HELP - Cats scaring my birds off

How can I get rid of this darned cat??? (not mine) he gets into my backyard and lays low waiting for the birds then I imagine he pounces on them....EEEIIKKKK
When I have caught him there I try to get the water hose and spray him....
Is there a safe trap, poison, deterrant that will not affect my squirrels? I was thinking of those electric fences that they have to keep dogs in your own yard, but I dont want the poor squirrels to get zapped.
But the cat has got to go - I even had violent thoughts...about maiming the cat....But I dont want to hurt it, I just dont wnt it coming into my yard, my bird sanctuary has turned into a smorgasborg for this cat.....
I havent seen any*gulp* dead birds though....But I have noticed that they arent as abundant as they used to be....they are just staying away!

please help - I'm at my wits end...

thanks/cheers
pebble

Pebble, the different species of birds will start their migrations at different times. I have noticed fewer mockingbirds than previously, and it's not do to the cat, they and bluejays are ferocious and will dive bomb any cat or squirrel. They do have a dog and cat repellant that you can sprinkle around the parameter of your property, the down side to that is that you have to repeat the process if it rains.

"eyes"

Pebble:
Try a Remington 12 Guage with some # 5 lead shot.
Never fails.

Paul

LOL Paul, I thought about it....but then the owner would be sad not to mention furious......besides, I dont think I could bring myself to do anything like that.
I think I will try a repellent

thanks for the advice.....

Pebble the cat is doing what comes naturally and yes it is horrible for us to witness a bird in the mouth of a cat. If you had seen one of my posts on Wild Life, I tried to protect new fledglings from my cats and went to extremes to make sure the birds were safe. Once they found their wings I was able to stop the vigilance. But I could not use a repellant - nature will sort itself out! The birds are tougher than you think :-)

i agree, i read in a book the other day that over 90% of birds that cats stalk get away, and if the cats are trying to get chicks or eggs from a nest the birds put up quite a fight!

one way to repel the birds from the cats is to put a collar with a bell attached to it onto the cat, then the birds can hear it coming. perhaps you can suggest this to your neighbour before you lose your patience! i know exactly how annoying cats can be, and they wont be told! i have 2 myself, both with bell-collars i might add.

Check with your SPCA. Here in Ontario cats as well as dogs are suppose to be leashed. Most people don't however leash cats. A phone call will find the cat in the pound and if it is a bylaw there like it is here,.. it is quite pricey for the owner to bail the cat out. This I found, was a great deterant.
I have 2 cats of my own and I feel that if I have made an effort to keep my cats indoors and not pooping in my garden it is quite rude for someone elses cat to be coming over and pooping in my garden.


This message was edited Friday, Aug 10th 5:55 PM

Has anyone ever tried to leash a cat...I sincerely doubt that it would be a successful venture.

"eyes"

Removed by member request

Eyes,

My now 15 year old son tried to leash our 6 week old kitten to take her to the vet.. he carried her to the car, got inside, let her go thinking everything would be fine and ended up riding all the way to the vet's office with a kitten attached to his face. Her claws were dug in, and in his retelling of it, everyone is usually rolling on the floor.. we have 3 cats that are inside cats.... and 3 dogs that are also inside... my dh and I have this tendency to take in strays.. :) my problems are with dogs that roam freely.. they killed my sweet shrud close to my backdoor by using it as a potty.... it is something that irks me, people letting their animals roam and run free into others yards to use the bathroom, stalk prey.. etc....

take care all,
Nina

Nina, that sounds like fun, having a 'loose' cat in the car!

eyes, we got a 'cat harness' one time for our cats and one of them just did a whodini act and escaped, giving us dirty looks as she legged it up a tree. Wont be trying that again in a hurry. She looked so cute tho, would have been nice to take her for a walk.. hehe.

Our cats stay in all the time, so no dead birds in our garden, they have collars and bells just in case they do get out, too many cats get run over on the motorway which is near to us, or tormented by the local idiot kids, it's just not worth it. Some people say its cruel to keep cats in, but at least we know they are safe, and vets say its ok to keep them in too.

You can get a LIVE TRAP from some hardware stores or maybe through the internet. They are about $30 or up.
Or your local dog pound may supply you one for free.
The trap does not harm any animal. Bait it with a can of cat food.
The dog pound will take the cat away, and the owner has to pay a fee to bail the cat out.
When the West Nile virus come to your area, you may want to discontinue feeding the birds.
The mosquito will spread the virus to you. But it is picked up by the mosquitoes from infected birds. With fewer birds on your property you will have a far less chance of acquiring this crippling and deadly disease.

Oh I know how you feel, I have this same problems, my neighbor have 7 cats. Of course they stay in my yard, poops in my flower beds & stay under my bird feeders, & birdhouses. I have tried everything, from talking to neighbor (which was useless, a very hateful, sad person who know every cuss words there is).To spraying them w/ water, chasing them, but to no avail. My DH gotten to shooting them w/ a beebee gun (shooting near them not to them) but it doesn't faze them. I have pick up so many dead birds that it not even funny. I can't put bird seeds out because I might as well be sending the birds to their doom.
The cats all run now when I came outside but come right back when I am inside or gone. I only got one cat to stay away & it the one I pour pickle juice on but he still lay on my truck (which is stratch up from them all).
They have also tore up a beutiful three-teired birdhouses that my parent have made special for me. (my DH fix it the best he could). So if you find a solution please email me & let me know. Good luck to you & to everyone else with this problem.
I do love cats though I have one myself but she stay inside our home & doesn't not bother the neighbors.

We had a beloved cat until she passed a few month ago at age 20 and she always stayed in the house where all good little putty cats should be. When we had a visitor bothering our birds we let are little dog out to chase it away. Her legs are really short and unless the cat was dead she could never catch it.

Try the repellant, it works. Or catch it in a live trap, and put a collar with a bell on it. I personally have caught and taken 3 of my neighbors cats to my vet and had them neautered for spraying my bushes and front door, I have a vet that does this thru a discount spay program that the county offers($35.)they even give them shots, he keeps them about 10 days till the stitches are out, then I release them back into the neighborhood, I do this in secret, as I also have had a bad encounter with a neighbor over a free-roam cat, also people tend to keep a closer eye on thier cats when they disapeer for a couple of days. I have 2 cats of my own a 17 year old male that can no longer fight back and a 4 year old female, my cats and dog have electronic collars with a wire buried under ground that puts out a signal, so that they can not leave the yard and bells so the birds hear them coming, generally my dog chases away strange cats (the dog was born the same day as the female cat and they were raised together, they even sleep in the same bed, I know that he would never harm a cat but the strange cats don't know that! teehee) I had a neighbor that was feeding a stray, I took the stray to the vet and had her fixed-up, then this nice lady seen her using her shrubs as a potty and took her down the road and threw her out, this frustated me to no end, she knew that I had paid to have the cat fixed and had I known that she was going to do this I would have bought another signal-collar and just kept it at my house. I had her show me where she threw this sweet little thing out at but never did find it. I feel that people should act responsibly with thier pets. They are our companions, not just property.

This message was edited Monday, Aug 13th 9:12 PM

Thank for all the advice, I enjoyed reading everyone's accounts of woes with cats. I too have a cat, but keep it indoors, it has never been out.
I think I am just going to resign myself to chase the cat away when I am there - have the kids keep an eye out and do the same when I am not home. I couldnt bear to harm it, because it is after all someone's pet and they would be devastated, and if I went to the owner, I just found out over the weekend that the cat belongs to the people behind me, a lovely young couple, if I went up and said something about them keeping their cat in, they might be offended, because their cat has just as much right to roam around as the birds...... I have tried to think of all the arguments I could make, and see how it sounds if it were my cat someone was talking about - you cannot control where the cat goes, why should I curtail the cat's freedom from doing what comes naturally? etc etc.....you all get the picture.
I just wish that it wouldnt come into my garden and scare my birds away.....over the weekend another cat appeared, the two of them scrambled off as soon as i walked out.
As trivial as this may seem, watching the birds eat and splash around in the water while playing in their bird bath give me such pleasure, joy, peace etc., and I miss my 15 minutes of relaxation and fun. It's a small thing I realise but the pleasure it gave me was immense. and ow, the birds dont even come for fear of the cats.
I guess I'll just get over it.

thanks to you all for your thoughts on the subject.

[ Removed by member request. - Admin ]

Gardeners Supply sells a motion detection device designed to scare off squirrels,cats, dogs, and other critters with a high frequency blast of sound that will scare them off. It is battery operated and you can move it around your yard.

It is disquised in something that looks like a rock and is called the Pest Control Stone.

Go to Gardeners.com to check it out.