Quote:
Originally Posted by bobbarber  I agree with you Steve, it`s been estimated by some that the 10,000,000 cats in the U.K. kill 50,000,000 birds and small mammals each year. To encourage birds into a garden where a cat is loose is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel. If the cats can`t be kept under control I would definitely stop feeding the birds...Bob |
Those are amazing stats, lets say a dog killed a cat and then not long after it killed another cat, it would be put down as a menace to society. Now if a cat kills a bird, then it kills another bird, nobody bats an eye as its just put down to a cats natural predator instinct, what about a dogs natural predator instinct ?
To me you have one or the other, you either enjoy birds in your garden minus a cat or you enjoy a cat and don`t attract birds to your garden because regardless of how lovely and cuddly you think your cat is they are natural predators, those people that have said that their cats have not killed any birds, how do you know its not attacked any birds ?
Your cuddly cat maybe attacking birds but rather than killing the bird its left it injured somehwere out of sight as birds will hide when they are injured, this is what a lot of cats do to birds rather than kill them outright. The bird maybe got away only for it to die somewhere else out of sight from its injuries.
I`m not saying every cat attacks birds, what i`m saying is they are natural predators and given the chance they will chase anything that moves like when you throw a small ball for it or get it to chase a ball of string etc. You may not know your cat is attacking but i`m sure they would if you were out of sight and their was an easy target.