How cat owners can do their bit for songbirds

SIR – It is helpful to hear Tony Juniper from Natural England acknowledging that cat predation is one of the contributing factors when seeking to address the falling numbers of songbirds in Britain (report, May 6).

However, as your readers note (Letters, May 8), using cat collars with bells is not the most effective of the options available.

Research by University of Exeter, funded by the conservation charity Songbird Survival, has identified what cat owners can do to reduce the natural hunting behaviour of their cat.

First, owners should play with their cats for 5-10 minutes every day to allow them to exhibit their natural hunting behaviour which reduces their motivation to seek out prey. Secondly, they should feed cats with a premium, meat-rich food.

The study showed that cat bells had no discernible overall effect, although the researchers indicated that the impact on individual cats varied widely, suggesting that some cats learn to hunt successfully despite wearing a bell.

Keeping cats in at night also helps songbird populations, and in the breeding season from March to September, waiting a little later in the day to let out the cat avoids the peak time when birds are most active and vulnerable.

Susan Morgan

CEO, Songbird Survival Diss, Norfolk

SIR – Our most obedient cat leaves birds untouched, but specialises in various vermin, always deposited dead on a special area of the utility room floor where lies a Sunday Telegraph fully opened out from the centre spread.

The deceased victim is always placed on the crease in the middle.

It is then easy for us to peel off a couple of double pages and wrap the body to put straight into the bin.

Chris Mitchell

Houghton on the Hill, Leicestershire