This particular cat flees if it but hears my backdoor key turn...I am well aware of how to make them realise that I do not want them in my garden...
This cat sat on the fence directly outside my living-room window ready to pounce upon the nest but two nights ago...I chased it off but eventually it
got these young....
Sparrowhawk are part of our natural world in which we expect them to survive...without the kill they are themselves finished whereas well fed cats kept at the
top of their fitness by the food the owners give them are seemingly allowed to indulge their instincts to kill...not their need to kill to survive as with raptors...
All I wish for is people as yourself who both prize their pets but simultaneously consider not allowing them out during the day especially in the breeding season...
It can be done you have proved it....meanwhile I spend my first evening without hearing the glorious song of my male Blackbird singing but a few yards from his nest...
I once had two cats, a pedigree persian and a moggy. Neither caught a bird between them, in over a dozen years, because (please don't be sick) they were loved, pampered and very well fed. The moggy NEVER wanted to be outside because it wanted to sit on my knee - full stop. If it was eating in the kitchen, and I was in the living room (with 2 doors in between), when it was finished, it just cried to be let into the hall, then pushed open the other door, before running across to my chair. That's because it loved me too. It was not obtained 'for the kids' (who soon grow tired of pets in my experience). It was not something to stop me being bored or having no one to talk to. Also, to curb their instincts, we use to play with them (a simple shoelace) every day until they were worn out. There is a very simple lesson here. Cats are like kids. If you don't spend a good deal of your time 'entertaining' them and making them feel part of the family, they will soon stray!
One other thing. You have to make cats scared to enter your property. I have made sure that all cats know my face (by chasing them away, throwing stones or water at them, making loud noises). I also have fairly effective barricades in otherwise weak points in the defences. I go out in the autumn and cut down local bramble growth, then arrange these across the top of the most accessible points. You just have to invest some time in these things, which I appreciate not all people have.
P.S. Saw a sparrowhawk hunting the local birds this afternoon. Bound to pick up a few fledglings. I know that's nature, but it happens.
Blackbird Nesting in my Garden....perhaps not an atypical post...but I feel it must be posted...
You see its the way they tell the old-old story. .my cat never kills birds...this phrase comes to mind during this epoch of change when I have watched my garden a bit more...the Blackbird female meticulously gathering nesting material...the eggsthe incubationthe first time I watched the Male bring food to the hatchlings...the Ginger Cat that is (as with all domestic cats as far as I can see) so well fed at home that it is in tip-top condition to idle away its hours slaughtering birdsit wandered into my garden as is its wont...had my Robinit found my Blackbirds nestand today an atypical sightnest upturned and young gone.WHY OH WHY cannot it be legislated that cats be kept in during the daylight hours in the breeding seasonor in my opinion ALWAYS kept inanother frustrating day in the life of my garden observations.
On a MUCH more serious note take a look at this from the Scottish Wildlife Trust web-site ;
"The Scottish wildcat is in deep troubleFriday 24th April 2009
Threatened by hybridisation with domestic cats, some experts believe there could be as few as 400 pure-bred wildcats left in Scotland, making this iconic feline even rarer than the Bengal tiger and heading for the unthinkable extinction!
The recently established Cairngorms Wildcat Project is aiming to prevent this catastrophe from happening. Branded as Highland Tiger, the project aims to raise awareness of the plight of the wildcat and to safeguard its future in the Cairngorms National Park by encouraging responsible domestic cat ownership and by working with land managers to ensure that their predator control activities are wildcat friendly.
Dr. David Hetherington, the recently appointed project manager said, Whilst red squirrels and sea eagles have caught the public's imagination, the Scottish wildcat has drifted off our radar. If the public appreciate that there is such a thing as a native wildcat, this will give the species relevance, and subsequently people will care and then act to save it.
This collaborative initiative includes Scottish Natural Heritage, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Scottish Gamekeepers Association, Forestry Commission and Royal Zoological Society of Scotland who will be working in partnership over the next 3 years and beyond to try to revive the fortune of one of Scotland's cultural icons.
This exciting project was officially launched on 5th May 2009 by the Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham MSP at the Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig.
For further information and to find out how you can help please visit www.highlandtiger.com."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOW what do you think of the domestic cat ???????
Irresponsible cat owners Ian, they should get their cats neutred. Must say, cat haters not going to like it, but I do like watching them hunt! Although I would intervene if it was a fledging or a slower birds like a blackbird which when I had a cat they seemed to catch the most. Reckon they have no chance with adult tits and finches etc.
Ian W ends with"Now what do you think of the domestic Cat?", well I can't understand why people defend them at all. Still I love the humour . Cheers Ian
On a MUCH more serious note take a look at this from the Scottish Wildlife Trust web-site ;
"The Scottish wildcat is in deep troubleFriday 24th April 2009
Threatened by hybridisation with domestic cats, some experts believe there could be as few as 400 pure-bred wildcats left in Scotland, making this iconic feline even rarer than the Bengal tiger and heading for the unthinkable extinction!
The recently established Cairngorms Wildcat Project is aiming to prevent this catastrophe from happening. Branded as Highland Tiger, the project aims to raise awareness of the plight of the wildcat and to safeguard its future in the Cairngorms National Park by encouraging responsible domestic cat ownership and by working with land managers to ensure that their predator control activities are wildcat friendly.
Dr. David Hetherington, the recently appointed project manager said, Whilst red squirrels and sea eagles have caught the public's imagination, the Scottish wildcat has drifted off our radar. If the public appreciate that there is such a thing as a native wildcat, this will give the species relevance, and subsequently people will care and then act to save it.
This collaborative initiative includes Scottish Natural Heritage, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Scottish Gamekeepers Association, Forestry Commission and Royal Zoological Society of Scotland who will be working in partnership over the next 3 years and beyond to try to revive the fortune of one of Scotland's cultural icons.
This exciting project was officially launched on 5th May 2009 by the Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham MSP at the Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig.
For further information and to find out how you can help please visit www.highlandtiger.com."
I,m very proud of my cat and I thought that she (her names dave by the way) was very special in digging a toilet and even better caring enough to cover it up after,does anyones else,s cat do this?? ....................................................................................................... Yeh-but not with a spade!!!
The old ones are the best!!!stole my thunder there markstill makes me smile though
Does annoy when people say I hate such and such animal native or non native, all animals fascinate me. I know or hope, that most cat hatred on this thread is tongue in cheek as I knew somebody who was a cat hater who used to shoot at cats with an air riffle.
The biggest threat to wildlife is man. Maybe you should look at your consumer lifestyle which is affecting wildlife more than any other animal on the planet.
Cats are here to stay, so perhaps its best to look at what measures can be made to limit damage such as alarm collars, keeping the cat indoors in particular at night when they are more likely to catch small mammals. Pedigree cats are often kept indoors.
Declining House Sparrow populations are due, I beleive, most likely to change in building materials, affecting nesting locations.
More annoying than cats to me is people who flag over their gardens it looks ugly causes declines in wildlife. Long live the lawn!
I,m very proud of my cat and I thought that she (her names dave by the way) was very special in digging a toilet and even better caring enough to cover it up after,does anyones else,s cat do this?? ....................................................................................................... Yeh-but not with a spade!!!
Got lost in this thread for bitbut excuse me I,m very proud of my cat and I thought that she (her names dave by the way) was very special in digging a toilet and even better caring enough to cover it up after,does anyones else,s cat do this??
cheers geoff
My cat does exactly the same Geoff except when she visits Robs garage
Every cat that I have owned in 40 years has been called Tinker as this saves on the collars and name tags
Declan Savage wrote that Cats are native to GB, true, but the European Wildcat is not related to the domestic Cat. This has been proved by DNA analysis. The ancestry of domestic Cats has been traced to the Middle East, again by DNA analysis. Cheers Ian
Got lost in this thread for bitbut excuse me I,m very proud of my cat and I thought that she (her names dave by the way) was very special in digging a toilet and even better caring enough to cover it up after,does anyones else,s cat do this??
All people (and domestic animals) should be burned at the stake, and our charred remains fed to the wild creatures, and nevermore should our vile presence be felt upon this planet..........
Opened a real can of worms with this thread This argument has and will go on and on.
I'd just like to make one point that everyone seems to be missing. The introduced animals, Sguirrels, Polecats,Mink etc. Are WILD ANIMALS. Thus are doing what they do to survive. The domestic Cat is a PET and gets very well fed and looked after by their owners. They can't help catching birds and mice, it's their instict but they don't do it to survive, in fact they very rarely eat anything they catch. They have no natural predators to keep the numbers in check so there is an unatural number of them. Although some local populations of garden birds are thriving, in general the numbers are declining. Look at the House Sparrow and Starling for example. I'm not saying cats are responsible for this but it can't help.
We had 2 cats upto a couple of years ago, so i know from experience what they are like.
Surely domestic cats can't be compared to wild animals, native or otherwise. Wild animals hunt and kill birds so that they can eat, they need to find their own food to survive. If there are too many wild predators then they will eat too much of their chosen prey. That will result in a reduction of prey available and therefore a reduction in the numbers of the wild predators as there isn't enough food to go around. Domestic cats on the other hand seem to kill just for fun. They don't need to kill for food as they just ate a tin if felix or wiskers. This means that if cats are taking too much prey this will not result in a reduction in cats as they will never go hungry and will always have the energy to hunt. Therefore domestic cats are a very bad thing for our wildlife as there is no natural control of their numbers. Plus one took a dump in my garage the other day so I say death to all cats...
Cats are actually native to these islands - at one time, Wildcats (the wild ancestor of domestic pussy cats) were found thoughout Britain, before being persecuted to extinction by humans everywhere except the Highlands of Scotland. The same could be said of other native mammalian predators of small birds, e.g polecats, pine martens, which were ruthlessly exterminated by man until relatively recently. It could be argued the birds have had it easy for a long time thanks to the efforts of humans, and that the big numbers of domestic cats in the UK are perhaps redressing this balance...
A fair point but a) can you say that they would be present in such high numbers and densities? b) can you say that all breeds of domestic cat are from native wild cats or from other cats from other countries or even continents? c) can you say that birds have had it easy - considering that although we have removed some predators we have also hunted/persecuted etc many birds to extinction!?!
serious stuff all i know is if one pops into my garden it will get the full hosepipe blastthat will make Ians firemans hose seem like a trickleand if another tries to burry its cr*p in my herb patch,ill be draggin the owner round to clean it up
Cats are actually native to these islands - at one time, Wildcats (the wild ancestor of domestic pussy cats) were found thoughout Britain, before being persecuted to extinction by humans everywhere except the Highlands of Scotland. The same could be said of other native mammalian predators of small birds, e.g polecats, pine martens, which were ruthlessly exterminated by man until relatively recently. It could be argued the birds have had it easy for a long time thanks to the efforts of humans, and that the big numbers of domestic cats in the UK are perhaps redressing this balance...
A fair point but a) can you say that they would be present in such high numbers and densities? b) can you say that all breeds of domestic cat are from native wild cats or from other cats from other countries or even continents? c) can you say that birds have had it easy - considering that although we have removed some predators we have also hunted/persecuted etc many birds to extinction!?!
Cats are actually native to these islands - at one time, Wildcats (the wild ancestor of domestic pussy cats) were found thoughout Britain, before being persecuted to extinction by humans everywhere except the Highlands of Scotland. The same could be said of other native mammalian predators of small birds, e.g polecats, pine martens, which were ruthlessly exterminated by man until relatively recently. It could be argued the birds have had it easy for a long time thanks to the efforts of humans, and that the big numbers of domestic cats in the UK are perhaps redressing this balance...
Paul Brady's arguement is scientifically 100% accurate and the key FACT is that cats are not native and are therefore not part of the balance of nature in this country. People rightly object to the harm caused by Grey Squirrels and Mink to our natural ecosystem and Cats fall into the same (cat)egory. Cheers Ian
I would argue that cats ARE a natural part of our wildlife now. Just as much as Little Owls, Mute Swans and Canada Geese. They now form part of the balance. It's no use arguing that they weren't here hundreds of years ago. The "balance" changes over time. When was the balance "right"? 1671, 1066, 1805? What should we do - pick a year and exterminate ALL animals that are here now but weren't here then?
It IS natural that cats kill birds. We have to work within the natural balance as it stands now. Continually stating the cats are not natural does no good. They are here to stay. Live with it.
Paul Brady's arguement is scientifically 100% accurate and the key FACT is that cats are not native and are therefore not part of the balance of nature in this country. People rightly object to the harm caused by Grey Squirrels and Mink to our natural ecosystem and Cats fall into the same (cat)egory. Cheers Ian
I totally agree with Paul Wilson's comment, cats are a small part of the balance of nature.
Tipping the balance in the favour of the birds comes from the many people who make their gardens as bird friendly as possible. Putting nest boxes up and putting food out every day certainly brings flocks of birds into my garden.
In the 13 years that I have lived in my present home I have lost more nestlings to cold or wet weather than to a cat. I have seen more nestlings and fledglings killed by Magpies, Squirrels and also recently by Jackdaws than by cats.
Cats are not a SMALL part as there are clearly too many cats out there PLUS they are not native!
Maybe we would not have to tip the balance in favour of birds in our garden if we had not made such a mess of the countryside!
Losing nestlings to cold or wet weather is perfectly natural and birds will recover from these natural and cyclical losses - weather rarely kills full adult breeding birds which cats do which then inevitably renders the loss of the entire brood too.
PLUS comparing your single cat with the combined forces of nature is hardly fair is it?
The corvids only take young birds during the nesting season and only during daylight hours - cats are an all weather 24/7 four seasons a year remover of birds and other fauna!
There are so many holes in this argument - Have I made my point yet???
Look at this another way, should I get rid of my cat because she kills the occasional bird or should I stop feeding the Robins that visit my garden because at the moment they prefer killing the froglets which are leaving my ponds than eating the food that I provide for them.
I say you should get rid of the cat, as a result less frogs would be killed, therefore there would be more froglets, saving u money on both cat food and robin food.
I totally agree with Paul Wilson's comment, cats are a small part of the balance of nature.
Tipping the balance in the favour of the birds comes from the many people who make their gardens as bird friendly as possible. Putting nest boxes up and putting food out every day certainly brings flocks of birds into my garden.
My old cat was the runt of the litter when she was born, the vet says that she is psychotic , she has the occasional fit and has 6 toes on each foot [ my cat not the vet]. Every week she will leave something on my doorstep normally a Woodpigeon or Collared dove or a mouse or frog. I will pat her on her head and think to myself 'You little sod' but she is only doing whats natural.
In the 13 years that I have lived in my present home I have lost more nestlings to cold or wet weather than to a cat. I have seen more nestlings and fledglings killed by Magpies, Squirrels and also recently by Jackdaws than by cats.
Look at this another way, should I get rid of my cat because she kills the occasional bird or should I stop feeding the Robins that visit my garden because at the moment they prefer killing the froglets which are leaving my ponds than eating the food that I provide for them.
Paul Brady says that man is the problem, maybe so but he can also make a difference in making an attempt to help the birds in his garden by feeding them.
I live in a flat with communal garden and we have regularly at least 6 cats prowling araound the garden - surely it depends on what type of cat these are, I mean a fat old lazy cat would not bother birds.
So far this year I've seen them take two recently fledged Blackbirds. They usually get several birds each year, but I still have a healthy population - how can you possibly say this? Where is your evidence?
and i reckon the birds do better in the garden than they would outside. - possibly because your garden is artificiialy high in amounts of food and nesting space??
There might be cats around, but outside the garden there are dogs, squirrels, cars, foxes, mink, rats and many other dangers. - dogs - not native. squireels - not native, cars - deffo not native, mink - not native, other dangers all caused by man - when will we see that we are the problem?
Cats are just part of the balance. - er no not really, they are not native and therefore not part of the balance, cat numbers have increased according to many sources, and it is our wildlife that suffers
I don't mind having the cats even though i don't like seeing all the birds' efforts go to waste when a youngster gets taken - Guess what I actually have a cat!
Paul, you have defended the cats admirably but what about children?
Well, my lad has turned out OK - he's 16 today. I suspect it isn't the kids that are the problem, it's some parents. I'm not averse to a bit of enforced steralisation of some of the Lesser Homosapiens!
I live in a flat with communal garden and we have regularly at least 6 cats prowling araound the garden. So far this year I've seen them take two recently fledged Blackbirds. They usually get several birds each year, but I still have a healthy population and i reckon the birds do better in the garden than they would outside. There might be cats around, but outside the garden there are dogs, squirrels, cars, foxes, mink, rats and many other dangers.
Cats are just part of the balance. I don't mind having the cats even though i don't like seeing all the birds' efforts go to waste when a youngster gets taken.
Just had my evening ruined by the neighbours cats!!! Blackbids going berserk outside, went out to see what was going on, only to find 2 cats in next doors bushes raiding the Blackbird nest. One cat ran off with a chick into my garden, it had it at the bottom of the garden, i ran to try and grab it but it dived over the fence with the now dead chick. I hate this because the cats will be back for the others!!!
Then the neighbour comes out to shout "beauty" in!!!!!
still makes me smile though
ill be draggin the owner round to clean it up
