Hestia Homeschool for Young Wild Women

For the past few years we've had a mockingbird nesting in our apple tree all year around. Last year he and his mate produced a lovely set of offspring, only to have our feral cats kill and eat each one.

A few days ago the cats killed his mate, and today I found a pile of feathers --mockingbird feathers--in the front yard. I fear my little friend who would so happily perch on the porch railing and chirp demandingly for food has been killed as well.

We have tried putting collars on the cats--the stretchy kinds that are safe for outdoor cats--and hung bells on them in an attempt to protect the birds.  They always manage to get them off in a few days.  I am feeling very sad about this. You cannot blame the cats for their incredible hunting skills, however, I am not happy to have them decimating the population of wild birds. They kill a few birds a week.

Does anyone have any suggestion as to how to help prevent this?  I could try a leather collar and bell--but that is a strangulation hazard for the feral cats...we do keep their food bowls full, so they are not hunting for food.  Bringing them indoors is not an option. They truly are wild and will not use pans. Mama Green Eyes will scratch badly if she is in a foul mood.

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• #10 Comment from earthmama66 
  4/27/05 2:47 PM | Permalink

  "With the one outdoor cat that visits me, I've watched the places in the yard where he sets up a stalk. Trimmed the cover that he uses to mask his prescence. It's not perfect as that cat is always on the hunt.
  Comment from sepintx"--- I forgot to mention that I did this too...the weeds were growing up around one feeder and giving the cats an unfair advantage, so I ripped all of those out the other day.
  I'll keep popping in for more advice:)~earthmama AKA donah42 :)
• #9 Comment from suzypwr 
  4/27/05 12:21 PM | Permalink

  Cats hunt, Kas. It's what they do.
  xoxo
• #8 Comment from csandhollow 
  4/27/05 8:50 AM | Permalink

  I know of no real way to stop them from hunting. I have tried the bell route too and it did not work. I saw one of my well fed cats wearing bells eatting a bird that he caught. Some people are talking about cats depleting the bird population. Cats and birds go back to whenever. Cats have always been predicators and birds have always been their prey. It is part of the natural cycle of nature. Yes you can spay and neuter your cats, decrease the population. Looking over what MAN has done to fix certain "problems" involving animals(red wolf, for example). I do not fix my animals to stop them from becoming over populated. I fix them for myself. And yes, everyone knows that not all of my animals are fixed.
• #7 Comment from oceanmrc 
  4/27/05 7:42 AM | Permalink

  Cats are cats.  
• #6 Comment from sepintx 
  4/26/05 11:31 PM | Permalink

  Mockingbirds have a tendency to swoop at intruders and a cat can learn to take advantage of that behavior. Collars and bells might help with some birds.
  
  With the one outdoor cat that visits me, I've watched the places in the yard where he sets up a stalk. Trimmed the cover that he uses to mask his prescence. It's not perfect as that cat is always on the hunt.