As you may remember, Josy came to live with us in late November when son Jake moved and was unable to take his kitty with him.
Josy is an almost eight year old cat that Jake adopted at age five as a rescue cat. After the latest move, she was her abnormal, neurotic self, afraid to go outside for quite a while. She is cat door trained and so we installed a door for her in the laundry room window so she could come and go as she pleases.
The first sign of a kill was these remains of a blue jay near the back of the house. It might have been her kill, but it's not certain.
There have been several more victims.
A half naked Varied Thrush was pounding on the window pane, fluttering and trying to get away. I caught it and gave it a toss outside and it flew away. But I don't think it made it to another day.
I know that cats are the number one enemy of song birds. We feed birds and love to watch them. We will be taking down the feeders as soon as they are empty. That will help to attract fewer prey. But our yard is also a bird sanctuary, with trees and shrubs and a water supply.
What to do with one neurotic cat who has become our beloved pet, and our precious wildlife.
Gee, what a dilemma. One of our outdoor cats was like that. It was very difficult to sweep up the feathers in the patio, especially in the wind. Our other cat was more peace loving and never killed anything. Both cats are dead now, and we have no intention of adopting another one.
ReplyDeletewe have hawks in the neighborhood who do the same thing...survival of the fittest. Also yesterday I saw a roadrunner with his mouth full of something either lizard or smaller bird. It's nature's plan then there is the human who eats bigger things like cattle and chickens so add us to the predator list too...lol!
ReplyDeleteOne can't deny destiny and a kitty with a purpose. It seems your kitty is appreciative of her new home and wants to 'gift' you. Can you put a bell on her?
ReplyDeleteA hunter and quite good at it. She is well fed now, but since she was a rescue kitty maybe she had to depend on those skills early on. Our cat caught the occasional mouse. once in Florida, he nabbed a lizard then stood there with the most startled look on his face, lizard dangling from his mouth. Apparently, it didn't taste like mouse.
ReplyDeleteIt's the nature of cats, but taking down the feeders and minimizing the number of victims is a first step. I don't know what you can do about bunnies, though. My beloved cat would catch mice and leave the heads on my pillow. Ack!
ReplyDeleteMy cat was a hunter but nothing like Josy. Would a bell work at least for the birds?
ReplyDeleteJosy needs to learn a more appropriate way to give gifts. Apparently she loves you best since she leaves them behind your chair. Years ago we had a hunter. We did not have a cat door so he was forced to leave his gifts at the back door, but only after he'd called a while in a loud voice for us to come and see. However, he was successful one time in getting in the house with a live snake.
ReplyDeleteYears later we had a cat that had never set foot on grass, a totally inside cat. I took him outside one day just to see what he would do. A bird flew low over his head. He instinctively leaped into the air, clapping his front paws together in an effort to catch that bird. That convinced me hunting is an instinct in cats that cannot be removed or trained
I tried a bell on ours but all it did was warn the birds he was in the area so they could make his life miserable dive bombing and pecking him. I finally felt sorry for the cat and removed the bell. Birds can be vicious.
Removing the feeders is a good idea but aside from that I say every creature for itself.
I think Josy is just doing what comes naturally to cats; hunt- and they adore us enough to bring us unexpected gifts. One of my suggestions is to close off the cat door so she can leave her treasure outside rather than in your house. But that's a tough one...
ReplyDeleteSince you asked...I would probably close off the cat door and put a bell on the cat when he is outside. Our dog trainer does not like the idea of dog doors because they give access to small, or even large animals to the house. He also said they have been used in burglaries. Of course a dog door is bigger, but his suggestion stopped me from putting one in. He also said for dogs it gives them too much access to the yard. The yard then becomes their territory. They then bother wildlife. And, they can keep the property owners from enjoying the yard. I thought there was some wisdom in that. We no longer give our large pup free access to the yard, and he is always on a leash or monitored when he is outside.
ReplyDeleteI've never had an outdoor cat, I have always lived in areas that were too busy for them to be safe on the street
ReplyDeleteI was the object of love for my bro's country cat
Every time I visited she'd arrive on my lap with a dead mouse or bird
Took me a bit to learn to say thanks
My SIL put out lots of toys throughout the yard that the cat loved to play with, intereactive stuff she could hide in and toys that moved when she touched them
It at least kept her busy enough for the live ones to get away
What a predicament, because you love Josie but also enjoy the wildlife around you. I wish I could offer a solution, but I can't. Perhaps the bell others have suggested is the answer.
ReplyDeleteThis made me cry....it is so sad.. Outdoor cats kill millions of birds second only to windows..they also pick up parasites in fleas, mites, ticks, worms and cat communicable diseases outside like feline leukemia and feline aids.
ReplyDeleteCats are 18% of a coyote diet and they kill to kill, not to eat. You can take your bird feeders down, but this is fledgling bird season and easy pickens for a cat.
Outdoor cats live an average of 3 years. Indoor cats can live to 20 with a high quality of life..sigh
I just read the comments. To say that the fit survive is crazy. Cats are non-native and will kill no matter how well fed or belled or hampered. It is what they do and hard wired and they will kill as much as they can and as often as they can. Even if a bird or bunny gets away, they die from the bacteria in a cats mouth for that purpose. The teeth and claws are curved so that the injury goes deep and then gets infected so that animal can be caught later.
ReplyDeleteSo expect more dead rabbits, rodent and birds especially fledglings unless you keep her inside.