Do Cats Get Frustrated From Staring At Birds?

[saleri]

So got two bird feeders to attract birds so my cats have something to watch. So today I finally got 3 birds to come by. Granted they were eating the food on the ground instead of the feeders, but it all worked out.

Just wondering if my cats over the next few months and years would get frustrated watching all these birds but never able to catch them?

 

[maggiedemi]

I don't think they get frustrated. It seems to entertain them.

 

[Merlin77]

Depends on the cat, really. For example, our Snake would smash through the window to get at those birds, so would Raini and Hunter. The three of them are better at hunting than their bigger ancestors, let me tell you... Meanwhile, Raven could care less. Suki and Willy would enjoy watching them.

I guess the key is to watch their behavior. Or to see if they start growing unhappy, or stay the same average mood. I guess if the cat has been indoors all their life, they wouldn't really know what they are missing. Still, some cats have VERY strong instincts no matter where they grew up. So just watch your kitties and all should be good.

 

[LAL]

After adopting mine last Fall, she still watches the bird feeder and seems happy enough. Depending on where it is, be careful opening the glass part of the window when it is warmer; mine decided to climb the screen almost to the top before I hollered at her. Now there are screen patches as 'stepping stones' going up the screen.

 

[Dacatchair]

It probably depends on the cat and their past experience. I have always had indoor outdoor cats but I now have an almost 7 month old kitten who I am trying to have indoor only with his access to the outside contained by a catio or harness and leash. I live in a very low risk area, but he has a strong prey drive and at least while he is young I am concerned it could lead him into trouble or just roaming further than I want in pursuit of rabbits.. Having never been out to do real hunting, he seemed to enjoy just watching birds through the window, but yesterday he caught a house wren out in the catio and today he is meowing a lot, climbing in his cat backpack that I have been using to carry him out the door to walk on his harness, and clearly seeming unhappy he can’t pursue the birds he is seeing outside the catio. Today when I took him out on his harness, he tried to purse a bird that was teasing him and took off running and got jerked back when he hit the end of the leash even though the leash has elastic to soften the jerk. Which has me feeling pretty discouraged as I am doing a lot of work to slowly try to extend the catio and walkways all around the house and now I am thinking maybe he is going to be miserable no matter what I do... The enclosure when it is finished will give him access to some areas there is rodents, but they will move out once they learn he is a threat, and I am worried he will be left hearing and seeing things he can’t pursue...