I do understand that animals kill other animals to feed and agree - thats life, however, for you information sarah cats do not kill mice and birds to eat but for FUN, they play with them before presenting them to their masters, this is not for survival and as Penny says cats can be taught not to hunt!
People with cats are irrisponsible..they turn the other way over the mess they leave in other peoples gardens and as Richard they condone their cats killing birds..what a better life it would be if we could all enjoy our gardens with the birds being more relaxed and cheerful and no more poo deposits..it could have a positive effect on us all..as for the killing and hunting in our gardens do we not find it all barbaric in 2010..should we not have a say as who comes in to our garden to kill!! Richard is noticeable by his silence on this issue.
hi dahlia lover,yes i know cats kill for fun but please there are millions of birds around and to be quite honest i see more larger birds killing smaller birds than cats getting hold of them,please get a grip...lol.
I'm a little put out by the generalisation that Cat lovers are "irresponsible" or "aren't bird lovers" etc. Too much of a generalisation and not just a little offensive. I'm a bird lover AND a cat owner. I can honestly guarantee that my cat's do not kill anything at all. They are indoor cat's, they never go outside, are well adjusted, playful and great company. So please consider, SOME cat owners may indeed fit your descriptions, but not ALL.
this tasteless and insensitive article was posted on the blogs in the same week that I received an email from BBC Gardener's World to enter a competition to win a bird feeding pack. Why on earth would I want to feed birds in the full knowledge that I am not helping them but luring them into danger from the marauding cats that are allowed to wander through my garden?? If you want a cat, have a cat. But keep it to yourself because I loathe the things.
hi people,i have fed birds for many many years and its been a real joy,there are many many cats in the area i live in and i have to say i have never seen a cat catch 1 of the birds[although i know they do get them] however i have seen more larger birds catching the smaller birds. when a cat is watching the birds, our clever featherfriends do know,watch a cat monitoring the birds and you will know what i mean.i also agree with sarah there are many birds,so people get a grip,we cant wrap them up in cotton-wool,its called life.
Chiswickian - do stop being so prissy. There is nothing 'tasteless and insensitive' about this article, Richard is merely mentioning some statistics that are in the public domain. Birds are quite capable of the same brutality as 'marauding cats' - they're not cuddly toys, you know.
hello,my wife asked me today to clear the leaves out of our pond,while i was doing this i scoped out 2 sets of frogs doing there buiness[frogsex],i popped them back into pond,have i ruined the chance of getting frogspawn???they were still ontop of each other when i put them back into the water. soory this hasn't got anything to do with birds and cats,but we have both and have never had a headless bird left to us for a gifted..both bring us much joy.x
Don't worry about the frogs, Jim and Doris, they are quite single minded at this time of year, and I am sure the pond will be full of spawn soon. I am taken aback by some of the posts to Richard's article, but I suppose he has used the CAT word! For goodness sake, I don't like cats or the mess they leave, but laser guns, spikes on fences, get a grip, or better still a springer spaniel. Birds in poor condition because they lack nutrition are far more vulnerable to predation by cats, keep feeding, especially at this time of the year and during the breeding period, but make sure you site your feeders in suitable locations where predators can be seen. The birds will do the rest. I wonder if the RSPB knows how many birds fall victim to road accidents? perhaps we ought to start a campaign against cars and leave Richard to write his excellent blogs in peace.
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Too much of a generalisation and not just a little offensive.
I'm a bird lover AND a cat owner. I can honestly guarantee that my cat's do not kill anything at all. They are indoor cat's, they never go outside, are well adjusted, playful and great company.
So please consider, SOME cat owners may indeed fit your descriptions, but not ALL.
soory this hasn't got anything to do with birds and cats,but we have both and have never had a headless bird left to us for a gifted..both bring us much joy.x
For goodness sake, I don't like cats or the mess they leave, but laser guns, spikes on fences, get a grip, or better still a springer spaniel. Birds in poor condition because they lack nutrition are far more vulnerable to predation by cats, keep feeding, especially at this time of the year and during the breeding period, but make sure you site your feeders in suitable locations where predators can be seen. The birds will do the rest. I wonder if the RSPB knows how many birds fall victim to road accidents? perhaps we ought to start a campaign against cars and leave Richard to write his excellent blogs in peace.