Am I Insane to Consider Putting a Bird Feeder Stand If I Have Adventurous Cats?

[dogstarheaven]

i've always wanted to encourage more birds in my area as i live in the inner-city where there is hardly any wildlife around (v few trees in the neighbourhood) but as i have 2 cats, i've always been deterred. there's a 6 or 7 foot stand i could buy (gardam brand) with about 4 or 6 hooks on so that i could have a variety of different seeds in the feeders. as i have a 10ft high holly tree, it is rarely visited by any birds.

i'm sorry to say this, but my cats don't like wearing collars with bells on them as they're always love getting out of them (within hours of them wearing them for the first time, they always come back without them! grr!!)

is this a dead loss, or shall i just set up feeders in my woods instead.. also, i'm keen to have bird boxes around the eaves of the house - will this be a good idea? i haven't asked my bf yet if he could get up there w/out ladders and just use his climbing gear instead??!!

many thanks in advance xx

ps. pls don't hate me for thinking this as a ludicrous idea - i am a committed animal lover!!

[Ukwildlifeo]

Before I start its admirable that you want to feed the birds, and even more so that you are considering the consequences while having cats, I only wish others took the time to do so

Cats plus birds are not really a good mix as you already know. Do your cats catch birds often? If so you would proberly just be attracting prey for them.

As for the nest boxes, thanks to their inexperience and weaker flight fledglings are frequent victims of cats, which have been known to wait below nest boxes for the fledglings to drop out to the ground.

So all in all it might not be the best idea, unless you can find a way to ensure the cats cant get to the birds and fledglings. But thats just my opinion.

[Merrow]

We have four cats (three of which wear collars with bells on - I don't think it makes much difference to their hunting abilities) and we have had to stop feeding the birds here - three of our cats are 'hunters' and it was just heart breaking to keep finding dead birds in the garden.

That's just us though, it would depend on your cats...

[oxycera]

Our cat hunts small mammals and rarely takes much notice of the bird-table.
I wouldn't encourage birds to nest in our garden, however.

[Monkey Orchid]

It does sound a bit like you might just be setting up a birdie take-away for your cats if you set up feeders and/or nestboxes in your garden!

I live in a neighbourhood with quite a few cats. We also have a pet cat ourselves, although he is quite old now and I have never known him to catch a bird. We've been putting out feeders (sunflower hearts and nyger seed) for birds in our apple tree for a few years now: we get good numbers of birds coming in, and although we do occasionally find the odd patch of chewed feathery remains (maybe once every 2 - 3 months) I don't get the sense that the cats are in any way winning. I am quite careful to hang the feeders where the birds have some cover, far enough away from fences that cats can't leap onto them. I also tend not to scatter food on the ground as that does seem to give cats more of a chance of pouncing from nearby bushes.

We also have a nestbox on a (now dead) silver birch tree. The first year we had this up it was on a fence and a cat did get its paw inside - hence we moved it. I've planted lots of vegetation at the foot of the tree so as nestlings emerge they've got somewhere to hide. It does get used every year (usually by great tits) so it's obviously valued by the birds.

You can get feeders which attach to windows (with sucker cups) - maybe you could try one of these, if what you want is a chance of seeing birds up close? If you're more concerned with just generally supporting bird conservation, your idea of setting up feeders in the woods might be a better one. Try contacting your local wildlife trust and see if they have any nest box sponsorship schemes, if you'd like to support birds by providing nesting sites.

Another thought is, if you'd like to encourage wildlife to use your garden, why not concentrate on insects? You could create a log pile or two of dead wood, plant some nice nectar and pollen rich flowers for butterflies/moths/bees, even make or buy some insect homes such as mining bee boxes. That way you'd be supporting biodiversity and your cats wouldn't be tempted. And of course, many birds are insect eaters - so you'd be helping them, too!

[Dutchess]

I have three cats and they do not hunt much, apart from the odd rodent that I have seen. However, there is no way I would consider putting up a bird table, or even scatter scraps for the birds. I would love to be able to, but as I have chosen to keep cats, I simply wouldn't do it, just in case.

JMHO!

D.

[MrLouKnee]

maybe the cats will keep the garden birds on their toes for that sparrow hawk thats about

[dogstarheaven]

thanks for all your replies ppl. like some of u on here, this has been my choice for a long time to not put feeders out for the birds due to the fact that my cats are quite predactorial in nature but it still doesn't want me wanting to help the birds esp. at this time of year. i have already put out nesting material balls on my tree and that has been used a fair bit. i will contact the Wildlife Trust and find out about nesting boxes in the woods..

[Madonplants]

I grew up in the country and the only way I could have a cat (we had a dog already) was to have one of the farm cats, which were semi wild to say the least. To cut a long story short, 'Fluff' became very tame. I remember going into school with various scratches and the teachers wanted to know what was going on. I explained that I was helping to tame a semi wild cat and they were OK with that! The first few weeks, Fluff brought home various things to show us, but mainly dead (though not always) mice, squirrels, even rabbits, but not many birds. We still fed the birds on a wooden bird table and a feeder that was attached to a cord, that ran from the house to a post that was set within the holly hedge. We kept Fluff inside overnight, which did help, as birds like to feed at first light and last light. Do you keep your cats in overnight, you should? We also fed Fluff well, so her wanting wild food diminished somewhat.

I would suggest having one of those feeding stations, but maybe get an extra section, so it was higher up. Birds can act as sentries when they feed, some go on the feeder, while others check for predators, so the more birds you get the more they can help each other. Just be careful where you place it, though and not within striking distance of a fence, where a cat could sit. I know lots of cat owners that also feed the birds. One even has a ground feeder, but uses one of those cage things over it, mainly to prevent Pigeons and the Squirrels getting to the food, but presume it helps against her cats, too.

In our last garden, before we moved here, there were lots of cats about and in the three years we were there, there were only 2 victims that I know of, though our dog helped chase the cats out, when she was in the garden! One victim was a female Blackbird, which had been nesting for the second time (first time nest got raided by a Magpie) that year in our neighbour's hedge. The only other incident, was (I think) a Sparrow, or could have been a Robin, but it was a male Kestrel that took that one. Great sight for me, as it was quite close to the patio doors, but still upsetting in a way. I didn't see the moment of impact, but saw it take off again, with the small brown bird in it's talons!

I have heard of people putting one of those sonic cat alarms by their feeders, which seem to work quite well.

Decision at the end of the day is yours, but hope I have helped a bit.