The Feline Dilemna
For the last three and a half years I have been “catless”….meaning that I haven’t been under feline ownership. 😉
In these “catless” days I have taken to feeding the garden birds to an obsessive level…therefore my garden is an interesting place for my neighbours cats to visit…I have tried to keep them out but that would mean shutting out the local hedgehogs too…plus the fact that cats will always find a way…
These are the two main perpetrators in the disturbance of my avian paradise…I did build a bird table last year from bamboo as I thought that this may increase bird safety, yet I discovered that the table only created a blind spot which only aided feline offensives…these attacks eventually led to the destruction of the bird table too… 😕
The cats can’t help it, I know….even my lazy cat managed to catch an immature blackbird as well as several dragonflies, frogs and even a bat on one occasion 😦 …basically, it’s an impossibility fighting their natural instincts. The cat with the bell eventually lost his “cat-safe” collar…also it seems that I get more cats now because my garden is no longer the territory of a “home cat”…
a heartical view 
Love the photos 🙂
July 19, 2014 at 7:27 pm
Thank you! 🙂
July 19, 2014 at 10:54 pm
Aw such sweet looking cats! Gorgeous photos 🙂 x
July 20, 2014 at 7:30 pm
Thank you! 🙂
July 20, 2014 at 8:53 pm
we have perched our bird table on top of a high stump, and it has an overhang so nothing can get onto it. Our neighbour has four cats and so far they haven’t been able to touch the birds on the feeding table.
July 21, 2014 at 11:12 am
That sounds like a good idea and solution Maureen…On sunny days I put the food on top of the shed roof yet cats still climb up there…. 😕 Eventually its actually safer to feed on the ground…food will always end up on the ground anyway due to sparrows and blackbirds being messy eaters… 😉
July 21, 2014 at 4:07 pm
It really is a dilemma 😦
We keep our bird feeders high off the ground, but as you say seed will always fall down. Surprisingly, although we have 16 cats there are very few actual killings. The cats do, though, love “window shopping” 😉
July 22, 2014 at 5:08 pm
The birds are fairly streetwise and killings are actually very few and far between here too…usually it’s the sick and the very young that get taken. My old cat only brought home one bird in 7 years…though catching dragonflies was his speciality 😕 …and of course plenty of quality window shopping time. 🙂
July 23, 2014 at 1:16 am
After I read about a study that domestic cats in the US alone kill somewhere between 1.4 and 3.7 billion birds a year and about 15 billion small mammals, I started keeping my cats inside. I love birds too much and some bird species have declined 90%! I can’t change my cat’s hunting instinct, but I can keep them inside.
July 23, 2014 at 2:22 am
Thank you for the statistical input Eliza…I have had periods of chasing the cats away but this only makes the situation more interesting to them 😕 ….I hope that your cats don’t mind staying indoors too much… 🙂
July 23, 2014 at 3:54 pm
I felt terrible about it, it seemed mean. They try every now and then to escape, but know they will be enticed back in with treats. It was a bit tough at first, but they’ve adjusted well. And this year, many more happy birds!
July 23, 2014 at 4:34 pm