preventing cats from murder....
preventing cats from murder....
Author
Discussion

bergs2

Original Poster:

2,839 posts

277 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
This gos out to the other three cat lovers on Pistonheads:

It's probably more a function of the time of year than anything else, but our 10month old burmese 'kittens' have recently discovered their instinctive bloodlust.

Whilst I am aware that this is completely natural for all feline beasties - over recent weeks their kill rate has accellerated alarmingly....

We have had a progression from insects (butterflys, moths and bees mainly) a few months back - I think this was the 'training' phase.

They then moved on to Frogs which were 'dish of the day' in during May

Newly hatched chicks (x5) were strewn across the garden & patio last weekend - and a large bird was bought in and thanked the cats by shitting all over our nice newly decorated lounge :rolleyes:

Finally , I have just woken up (with mucho hangover) to find a furry rodent in bits with its guts halfway up our staircase (nice :rolleyes: :vomit:)

I'm worried that if things progress as they have been I'll come home from work and find next doors poodle has been the latest victim....

We have tried collers with bells on but it just sends the cats mental...

any other ideas on how to curb the violence? :confused:

mxdi

13,994 posts

278 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
Lock them out?

Apache

39,731 posts

313 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
Think yerself lucky, we've got a pair of Bengals, I'm waiting for a knock on the door from some distraught parents

wolves_wanderer

12,955 posts

266 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
Apache said:
Think yerself lucky, we've got a pair of Bengals, I'm waiting for a knock on the door from some distraught parents


Chris Type R

8,940 posts

278 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
I saw something at IIRC the big pet supermarket chain (with the green & yellow logo). It was a collar which could be operated remotely to make a buzzing sound - the idea is that you'd condition your felines as you observed them stalking prey.

Can't see it working myself - you'd need far too much observation time ie OAP / UB40.

warmfuzzies

4,371 posts

282 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
Ha, you think you've got problems.....

My Neighbours complained to us about our cat Gollum (since deceased poor soul) attacking their golden lab, and the other peoples german shepard. Both of which he chased down the road and took big lumps out of.....made us laugh for ages....

Mind you he did weigh 2 stone.....and no he wasn't fat......

just a sorely missed companion.

k.

caro

1,018 posts

313 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
mxdi said:
Lock them out?


or in, then they can't go out to bring in presents overnight. (Can't lock ours out, she's taken to getting into fights she should walk away from, and costing a fortune in vets bills). But when they need to shit, you're in trouble.....

to be honest, you're stuck unless you persevere with the bells on collars idea. Personally, i couldn't do that to ours, so she brings presents (birds, mice, bats etc).

Look on the bright side - now there is something good about midwinter!!

anonymous-user

83 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
Air Rifle!!!

Fatboy

8,267 posts

301 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
caro said:

mxdi said:
Lock them out?



or in, then they can't go out to bring in presents overnight. (Can't lock ours out, she's taken to getting into fights she should walk away from, and costing a fortune in vets bills). But when they need to shit, you're in trouble.....

to be honest, you're stuck unless you persevere with the bells on collars idea. Personally, i couldn't do that to ours, so she brings presents (birds, mice, bats etc).

Look on the bright side - now there is something good about midwinter!!


Lock them in at night with a litter tray - problem solved and massively reduces the chances of them getting run over (we did this after our first cat waskilled in the road)...

FunkyNige

9,816 posts

304 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
Collar with a little bell on?

parrot of doom

23,075 posts

263 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
Don't lock your cats up. Its cruel and unfair.

I have two of them, and they're always bringing in eggs, birds, rodents, worms even. Its a small price to pay for two loveable animals who follow me everywhere.

Fatboy

8,267 posts

301 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
parrot of doom said:
Don't lock your cats up. Its cruel and unfair.

I have two of them, and they're always bringing in eggs, birds, rodents, worms even. Its a small price to pay for two loveable animals who follow me everywhere.

Locking them up at night is different though - our cats have always been very happy with just dawn to dusk roaming, not that one particularly lazy little bugger could ever be bothered to go any further than the shed roof for a kip...

IIRC the RSPCA recommend locking cats up at night for their own safety...

parrot of doom

23,075 posts

263 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
B3ta said:
"My cat was sleeping on the side of my bed.
The sheets were slipping off, and so was puss.
Suddenly he went over the side completely. I
moved over to grab him, and at the same time
he shot out both of his paws as fast and as
hard as he could in order to grab on to
something... The next day I had to go to work
with a black eye and sheepishly explain that
I had been punched out by the cat." (Jim the Bad)

NoisyGriff

579 posts

297 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
We have 2 of the little b@stards.

I've learnt so much about the anatomy of rodents and birds this Spring. Lucky me.

This morning's little treat was an insight into the digestive system of the larger of the 2 cats.

It had eaten some sort of rodent. It had obviously started with the critter's head and left its back legs until last. Well, I assume that's the order it was eaten, because its head was completely digested and its back legs were almost undamaged when they were all airbrushed onto the hall carpet this morning.

Aren't cats great?

>> Edited by NoisyGriff on Saturday 11th June 12:20

monkey boy 1

2,066 posts

260 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
You ever watched a Cat stalk it's prey ? Bells & collars do nothing.
We've got 2 cats, one male one Female. Scrumpy , the male is frightened of birds, he was attacked by 4 blackbirds the other day, they were actually taking clumps of fur out of him. He's a traumatised cat now & won't venture down the bottom of the garden without Adult supervision.
The other cat Pimms, she's a killing machine "Satans Daughter". Really nice watching a white fluffball of a cat munching on an animal of some sort, then look up with a nice red bloodstained face

Can't really help on how to stop cats killing the local wildlife.

groucho

12,134 posts

275 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
The trouble is there's far too many cats around because they're domesticated. They actually decimate the wildlife and the more cats people get the worse it will get.
One thing owners can do is not encourage birds into their garden.
We have a neighbours cat that comes into our house, I quite like the little bleeder, never seen him with much though. Don't think I would ever get one for myself, flea ridden varmints.



rooster

2,241 posts

266 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
garyhun said:
Air Rifle!!!


speedychrissie

2,994 posts

268 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
a few years ago i gave my cat to my grandparents after theirs died. at home we still have the mother and sister of that cat. both of ours are incredible killing machines; they are both accomplished mole hunters! and just after the kittens were born the mother actually caught a squirrel from a tree!

but the cat that i gave to my grandparents has been taught that it is not allowed to hunt. my grandparents encourage birds to live in their garden, but their cat has learnt that they are off limits.
i think they did this by getting it to sleep on their bed at night rather than outside. and he also spends a reasonable amount of time in an outdoor fruit cage (large enough to not be seen as cruel).

i guess if you just persevere and try and make a point to the cats that hunting is bad hten it shoudl get through.

chris

GKP

15,099 posts

270 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
bergs2 said:


any other ideas on how to curb the violence?



Have they been to the vets to be, er, "done" yet?

Also, you're gonna want to keep up the Frontline treatments if they are mixing with the local wildlife.

groucho

12,134 posts

275 months

Saturday 11th June 2005
quotequote all
speedychrissie said:

My grandparents encourage birds to live in their garden, but their cat has learnt that they are off limits.


Crikey, I thought that was impossible, but good on her if she's managed it.