For the Birds

Dead animals in your yard just seems like an inevitable consequence of having cats, but at some point our cats pushed their luck a little too far, and now we’ve had to take more drastic action. Part of the problem is the failure of our current measure of putting a bell on the cats. While this sound like a good idea, it seems like it’s best left to fairy tales and fables. In real life, it doesn’st stop the carnage.

Now a few voles or mice here and there might not have been such a big deal, but the song birds are another matter, especially when you mess with the thrushes, the state bird, which might be a threatened species. Whatever be the case, it’s a sad thing when you find the dead birds, but extra sad when they’re still alive and holding on for dear life while the cat casually licks her paws.

R has decided that we either keep them inside, or find a way to prevent the slaughter. We may have found something, promoted by bird lovers, no less. They sell these rubber bibs that go around their necks and somehow prevent them from hunting animals. They look hilarious, and I’m guessing the cats hate them, but at this point, we’re willing to give it a try. You can see how they might work, so we’re optimistic. The reality is, the cats kill soley for entertainment, so they can live without it.

The people that make and sell these things are bird lovers, so they are not necessarily in it to get rich. The first day we put them on the cats, they lost them within an hour, and when we told the company, they sent us two free replacements, as well as the collars. We figured out that we could make them ourselves with material bought at Joanne’s, so we are in business. Hopefully we’ll see fewer dead animals on our doorstep.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.