Fatal attraction in my garden as cat begins a reign of terror
THE BIRDS in my garden have a cat problem. Cat-lovers will no doubt shrug and say, “cats will be cats and hunting is in their DNA, so what do you expect?” But that isn’t much comfort, because the fact remains that a new cat has appeared in the neighbourhood and is preying on what I consider to be “my birds” with some measure of success.
Its marmalade fur affords good camouflage in its chosen lair of orange and yellow hosta leaves, and the dunnock I saw pecking about on the lawn for what turned out to be its last meal showed no signs of caution.
When I looked out of my sitting room window I was also unaware of the cat’s malevolent presence until, that is, I saw it break cover and deftly trap its quarry under a paw.
When I banged the window and shouted, the cat just returned a look of what seemed like triumph, perhaps tinged with a hint of irritation. Then it got the bird in its mouth and disappeared through a gap in the fence.
Patches of scattered feathers up and down the lane provide other evidence of the cat’s recent reign of terror.
The frantic plucking of birds by a sparrowhawk leaves a much greater mess, so I am afraid the cat is my prime suspect and for the foreseeable future putting out bird food at ground level has to end.
Cats are a growing problem in gardens according to conservation organisations. The Mammal Society estimates that in the UK they kill 27 million birds a year.
A recent study found that catrelated mortality among garden birds has increased by at least 50 per cent since the year 2000, which is attributed to more people becoming cat owners.
The principal victims are those small birds which habitually feed on the ground – dunnocks, house sparrows, robins, blackbirds, starlings, and to a lesser extent greenfinches.
Sadly, we are contributing to the problem by spending more than £280m a year on food for our estimated 196 million garden birds.
The conservation officer for the Royal Parks in London caused an uproar when he suggested that domestic cats should be kept indoors at all times.
Cats are unlikely to be confined to quarters, however, so another way must be found to stop them maiming our birdlife.
A variety of electronic scarers on the market claim to provide a feline-free garden. One squirts short blasts of water at the cat when motion is detected, but surely it might easily be a hedgehog that gets drenched. I don’t like that idea at all.
The RSPB recommends a device that emits an ultrasonic sound. Cats hate it but other wildlife like hedgehogs, frogs and – crucially – birds are oblivious.
An alternative is to implement the list of measures on the RSPB’s website to turn your garden into a fortress against cats. And since they detest the smell of citrus juice, discreetly scattering orange and lemon peel around the garden is said to be worth trying.