1. Chat

How to Stop My Cat from Catching Birds Etc

Ask a Question

I’m looking for advice on how to stop my cat from catching birds and other wildlife. He’s currently catching birds, mice and now even squirrels almost every day. 😩

I bought a collar that’s specifically designed to deter birds, and it seemed to work really well for the first few days. Unfortunately, after about 5 days he caught another bird, so it doesn’t seem to be enough on its own.

Does anyone have any other methods that have actually worked for stopping or reducing their cat’s hunting? I’d really like to find a way to keep him from catching wildlife without restricting his quality of life.

he is an outside cat and loves being outside so please don’t recommend me to keep him indoors

summa68
a week ago
Comments+20 points
Leannexxx

Honestly apart from keeping him in all the time you can't do nothing as it's a natural instinct they will find a way to catch what they want

Like
MelissaLee1

Can't take the cat outta the cat lol.My mums cat just sits and talks to the birds.She catches mice and brings em in but seldom finishes them off so a few living indoors now lol. Image

Like
AlysonC

Sadly, it's a cat's nature to hunt. Apart from the obvious bell on a collar, the only thing that I can suggest is that you have a regular play time when he's indoors to tire him out and use the chase instinct in that way. My son's cat loves to play chase with an old wire from a charger as well as a fake fish on a line. Within half an hour, he just wants to sleep. I have to admit though, that he's not great at catching wildlife as he only has one eye so his depth of vision isn't great.

Like
hspexy

Unfortunately, they’re natural predators & there’s little you can do as it’s pure instinct (if you kept him in, he’ll just go mental). You can buy all the toys in the world to try use up the energy, but it’ll also just provide him with training for his hunt. There are some breeds that are very docile & don’t seem to be bothered to hunt - but it doesn’t sound like you’ve got one of those breeds (if your cat is bringing you his catches, he’s actually proudly gifting them to you, which shows how much he loves you)

Like
summa68

hspexy he does come back in the garden with his head held high all proud showing off to the others what he’s caught.

Like
martinlufc5637

It's their natural instinct, cats are very stubborn, so there is nothing you can do, apart from keeping him indoors

Like
tara73ziva

You could try popping a couple of bells on his collar to see if that works 

Like
summa68

tara73ziva that was the first thing I tried but unfortunately didnt make a difference 😞

Like
tara73ziva

summa68 sometimes it does it doesn’t, but it’s the cat instinct unfortunately 

Like
Jerseydrew

Only way you can deal with this is to not let the cat out. Cats wont stop hunting its what they do

Like
summa68

Jerseydrew unfortunately he can’t be kept in because he has a tendency to spray (despite being spayed!)

Like
jms19

Some cats are amazing hunters, I have owned cats for my whole life and some of them are just killers. You could try those collars with bells and that should alert the birds. I think there is also some things you can put in your garden that deter birds so your car would be less likely to get them, but I’m not sure if they actually work.

I remember one of my cats took out a whole nest of starling chicks one after the other and it was just horrible. Unfortunately it is just nature.

Like
KateGriff169

Not sure there's a lot you can do tbh as it's just a natural thing. I remember years ago when I had my dog when he'd go in the back garden he'd always wait for the birds and go after them, he would always catch a couple of them as well 🤦‍♂️

Like
Swimmer94

Apparently birds see bright colours easily so you can get vibrant coloured collars that can help along with bells on it. You could also try a cat bib that is designed to stop them catching birds by slowing them down.

Otherwise there's not a lot to do. If you know where your cat specifically catches birds and other animals then you can do other things like bag/tape at the bottom of trees.

Like
One of the UK's largest deal hunting communities

Join for free to get genuine deals, money saving advice and help from our friendly community

Tom Church
Co-Founder &
Chief Bargain Hunter
Tom Church, Co-Founder