Sparrowhawk or Cat? (1 Viewer)

Hi Katy
Thanks for your great reply, but unfortunately in this country there are no controls on cats. If a stray dog is around, sure you can call a dog warden and it can be captured and taken away, but cats can go and do exactly as they please. Another greenfinch met it's end today, a beautiful male, very yellow in colour, almost looked like a canary, just found lots of the feathers. At least the cat is eating the birds (apart from the bluetit yesterday) so presumably whoever adopted it down the road isn't giving it enough food. I hate it, but would be even more livid if it were just killing and leaving, but I am sick of picking up feathers from all over the garden. I never even see the thing now, it just lurks in someone else's garden, leaps over the fence and is gone again There are three peoples gardens which back onto mine, and two out of the three have dogs which are out in the garden most of the time. It is of course staking out in the garden of the non-dog owner. I have stapled spiky trellis along the top of my fence panels now which I am hoping may work. The birds are about 18 inches higher now if they perch on top of this and its very flexible and wobbly so if the cat attempts the jump, it may just put it off sufficiently. Fingers crossed. If not, plan B will come into action, which is moving all my feeders to another part of the garden where the cat doesn't have such easy access, but then I won't be able to see the birds feeding either. Why the hell should I though, because of a damn menace. :C

Perhaps you could try trapping and relocating the menace. Maybe you could borrow a trap since you only need it briefly. Or buy one and keep it in case you ever need it again. They don't cost much around here, I don't know what is available in the UK though. A company I used to work for used them to relocate a group of wild cats that was causing a problem in the warehouse. The traps worked wonderfully. I don't remember what bait they used though.

This is the type of trap I'm suggesting by the way -
http://www.pestproducts.com/images/cattrap.gif

Bruce

Here is another trap site for you that is in the UK.
http://www.trapman.co.uk/cat-trap.htm

That page tells you how to go about it. Their traps cost a little more than what I've seen around here though.

Bruce

This might sound perverse but have you considered getting a cat yourself, don't choke, bare with me a minute, like I said earlier I don't have any real problem with my neighbours cat but there is an occasional stranger that visits and that is a different story, I have rescued a Pigeon that it took while I was watching(thought it was a Collared Dove) the point is the neighbours cat hates this stranger and chases it off, just a thought, lateral thinking and all that!!!!

Mick

Mickymouse said:

This might sound perverse but have you considered getting a cat yourself, don't choke, bare with me a minute, like I said earlier I don't have any real problem with my neighbours cat but there is an occasional stranger that visits and that is a different story, I have rescued a Pigeon that it took while I was watching(thought it was a Collared Dove) the point is the neighbours cat hates this stranger and chases it off, just a thought, lateral thinking and all that!!!!

Mick

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Thanks for the suggestion, but frankly, I would rather crawl naked over hot coals or eat my own arm than get a cat! :eek!: No, that's unfair really, my friend has 8 cats and there is one of them that I would gladly have, she is a darling, and doesn't go after birds, can be trusted implicitly, not so the others though, and just can't find any affection for any of them at all. Maybe I should get a "live out" dog, perhaps a Rottweiller would be nice .....

Bruce B said:

Here is another trap site for you that is in the UK.
http://www.trapman.co.uk/cat-trap.htm

That page tells you how to go about it. Their traps cost a little more than what I've seen around here though.

Bruce

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Thanks for the idea, it's worth a thought I guess. My aforementioned friend did something similar, although the cat in question didn't have to be trapped, it was friendly enough, but was a stray and kept beating up her own cats, and coming into the house and spraying everywhere. She took it to a local rescue centre, but felt awful for doing it, because she had half an idea where it lived.

OK !!!

I am speaking for myself but I cannot stand them.
If they are allowed to roam around by their owners then it is the owners that must accept responsibility (if the cat failed to turn up the next day).
As I have stated in a previous post i do not have a cat problem now :eat:
And yes I think it is against the law to kill them in England, not sure about the U.S. Katy ?
I wonder how many do get killed illegally ? I suppose we will never know.
I do know that roaming cats can, and do, cause misery for a lot of people. :eek!:

http://www.westmanchestertownship.com/zoning/Ordinance/ord69.html

Intersesting link above please view

Hi Songbird,

Sympathies to you and your bird victims, but I applaud you in your methods to deter cats, rather than take some of the drastic solutions suggested by other posters. I am a cat owner and I do have a garden packed to the brim with birds - late summer, when so many inexperienced young are on the wing, is a risky time and undoubtedly some fall to cats, and many more to other predators.

Despite my earlier message being deemed 'inappropriate', I think it would be crazy to start shooting off any sort of weapon in a suburban British garden and, as for the cat trap idea, almost equally so. Would definately think about implications of either before doing ...dumping neighbour's kitty elsewhere is not going to save any birds ('cos cat would have to hunt fulltime to survive then), definately wouldn't boost neighbourly relations (or the image of the birding world as a whole) and I have no idea if it borders on the edge of legality!

Good idea to put the trellis on the wall to make it harder for kitty to get into your garden, but otherwise your idea to move the feeders away from the wall weould seem sensible ...is it impossible to move them adjacent to the house - good views of the birds, less likely to get cats!
Good luck!

Paul G said:

And yes I think it is against the law to kill them in England, not sure about the U.S. Katy ?

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Oh, absolutely. I don't advocate killing or injuring them. The "scare" tactics don't kill or injure; they discourage. And the suggestion of trapping made by another poster wasn't with the intention of "dumping" the cat elsewhere to make it someone else's problem, the idea is to turn the trapped cat into the appropriate authority.

At least I assumed that was the intent; it's certainly what I would do if trapping were effective where I live. It isn't. Too many other wildlife get trapped instead of the intended target, skunks being the most frequently trapped critter, which then *does* require a "vermin control" person with special handling equipment (BIG plastic tarps and a truck) to take little Flower to another part of the forest for release (>5 miles from trapping point).

Here in the U.S., many vet clinics and humane society offices offer free spaying for stray cats and dogs, so that even if feral animals somehow escapes their new owners, at least they can't reproduce and perpetuate an already out-of-control pest problem. And believe me, feral cats in the US are a big pest problem in many areas.

Jos Stratford said:

Hi Songbird,

Sympathies to you and your bird victims, but I applaud you in your methods to deter cats, rather than take some of the drastic solutions suggested by other posters. I am a cat owner and I do have a garden packed to the brim with birds - late summer, when so many inexperienced young are on the wing, is a risky time and undoubtedly some fall to cats, and many more to other predators.

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Jos, nobody here has proposed anything drastic. Scaring and trapping is not drastic. Killing or injuring the cats would be drastic action, IMO.

I'm curious: Do you feed birds to attract them to your garden? And do you allow your cat(s) outside?

Despite my earlier message being deemed 'inappropriate', I think it would be crazy to start shooting off any sort of weapon in a suburban British garden and, as for the cat trap idea, almost equally so.

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Please re-read my post. I didn't say your message was inappropriate, I said your name-calling was inappropriate.

Would definately think about implications of either before doing ...dumping neighbour's kitty elsewhere is not going to save any birds ('cos cat would have to hunt fulltime to survive then), definately wouldn't boost neighbourly relations (or the image of the birding world as a whole) and I have no idea if it borders on the edge of legality!

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Well, as to the legality of "dumping," each jurisdiction undoubtedly has its own regulations regarding the disposition of trapped "nuisance animals." Each person would need to check. What may be illegal in your neck of the woods may not be illegal elsewhere.

Katy Penland said:

Oh, absolutely. I don't advocate killing or injuring them. The "scare" tactics don't kill or injure; they discourage. And the suggestion of trapping made by another poster wasn't with the intention of "dumping" the cat elsewhere to make it someone else's problem, the idea is to turn the trapped cat into the appropriate authority.

At least I assumed that was the intent; it's certainly what I would do if trapping were effective where I live. It isn't. Too many other wildlife get trapped instead of the intended target, skunks being the most frequently trapped critter, which then *does* require a "vermin control" person with special handling equipment (BIG plastic tarps and a truck) to take little Flower to another part of the forest for release (>5 miles from trapping point).

Here in the U.S., many vet clinics and humane society offices offer free spaying for stray cats and dogs, so that even if feral animals somehow escapes their new owners, at least they can't reproduce and perpetuate an already out-of-control pest problem. And believe me, feral cats in the US are a big pest problem in many areas.

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I can imagine what fun a trapped skunk would be LOL. Around here there are numerous places a cat could be taken and handled properly. That seems like the best solution to me. Deterring a cat is difficult at best and probably impossible without a lot of effort and expense. Maybe she could just feed the thing until it gets too fat and lazy to chase wildlife and stays home where it belongs. 8-P

Bruce

Bruce B said:

I can imagine what fun a trapped skunk would be LOL.

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Exacto! The truly sad aspect is that skunks are so doggone cute, some of the older, bigger ones downright beautiful with that striking black-n-white fur, you hate to see them confined. But I hate more their... odoriferousness.

Around here there are numerous places a cat could be taken and handled properly. That seems like the best solution to me. Deterring a cat is difficult at best and probably impossible without a lot of effort and expense. Maybe she could just feed the thing until it gets too fat and lazy to chase wildlife and stays home where it belongs. 8-P

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If you've ever tried herding cats, you know how difficult they can be!