Neighbor's cat always catching and eating birds

[RangersMom]

Our next door neighbor has an indoor/outdoor cat, and we have a bird feeder out front. Lately, I've seen her catch and kill birds and then proceed to eat them!
I've caught her in the act of chowing down on 2 in the past month, I always try and stop her. I've told the neighbor and she says she cant keep her indoors 24/7 because she originally was a stray and she loves to be out. I get it. I also have a cat like that, but I've never seen her kill a bird. Her cat is fed kibble on the regular, so its not like shes hungry.

The neighbor did put a bell on her collar, but she managed to catch one the other day and I caught her eating it when i got home from work, it looked like she ate a lot of it (sorry to be gross). I guess my question is, what kind of health problems can cats get from eating wild birds all the time? I know cats used to eat birds back in the day, but I'm worried about her and I dont want her to get sick. And I feel terrible about the birds.

Thanks.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I don't know about bird-borne illnesses for cats, but I was wondering if you move, or remove the feeder it might make a difference.

 

[Kieka]

The cat getting sick from eating the bird is mostly a risk of the bird having a toxin in their system (rat poison for example) or transferring a parasite (salmonella for example). But the risk is a relatively minor one unless the cat is catching noticeably sick birds.

Bells don't always work, as you've noticed, some cats are that good at moving quietly even with a bell or the birds are that dumb. Your best bet to reduce bird casualties would be to move the bird feeder to a different spot. Something more out of reach for the cat, higher or away from bushes/trees the cat can hide in.

 

[RangersMom]

Hi! I don't know about bird-borne illnesses for cats, but I was wondering if you move, or remove the feeder it might make a difference.

Thanks, I definitely need to get our the ladder and put the feeder higher or somewhere else.

 

[RangersMom]

The cat getting sick from eating the bird is mostly a risk of the bird having a toxin in their system (rat poison for example) or transferring a parasite (salmonella for example). But the risk is a relatively minor one unless the cat is catching noticeably sick birds.

Bells don't always work, as you've noticed, some cats are that good at moving quietly even with a bell or the birds are that dumb. Your best bet to reduce bird casualties would be to move the bird feeder to a different spot. Something more out of reach for the cat, higher or away from bushes/trees the cat can hide in.

Thanks I definitely need to move the feeder. The other thing is, I always put the feeder inside at night because raccoons will completely empty it every night if I don't! They'll steal the suet cakes too if I leave the hanger out

 

[Caspers Human]

Get a lawn sprinkler and place it near the base of the bird feeder, spraying outward, toward the area where the cat comes from.

Turn the sprinkler on when you know that the neighbor's cat is on the prowl.

Bonus points awarded if you can figure out how to make the sprinkler turn on with a motion detector that activates when the cat comes too close.

EDIT: I just looked and found out that there are motion activated sprinklers available, just for the purpose!
You can get one at Home Depot.

Orbit 60 ft. Yard Enforcer Motion Activated Pest Deterrent Sprinkler 62100Z - The Home Depot

The Orbit Yard Enforcer Motion-activated Sprinkler protects landscapes and gardens from animals and pests. A powerful combination of spray, motion and noise not only acts as a deterrent to scare off animals,

www.homedepot.com

 

[Kieka]

Thanks I definitely need to move the feeder. The other thing is, I always put the feeder inside at night because raccoons will completely empty it every night if I don't! They'll steal the suet cakes too if I leave the hanger out

Raccoons are troublesome critters. Before I got a microchip cat door I'd wake up to raccoons in the kitchen at least once a month. I have a family of possums who has taken to knocking my clothes off the clothes line. I've caught them on camera, the babies like to hang onto the clothes while another one knocks it off the hanger.

 

[ArtNJ]

When I had indoor/outdoor cats, my kinda chubby and slow 8 year old caught almost as many as the young lithe active cat. We used to joke, "what happened, did it fall dead on his head?" It seems cats are just good at catching birds, mice, small rats, chipmunks and baby bunnies. Other things require additional skills that not all cats have -- mine could never catch an adult bunny for example.

So sure, move the bird feeder up. But the cats will probably still catch birds some other place or way.

 

[Purr-fect]

Our bird feeder hangs about 6 feet off the ground. The birds fly directly to the feeder and dont have to touch the ground. As much as greg and arnold try, they cant catch birds from the feeder.

We dont put water in the bird bath so birds dont use it........to greg's dismay.

You could use a water impulse sprinkler on a motion sensor to keep the cat out of the bird area. I used one very successfully to stop racoons from tearing up my lawn. The impulse sprinkler is better than an ordinary sprinkler to scare off animals as it is noisy and turns on faster than a regular sprinkler. I dont think it would "see" the birds, but would react to the cat (and you), I forgot and got wet a few times. Guess im not smarter than a racoon

 

[RangersMom]

Raccoons are troublesome critters. Before I got a microchip cat door I'd wake up to raccoons in the kitchen at least once a month. I have a family of possums who has taken to knocking my clothes off the clothes line. I've caught them on camera, the babies like to hang onto the clothes while another one knocks it off the hanger.

Omg that is crazy! lol. Yes, if I leave out suet or the feeder, they will steal whole cakes and empty the feeder of all seed in one night. They are ridiculous. I cant believe they mess with your clothes!

 

[RangersMom]

Our bird feeder hangs about 6 feet off the ground. The birds fly directly to the feeder and dont have to touch the ground. As much as greg and arnold try, they cant catch birds from the feeder.

We dont put water in the bird bath so birds dont use it........to greg's dismay.

You could use a water impulse sprinkler on a motion sensor to keep the cat out of the bird area. I used one very successfully to stop racoons from tearing up my lawn. The impulse sprinkler is better than an ordinary sprinkler to scare off animals as it is noisy and turns on faster than a regular sprinkler. I dont think it would "see" the birds, but would react to the cat (and you), I forgot and got wet a few times. Guess im not smarter than a racoon

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I love to feed the birds and woodpeckers so it makes me sad to see them get killed I might have to get rid of the feeder altogether. My husband said he can get a high shepherds hook, but the birds will still probably congregate around the bottom. We dont have any bushes and we just have the 1 tree in our yard. The sprinkler is a good idea, I need to look into that.

 

[heyitskevinn]

Here's a good video about it

 

[Purr-fect]

I love to feed the birds and woodpeckers so it makes me sad to see them get killed I might have to get rid of the feeder altogether. My husband said he can get a high shepherds hook, but the birds will still probably congregate around the bottom. We dont have any bushes and we just have the 1 tree in our yard. The sprinkler is a good idea, I need to look into that.

If you put seed in the feeder, it will fall to the ground and the birds will walk on the ground, hunting and eating the seed. If the birds are on the ground, they are likely to be caught.

I only use suet in my feeder. Very little of the suet falls to the ground when being pecked at by the birds. Therefore there are almost never birds on the ground under the feeder and no chance for my cats to catch the birds.

Perhaps try using suet only and hang it from a tree branch. The feeder should be high enough frm the ground that a cat cant jump and reach it and low enough from the branch that a racoon or squirrel cant reach it. Use a piece of wire or fishing line to hang the feeder, as these are difficult for animals to climb.

 

[IndyJones]

Tell her to ditch the kibble and switch to homemade or wet, and integrate an proper play schedule.

Unfortunately cats don't just hunt for hunger. They enjoy the thrill of it. Regardless of how much they are fed if a cat has a high prey drive it will hunt.

Cats are good at what they do.

 

[IndyJones]

Thanks I definitely need to move the feeder. The other thing is, I always put the feeder inside at night because raccoons will completely empty it every night if I don't! They'll steal the suet cakes too if I leave the hanger out

Have you tried a raccoon baffle? You can make one with a stove pipe and cap.

I made the one on this page and it works really well.
https://todayshomeowner.com/how-to-make-a-squirrel-and-raccoon-bird-feeder-baffle/

If you have a hanging feeder the feeders with the cages on the outside work for keeping the squirrels and crows off. Hanging it with a hiking carabiner will keep animals from knocking it off the place it hangs from.

 

[heyitskevinn]

Unfortunately cats don't just hunt for hunger. They enjoy the thrill of it. Regardless of how much they are fed if a cat has a high prey drive it will hunt.

Cats are good at what they do.

Huh, that could explain the dead rats over here; uneaten. They just kill them and leave them in our yard.
edit: they're wild cats, not ours.

 

[Kieka]

Huh, that could explain the dead rats over here; uneaten. They just kill them and leave them in our yard.
edit: they're wild cats, not ours.

I've gotten mine pretty well trained on if they bring me live lizards or birds, they get a treat in exchange for the "toy". If the bird or lizard is dead, no treat and it still gets taken away. Which is why I am fairly certain a good portion of my crews catches survive the experience. It didn't start with that intent but I just started giving them treats to get them away from the catch. Over time I started tying the condition of the catch to treats. It works though.

 

[She's a witch]

I've gotten mine pretty well trained on if they bring me live lizards or birds, they get a treat in exchange for the "toy". If the bird or lizard is dead, no treat and it still gets taken away. Which is why I am fairly certain a good portion of my crews catches survive the experience. It didn't start with that intent but I just started giving them treats to get them away from the catch. Over time I started tying the condition of the catch to treats. It works though.

I'm wondering though, doesn't that make them hunt more if they receive a treat for a catch?

 

[Kieka]

I'm wondering though, doesn't that make them hunt more if they receive a treat for a catch?

I haven't noticed a change in quantity of catches. They get a treat for coming when called or if they get off furniture they aren't supposed to be on with one warning. I think since my crew has plenty of treat opportunities they aren't driven towards one behavior for reward. It just focuses their reaction to the situation.... at least that is my theory. Our household has fairly clear and consistent rules, rewards and routines. All the cats are fairly clear on what is and is not allowed, shoot I get yelled at if I dare stay up past bedtime at this point.

 

[IndyJones]

My cats are encouraged to hunt. I just don't let them do it outside. (or hunt wasps or bees) I don't want mice or moles in my house. Indy caught a mole once that got in, ugly thing.
It was kind of upsetting when my guys mauled a chipmunk that got inside somehow though.

My cats only go out on the leash. I want them to be safe and not harass the local wildlife or make a nuisance of themselves on a neighbours property.