# Stopping cats attacking wild birds - in a gentle way? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255 "2011-03-28T13:46:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2011, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/21 "2011-04-02T09:13:48Z")
I always thought that a cat doesn’t really stand a chance to catch a healthy bird. I guess it depends on the kind of bird. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/22 "2011-04-03T16:19:37Z")
> [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](#): > > Thank you all for your ideas. I don’t think a motion sensor will work as it will sense the motion of birds too and scare them off. [This one](http://www.contech-inc.com/products/scarecrow/) has a sensor adjustment. Birds will be just fine. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/23 "2011-04-03T16:42:06Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > I always thought that a cat doesn’t really stand a chance to catch a healthy bird. I guess it depends on the kind of bird. Heck, I remember having a DOG who would occasionally catch a bird. The result of a bird feeder which spilled seed on the ground underneath some evergreen trees with very low branches. The dog would trap the foraging bird underneath the tree where it couldn’t fly away. ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/24 "2011-04-04T11:21:13Z")
> [@](#): > > If it helps, I have gone fly fishing, but I never caught any flies. Maybe Im doin ths wrng … You should try ice fishing. We had to rent a trailer to get it all home. I ocassionally find the remains of goldfinches around our feeders. Our cat doesn’t even seem to be eating them, which would make me feel slightly better. ---
**Author:** ![Feral\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3da27b/32.png) [@Feral\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feral_cat)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/25 "2012-02-22T01:54:36Z")
Yes. We feed feral cats and we feed the birds. We use ShakeAwayCat to keep the cats away from the bird feeding area. It’s expensive but a can will last a long a time and it is effective. [http://http://www.lonepinestore.com/animalbirdrepellant.html](http://http://www.lonepinestore.com/animalbirdrepellant.html) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/26 "2012-02-22T02:03:40Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > …IIRC, didn’t **Michael of Lucan** post something a while back about flies? Then spiders? Now a bird… I knew an old Doper who swallowed a fly… ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/27 "2012-02-22T02:27:57Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I knew an old Doper who swallowed a fly… Hell, I know a doper who fucked a sheep (or so I’ve heard). ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/28 "2012-02-22T15:19:10Z")
I know this is an old thread, but I found it odd that no one suggested putting collars with leetle dinky bells on the nice kitties. That way you don’t take away their fun, just handicap them a little bit. 😃 Sure, it won’t be easy to catch/collar them, but you’ll only need to trap 'em once. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/29 "2012-02-22T17:00:38Z")
My mom put a bell on the cat we had when I was growing up. She simply learned to walk in such a way as to not jingle the bell… ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/30 "2012-02-22T17:14:43Z")
From the OP: > [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](#): > > I do not own the cats, and I do not know who owns them.\* So, I cannot put bells on them, which is the normal solution. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/31 "2012-02-22T17:25:05Z")
> [@longPath](#): > > You should try ice fishing. We had to rent a trailer to get it all home.(snip) You know, when I tried it by the time I had a hole big enough to put the boat in, I was too tired to fish. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/32 "2012-02-22T17:25:33Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > can you place the feeders in a open area where a cat will have less chance to hide? Birds of prey love a feeder out in the open. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/33 "2012-02-22T17:27:39Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Cats prefer raw meat to any mass produced dry or wet cat food. Not in my (admittedly limited) experience: adult cats tend to prefer what they’re used to eating. My experience is based on my own cats, who get plenty of cat food, and who enjoy chasing and catching birds, mice, etc. but haven’t shown any signs of interest in eating what they catch. (The fun thing is to bring critters inside, alive, to play with.) So a well-fed cat may still pose a threat to birds. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/34 "2012-02-22T18:55:44Z")
If you are feeding the birds well, they will prosper & their population will grow. So the few that are caught by the cats will not affect the population much. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/35 "2012-02-22T18:59:26Z")
Just let Darwinian nature take its course. You will be improving the over all quality of birds by letting the cats weed out the weaker and stupider ones. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/36 "2012-02-22T19:18:20Z")
Some birds are natural ground foragers, and taking advantage of an abundance of seed on the ground due to a human-controlled feeder does not make them weak or stupid to be picked off. They are simply easier targets, sadly. To the OP…as \*\*Thudlow \*\*points out, cats will hunt even if well-fed. To avoid giving them easy pickings, get rid of the bird feeder. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/37 "2012-02-22T19:20:19Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > I know this is an old thread, but I found it odd that no one suggested putting collars with leetle dinky bells on the nice kitties. You mean, besides the OP? > [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](#): > > I do not own the cats, and I do not know who owns them.\* So, I cannot put bells on them, which is the normal solution. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255/38 "2012-02-22T20:31:55Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > Just let Darwinian nature take its course. You will be improving the over all quality of birds by letting the cats weed out the weaker and stupider ones. In 10 years, he’ll have a crop of super-intelligent birds that begin dive-bombing dwellings for food sources and/or idle fun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-cats-attacking-wild-birds-in-a-gentle-way/576255.md?page=1)