Belling the Cat(s)

[multipurposegoddess]

So far just the one. Since Wednesday caught that goldfinch last month, I'd been thinking about putting a bell on her. None of my cats usually wear collars - Jadzia will not rest until she gets them off, rolling on her back with seemingly all her paws engaged in getting the accursed thing pushed over her ears so she can be free; Pixie runs off and comes home collarless, so I don't know how she gets rid of hers. I got Wednesday chipped, but she's so friendly that I was a little worried she might wander into a neighbor's house and ask for food and they might not get her scanned before making an indoor kitty. Then she started catching birds and I feel bad about that since I lure them to the yard with birdseed and all.

So, on my biweekly trip to Petco I picked up two shiny, fancy belled collars. I put the pink one with little skulls on Wednesday. She wasn't too pleased, and tried to run away from the sound of the bell for a little while, but got used to it after an hour or so. Her fur is long enough so you can't really see the collar, but you can tell she's got a collar and I like being able to tell where she is by sound. Hopefully the birds will hear her coming, too. And as long as the mice run outside to get away from her, I don't mind them knowing where she is, either (pretty sure there was a mouse in the kitchen the other day. Wednesday was definitely stalking something on the counter but all I saw was a fast moving blur that might have been mouse-colored...)

I got a silver and black blinged out collar for Pixie, thinking that might make a difference somehow. After I put the collar on Wednesday, Pixie hid in a closet all evening and I haven't seen her today, so maybe I won't try putting it on her after all.

Comments

[javacat]

Birds haven't evolved to recognize bells as a hazard, tho' it's better than nothing. Is it possible for you to locate your birdfeeder someplace so that's it's impossible for your cats to stalk the birds? Have you considered using Kaytee "Waste free" bird seed, so that the birds don't have to peck at shells, meaning, lots of seed doesn't fall to the ground, where they go in pursuit of food, and become vulnerable?

http://www.petco.com/product/6091/Kaytee-Waste-Free-Wild-Bird-Food.aspx -- this is the key thing, keeping the birds from having to be on the ground to salvage food.

It's a thing I wrestled with, and my solution is working so far. Three cats, no birds caught, and lots and LOTS of birds fed to my viewing delight. I feed only waste free seed on the wide (6 inches?) top railing of a fence. One cat hides below the fence and has tried many times to catch a bird by leaping to the top of the fence while a bird is up there, but she's so visible and it takes such effort on her part, she's never going to be successful, which is exactly how I like it.

That's what worked for me, in case that's helpful for your situation.

[multipurposegoddess]

My cats re not a serious threat to the local bird population, I just feel bad when I find the one or two feathered bodies that they manage to bring down over the course of a year. Wednesday has since ditched her collar, anyway, so that experiment is another failure.