Homicidal Psycho Kitties

torin8 · 07-04-2007, 21:43

Well it finally happened, our two lovable rogues are now 11 months old and have decided to go a-hunting. I was amazed by their team work - he distracted the parents and she grabbed the chick out of the nest.

I only discovered this when she came walking up the garden path with the birdie in her mouth going 'don't mind me - I'm just going inside to play...' Naturally we then spent the next five minutes in a game of 'gimme the birdie!'. Once birdie was wrestled off one and put in a tree... (not much else I could think of), I discovered that the boy was now walking up the garden path with another mouth full of feathers! Another ten minutes of 'gimmie the darn birdie' ensued, where he got wetter than ever before as I squirted him with the sprayer (he really didn't want to let go!). Finally the bird was released and I placed that one back in the tree aswell....

Sadly, I think at least one of the chicks died....

I guess the kittens are now cats and their killer instincts have kicked in - and I thought we were doing so well

. So I guess we're now after advice how to - prevent / reduce these incidences - anyone got ideas?

tom3t0 · 07-04-2007, 22:00

Lock them up and do not allow them outside.
i think it is better for you to let them out to kill and eat their prey, it is nature, both the birds and cats can learn valuable lessons, survival of the fittest and that

Strix · 07-04-2007, 22:06

the big problem with the drop in the garden bird population is the increase in cat ownership tom3to - so that comment isn't helpful

short of applying silly tinkling bells on their collars (which don't always work), I don't have any suggestions for this year - unless you provide safe nesting boxes for birds, and dont do anything silly like throwing bread on the lawn

I suppose being indoor cats isn't an option either?

can cats climb chicken fencing btw?

thursday · 07-04-2007, 22:11

I'm sorry, Torin, but I laughed out loud at your description of trying to
separate the kitties from their prey!
I'm still waiting for Her Serene Naughtiness to "grow out of this"
(as the Vet said she would!), but as she's eleven, I'm not pinning
my hopes on it!
I used to shut the cat flap, with her outside, until she had disposed of whatever it was.

Ginger_Kitty · 07-04-2007, 22:14

Hi Strix

you're right about the bells, they don't help much really, they have had bells since they had collars (at about 4 months) and they have learned how to move without tinkling them!! (we like the bells though, we can tell where they are in the house

)

They will never be house cats, their instinct was to go outside, even when we kept them in before they'd both been 'done' they tried getting out of windows and doors etc at the slightest chance! Keeping them in now would be torture (to all of us, they whine like crazy!!!) we keep them in all night and don't let them out at dusk etc, just the middle of the day, but thats all we can get away with really.

We've always put food for birds in places the cats can't get to etc, and nesting boxes are on the list of improvements to be done

no idea on the chicken fencing... wouldn't put anything past our two!!!

tom3t0 · 07-04-2007, 22:15

Were not on about garden bird population, were on about removing a predator's killing instincts, which can't be doing the animal any favours imo.

thursday · 07-04-2007, 22:17

She had something called a "Liberator Collar" (from the vet),
which worked by a loud buzzing noise, activated by the sudden movement of the 'pounce'. The noise throws the cat off balance and gives the victim a chance to escape. It really did make a huge difference to her murder-rate, but I couldn't find replacement batteries, and after buying three, (over five or six years), I gave up.
But it did work!

Ginger_Kitty · 07-04-2007, 22:20

thursday!!! I can imagine that being hilarious esp with our two, they pounce on each other all the time (right through the night too)!

Up until now the only kills we'd had were erm...sticks and leaves...

we thought we were lucky...

thursday · 07-04-2007, 22:27

The first few days she hardly dared move in case it went off, so I did feel sorry for her, but as she was bringing things in every night, and shredding the carpet when locked in, I had to do something - and it DID work!

torin8 · 08-04-2007, 10:12

Well, we keep them in overnight and they only get to go out during the day whenwe are in the house so we are minimising it - I guess we are just going to have to accept that we have two little killers in the house.

LesleyB · 08-04-2007, 15:17

Well, that's what cats do. Kill things. It's their nature to hunt and kill prey.
I rescued a cat that was an RTA victim many years ago, she was one eyed after that and still hunted every day. She loved catching frogs and mice and it was great fun for her to bring them in to chase if she didn't feel like dealing with them outside.

One night, I'd laid on the sofa and put the book I was reading down, just to have a snooze. Woke up some time later to find a beak halfway down one side of the book, a trail of feathers outlining the top half of the book and two bird's feet placed the other side of the book. I was stunned at the precision with which the remains of her meal had been laid out. There were no feathers, blood or mess on the book at all - simply what looked like a very careful arrangement surrounding the open book.

She continued to hunt, despite losing her teeth from about 12 years old onwards and even with one tooth left in her head managed to catch and kill a fledgling.

All cats hunt. They are not homicidal psychotic maniacs, they are animals responding to their instincts, who happened to have duped unsuspecting human beings somewhere along the line of evolution.

Regards

L.

katkin · 08-04-2007, 15:24

you could double bell them both- it's not so easy moving without ringing them both. OUr old mogs used to bring all manner of wildlife home and it was a devil of a job trying to wrestle it from them -but they wer an odd bunch- not everything they brought home was edible or animal, some to that - we had mice, birds, moths, frogs, wasps, rhubarb leaves, rubber bands and cat collars.

Birth-Peace · 08-04-2007, 19:16

I have eight cats and they have never killed anything (to my knowledge) bigger than a worm, although there have been a few traumatised frogs and one wet hamster, oh and a massacred pizza - God knows what happened to the delivery boy

lubylou · 09-04-2007, 10:28

My cat smudge brought a dead pigeon home the other day, luckily the cat flap hadnt been fitted at this stage so when i opened the door he was sat munching away on it,

not a pretty sight first thing in the morning, plus ive got a very weak stomach anyway, he wasnt happy with me moving it either

Hecate · 09-04-2007, 10:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by em3978

...We've always put food for birds in places the cats can't get to etc, and nesting boxes are on the list of improvements to be done

...

Wouldn't the provision of nesting boxes in the garden be a bad idea if you're concerned about your cats hunting behaviour, especially if you couple that with feeding the birds? Even if the food source is out of reach of the cats, it will encourage more birds to use your garden.

You could try putting two bells on their collars, but evidence suggests that bells are more effective in scaring away mice and other small furries than birds. Apparently this collar is very effective. Other links here and here.

Ghostrider · 09-04-2007, 11:54

I can beat that.....my 4 year old tom cat bought back a live toad the other day.....great fun chasing that round !!!

Rainrescue · 09-04-2007, 12:40

I would rather have advise on how to get my cats to catch.

I usually take in ferral cats which live around my barns and things. However, said ferral cats come here with a warranty - "I promise to catch mice - honest"

Well said cats don't. They lay there and wait for mummy to open up the pouches and the tins, and pile up the biscuits.

I have always been under the impression that well fed cats are good moucers - well - mine have obviously gone on strike.

So - warn your cats - if they proove how good they are at catching - they may have to come here for a few weeks. No doubt that will teach them a thing or two cos they will have to live rough (like hay stacks and stuff).

Anyone want any wild mice?

LaceyHiggs · 09-04-2007, 12:56

my cats used to bring in mice play with them a while then leave them to run free round our house, then there would be me, mum and brother all trying to catch this mouse while all three cats slept on the chairs.

Strix · 09-04-2007, 22:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by LesleyB

Well, that's what cats do. Kill things. It's their nature to hunt and kill prey.

I bet you don't feel the same way about dogs biting intruders if they're bred to guard. And I assume you have no regard for endangered or protected species of birds?

The question in the OP was:

Quote:

Originally Posted by torin8

...we're now after advice how to - prevent / reduce these incidences - anyone got ideas?

rich951 · 10-04-2007, 13:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuzukiRider

I can beat that.....my 4 year old tom cat bought back a live toad the other day.....great fun chasing that round !!!

Yep - I had no idea how loudly frogs can scream until I was part of a cat clan

(it's funny afterwards, it's not funny catching a frog in the middle of the night and then taking it far enough away that they won't bring it straight back in!)