Subject: Neighbors with cats that catch birds
Date: May 24 16:15:13 2002
From: Irene Wanner - iwanner at u.washington.edu


HEY, NO CAT DISCUSSIONS. WE AGREED!
Irene
Seattle CD

On Fri, 24 May 2002, S. Miller wrote:

> I'm counting on the collective widsom and experience of my fellow bird
> lovers here. Have any of you had success in persuading neighbors to keep
> their outdoor cats confined, especially during the nesting and fledging
> season? I have a very kind neighbor who has an outdoor cat that is an avid
> hunter. I like the cat -- he's very affectionate and loving. The problem is
> that he's living death to the birds. I live on Guemes Island (due north of
> Anacortes, WA) and have taken several years to make my garden into a haven
> for resident and migratory birds. The cat is constantly over here, and as
> you know, chasing him away does no good whatsoever. I've fenced all the
> trees and shrubs where the birds tend to nest (at great expense; it looks
> like all my shrubs are in jail), and even fenced the perimiter of the yard,
> but of course birds don't just stay inside the fences. My neighbor
> complained bitterly about another neighbor who was upset at all the birds
> the cat was killing (at least one a day). She said, "This is what cats do.
> It's how nature is." I think she sees the birds as entertainment for her
> cat. I do not say this in a mean way; it's just part of what I need to keep
> in mind when I think of how to approach her.
>
> Now for the hard part. Confrontation will not work; she will just get upset
> and withdraw, and the cat will continue to kill birds. Even a reasonable
> request will have no effect. Another neighbor already tried that. I'm
> thinking that a possible approach would be some kind of essay that would get
> to her in a way a conversation would not. A few years ago I was concerned
> about a Sharp-shinned hawk that was ravaging my songbirds. I talked to a
> hawk specialist (Bud Anderson in Skagit County -- he's wonderful), and he
> set me right about the Big Picture and how hawks and chickadees are all a
> part of it. It still hurt to see the demise of a chickadee in the talons of
> the hawk, but I accepted it and tried to love the hawk. It worked... slowly.
> Is there a Bud Anderson equivalent for my neighbor -- not in the form of a
> person but in a story, web site, essay or something like that?
>
> So what do you advise, all you bird lovers (and cat lovers) out there? What
> has worked for you?
>
> Many thanks.
>
> Susan Miller
> sm100 at att.net
> Guemes Island
> Washington
>
>