Anyone ever see this? (birds, mice, dog, wildlife)

[Nanny Goat]

Where we used to live, there was a cat who roamed the neighborhood and one day I saw him in the large drainage ditch (concrete for rain drainage). He was kinda flattening himself out with his paws outstretched. I see maybe 5-6 birds dive bombing him whenever he starts to move out of there, a few seem to reach him, pecking his fur quickly and flying out.
He used to chase after birds so they ganged up on him to show him who's boss. It was comical--not something I'd ever seen.

[jackmichigan]

Since roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year, the birds have reason to be upset. (Too bad they weren't hawks.)

[brokencrayola]

Sounds like the cat was streaching. As far as the birds I would say they were trying to get him away from their nests or possibly they had babies nearby that were newly out of the nest and not flying well. One thing I have seen, which is kind of odd, is birds landing on animals to grab bits of their fur to make their nests with.

[J5K5LY]

I would be interested to know who compiled that "statistic" on cats killing hundreds of millions of birds each year. Seems quite a bit of a stretch to me. I love birds and have many feeders and also love cats. I also have several birds ( and many cats) in my house. I have 2 cats that come to eat and are outdoors and they have yet to bother my bird feeders. They are well fed and lazy. Cats always get a bad rap. Recently some high up columnist in the Audubon Society called for people to poison cats and he was swiftly demoted. Evil.
That being said, cat birds will swoop and peck at cats. If any bird has nest nearby, they will chase other birds and cats and even I have been dive bombed!!
@brokencrayola- I had a big sammy/golden mix dog and when she got older and would go into a deep sleep on the deck, I would see birds come down and take her hair right off her body. She was such a tight sleeper she never noticed. I also bring dog hair home from work- I am a grooming salon mgr- and leave it out for the birds. They love it!

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by J5K5LY

I would be interested to know who compiled that "statistic" on cats killing hundreds of millions of birds each year. Seems quite a bit of a stretch to me. I love birds and have many feeders and also love cats. I also have several birds ( and many cats) in my house. I have 2 cats that come to eat and are outdoors and they have yet to bother my bird feeders. They are well fed and lazy. Cats always get a bad rap. Recently some high up columnist in the Audubon Society called for people to poison cats and he was swiftly demoted. Evil.
That being said, cat birds will swoop and peck at cats. If any bird has nest nearby, they will chase other birds and cats and even I have been dive bombed!!
@brokencrayola- I had a big sammy/golden mix dog and when she got older and would go into a deep sleep on the deck, I would see birds come down and take her hair right off her body. She was such a tight sleeper she never noticed. I also bring dog hair home from work- I am a grooming salon mgr- and leave it out for the birds. They love it!

I don't think it's a stretch at all for cats to catch that many birds, mice too.

[jackmichigan]

Originally Posted by J5K5LY

I would be interested to know who compiled that "statistic" on cats killing hundreds of millions of birds each year. Seems quite a bit of a stretch to me.

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute estimates that cats in the United States kill 1.4 to 3.7 BILLION birds each year, plus an equally disturbing number of other wildlife. Now you know.

Cats kill more than one billion birds each year | Zoology | Science News

[NJmmadude]

Originally Posted by jackmichigan

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute estimates that cats in the United States kill 1.4 to 3.7 BILLION birds each year, plus an equally disturbing number of other wildlife. Now you know.

Cats kill more than one billion birds each year | Zoology | Science News

You have to love all of the apologists though-usually they toggle between 'well, the animals (other than humans) were here first' and 'well, snuffy (beloved cat) is just acting on instinct'.

[J5K5LY]

I still take issue with those "estimates" but there are many organizations that are working hard to stop the feral cat population in a humane way. Cats are operating on instinct and the reason they are catching birds is because of irresponsible owners that toss them out, unaltered. People hate the cats, not the cause of the problem- OWNERS!
We will have to agree to disagree.

[jackmichigan]

Originally Posted by NJmmadude

You have to love all of the apologists though-usually they toggle between 'well, the animals (other than humans) were here first' and 'well, snuffy (beloved cat) is just acting on instinct'.

Originally Posted by J5K5LY

I still take issue with those "estimates" but there are many organizations that are working hard to stop the feral cat population in a humane way. Cats are operating on instinct and the reason they are catching birds is because of irresponsible owners that toss them out, unaltered. People hate the cats, not the cause of the problem- OWNERS!
We will have to agree to disagree.

Yep, humans cause the problem but it is still the free-roaming cats (not just feral ones) which are killing so many birds and other wildlife. I think you clearly fall into the "apologist" category referred to earlier.

By the way, I don't "hate" the cats, but recognize that they are a big problem. If all of the so-called cat lovers in the world would just keep the cats inside there would be no problems. (And if you really want to give your cat some outside air, a leash would be appropriate--or, at least, not leaving a cat outside unattended.)

[J5K5LY]

You can label me all you want. Cats are not to blame. My cats have an outside dog run they can go into on nice days to get fresh air. The 2 outdoors are the neighbors cat and a stray. The stray sits and watches the birds at the feeders but has never made a move to catch them. I don't like cats roaming free any more than you.
Now, what about the cell phone towers, the lit up city buildings and the airplanes that kill hundreds of thousands of birds? What about farmers that poison thousands? If you want to rally for the birds, look at those issues too, not just cats.
I am not being facetious. I care deeply about the birds but to place so much blame on cats is not fair.