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We have a beautiful pine cone wreath hanging on the stone wall next to our front door and a pair of birds have built a nest in it. We have watched and photographed from the beginning of the nest, to the little eggs to the baby birds who are about 8 days old. They are so sweet and the changes from day to day are incredible.
Today I went out to peek at them and low and behold a black cat was sitting on the front porch watching. We have seen him in the woods around our house from time to time but he has never been close to the house. We live in a very pet-strict community which does not allow tethering of dogs, loose dogs or cats but still there are a few.
What can I do to protect the birds? I'm more worried about the parents now and of course when the babies are so vulnerable. My girls would be heart broken if something happened to the birds. Every day we e mail our pictures to the teachers who in turn show them to the classes.
The only thing I can think of is if you could trap the cat. You might be able to borrow a trap from a local shelter that runs a TNR program. Of course if that works, then what do you do with it? Could you keep it in your house temporarily while you try to find the owners? (Contacting shelters, vets, etc. with info). Once the little birds fledge and start blundering around the yard learning to fly they're going to be very vulnerable. If you're around a lot you could just try watching out for the cat with a squirt bottle, but if it wants to chase the birds it will be very persistent so that probably won't work well. This is a tough one, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for the babies!
as much as I love the little birds I don't think I could trap the cat. Obviously it is somebody's pet and she lives around here . I was just wondering if there is a spray which would keep the cat off my porch. Just so glad my own two cats haven't figured out there is somebody hanging around outside.
is there anyway to rig up some sort of small sprinkler system that would spray away from the porch.... allowing the birds to come in and out and keeping the kitty away??
maybe if he gets sprinkled enough, he will give up....
well, we are a heart broken family this morning. The cat got the nest last night.
Yesterday I teased the girls about they were going to sleep wrapped up in blankets on the front porch on Cat Patrol. We all carried this little joke to the point of putting pots and lids and metal spoons on the front porch -getting ready for their duty. But of course we didn't do that and now I wish we did.
This morning I went out to retrieve my kitchen ware and run off a herd of deer when I saw the nest wasn't even in the wreath. It was shredded on the porch.
I knew I had to tell the girls but dreaded it. I tried to tell them about predators and laws of nature but how we as humans have to do our part by keeping our cats inside. They were so upset I don't know if they even heard me or learned anything. We will e mail the teachers telling them the news and hoping they will take the opportunity to teach the children that cats need to be inside.
I can't stop seeing the sweet little faces of those baby birds. I will try to post a picture later. It really is so sad.
Unless the cat was seen with a bird in his mouth, I would not convict him without a trial. Raccoons shred nests at night and are incredibly adept at climing even impossible barriers. Cats are not sneak in the night hunters. They are jump up and get them right while you are watching hunters.
Read the cat his rights, get him an attorney, and look for something besides the weak circumstantial evidence you have posted here. If his owners say he came home with a mouth full of feathers, that would do it for me. I'm not buying the cat sneaked back in the night theory of the crime. I have had a number of outside cats over the years and any of mine would have jumped those birds right while you were standing there and if you shooed them off the porch and closed the front door, they'd have been gone two minutes later. The defendant was acting suspicious, nothing more.
I'm so sorry...this does make me very sad.
Whether it was the cat or a raccoon or something else that shredded the nest, I'm glad at least this has become an opportunity to teach the kids about the perils of allowing cats to roam...both birds and cats are safer when cats are indoors.
In this sense, at least their death was not in vain...
Well, it's truly sad when the birds are endangered and the cat is a well-fed housecat that was just out having some fun.
Sorry for how you're feeling, though, nokudzu. It is truly heartwrenching when stuff like that happens, but I'm happy to see that you're taking the chance to teach your girls about nature and in a way in which they will appreciate the cycle of life rather than cultivate antipathy towards predators, who are just doing their jobs.
Also, remember that those birds will probably have more babies but in a place in which their next brood will be much safer. The experience actually may have made those birds better parents.
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