try to do something to help,they phoned the lady where they got the cat from & said could you re home it & said lady replied you need to get it a friend it will help keep him at home so brilliant we now have two killers on this part of the block & we are working like hell to keep our lady blackbird her husband & babes from the claws of that pair....all my MC's sit on the windowsill in the morning & daddy blackbird comes & sees them & talks to them,if we are late letting the cats out of their room he sits outside the bedroom window making a racket until one of the cats says good morning,now how can anyone justify it being nature to kill such a beautiful part of nature,unless of course it is to sustain life,then however sad it is you can say "well it is nature".........
All I know for sure is in our neck of the woods I would love to see half the amount of birds back that we used to have even the thieving starlings, our best bet at the moment is over fat pigeons that live such a good life they have one hell of a job lifting off,pigeon pie anyone now the cats don't even try to take them on think they realise they are outweighed.......
Just thought I said no more cats but to cover that our five MC's which yes I know are cats.... well are they not sure.... but they are not allowed to roam only in the confines of our garden so no worries about getting wrong with neighbours or wild life,we have the joy of their company & their help in the garden wanted or not but it is fun & said blackbirds have even come & bathed under the small waterfall leading to the fish pond & suddenly realised oooops cats are not behind glass & they all sit & look at each other......
love the idea of cats and birds kind of making friends, Jckkerrison!
Starlings do come to say hi to Neevie as well - safely, no closer than 2 meters from the window - well, they come, they look at her with one eye, then the other, she doesn't react, they get closer, pick a worm and gobble it, look at her again like "ner-ner-nerner-ner!" and then fly away.
One lady Starling named "Jewel" made her nest inside our roof - and she had at least 3 little ones, judging from the screetching.... so she's constantly roaming around the house looking for food for them.
One collared dove named "Love" made her nest in the pine tree beside the house, we could see her flying in and out so we thought she had a Young'un in there somewhere - but then we found a small sized collared dove massacred on the lawn and Love no longer goes inside the pine tree. Not sure if it's a cat that got the young'un or Basil-the-local-Weasle. Young'un wasn't eaten - Basil wouldn't waste so - therefore I would wager on the neighbour's cat, the well fed and fluffy Trespasser who makes Neevie very annoyed when he comes by, stealing her birds and scaring her wabbits. (BTW, yes, all animals have to be named - it's tradition - Jewel's youngs are "The Gang" for now)
Speaking of birds and cats living in harmony, I had a cockatiel when my cats Buster and Sheena were kittens. I would spray water at them to discourage them from messing around the bird cage. Buster learned very quickly but Sheena never quite understood that sleeping on the top of the bird cage made Daisy very nervous but as the years went by, Sheena continued sleeping on the cage and Daisy got over it. I never let Daisy out of her cage when the cats were in the same room, never felt that safe. Daisy was an awesome bird and learned many words. So there was a truce and we had a very happy family for many years.
Poor sidewinder and poor bird, think everything else has been said. x
I just looked out the window and the most adorable baby bunny was just having a wee stroll on my lawn - of course, as usual, my camera battery was down and I couldn't take a picture to show you... you would all have 'oooooo'd and 'aaaaaah'd for sure!
this got me to researching how I can preserve them, somehow, make them more comfy - I didn't find anything BUT here's a note:
"The harsh reality is that many of us who care about wild baby bunnies may be contributing to the suffering and death. House cats who roam outside will kill about every other time they go out. And unlike feral cats who hunt because they are hungry, and kill immediately, house cats maul and torment their prey, sometimes skinning baby bunnies alive. Cat owners need to provide managed outdoor habitats for their cats – such as windowboxes or pens. Providing a bell on your cat will help warn the wildlife if you cannot keep him inside. Keep your dogs on a leash with you if you see a rabbit nest"
I haddn't thought of that .... and I have to admit, while wild cats do kill for food, our adorable babies just wanna play... and that can't be very pleasant for the birdy or the bunny that suddenly find himself relegated to toy status, right?
Alekto,
I researched the same thing a few years back, they say it is best to let them find food for themselves. That makes them less dependent on humans for their food. The bunnies that pass through my yard, eat the bird food that the birds kick out of the feeders. I may be a little messy when I fill the bird and the squirrel feeders. My neighbors must think I am crazy when I run barking through my back yard to chase the critters away before I let the hell hounds out! But it scares them away and there is less barking. If you ever heard beagles bay, it is very loud and annoying. I feel very bad for the little critters that get killed by domestic animals. My old neighbor hung a huge bell on her Tom cat and it was enough to give the wild life at least a head start before he pounced on them. Ginger is an inside kitty unless I have her on a leash. I had a cat get run over and killed that was the last cat that I let roam. Poor Samurai, he was a Siamese. I loved him to pieces. But that is another sad tail! see how I did that?
well - that's it - Bridgit-the-wikkle-wabbit's bought it! Trespasser, the mean fluffy neighbour's cat who keeps coming to annoy Neevie and goad her through the window, killed our Bridgit! (yes, she was ours!) - HO was looking out the window and exclaimed "he killed the rabbit! oh my God he killed my rabbit - look he's running away with it!" - time for me to go around the house to try to intercept and see if may be Bridgit was still alive (I don't want to think of her end...) and he had disapeard... :sad2:
Let it be known, from this day forward Trespasser you are no longer welcome on our land!