now that you mention it, another approach may be educating on the real
dangers of having an outdoor cat. the statistics of health and lifespan of
indoor vs outdoor pets are astonishing. That may be the ticket if you can
share info without sounding threatening lol.
To be honest, beyond that, consider this:
your neighbor refuses to put their cat inside. you may very well not be
able to change that. As unpopular an idea it may be, you could always opt
to take down your feeders. We all know the birds dont NEED to be fed. We
enjoy seeing them, but we arent performing a civic duty for them. With the
knowledge of the existence of a local threat to the birds at YOUR feeder,
you might consider removing the feeders. Its providing a drive thru for the
neighbors cat, and ultimately only a luxury for yourself. I know its
probably not your favorite option, but if your ultimate concern is in fact
the birds and their safety, wouldnt it stand to reason you'd take them down
for their own safety? What other reason to leave them up than your own
enjoyment?
This could very well make an impact on your neighbors when they see what an
affect their flea bag has on your day to day life. Knowing humans, maybe
not, but it would lower the number of fatalities... Just food for thought...
Better birdwatching comes from adventuring anyways. I know many people on
the mailing list have limited mobility, but when I see William Fox, camera
lens a-blazing, at dutch gap in his car with the hazards on, it inspires
the hell out of me. Its still an option for those who cant hike like they
used to.
- David
On Jan 22, 2018 8:04 PM, "Malinda Wetsel" <mjwetsel@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Window strikes actually kill more birds than cats. American Bird
Conservancy has a good brochure (available at BirdWatchers in the Hancock
Village) about keeping cats indoors to leave in your neighbors mail slot to
help educate them. In order to get people to change, concerning their
thinking on cats indoors, you must also offer them helpful information on
how to make an outdoor cat an indoor cat. There' is also the issue of
people moving and just discarding their pet as if it were trash- thus your
feral cat populations.
Be proactive and offer your whole neighborhood, your co-workers, your home
owners association and anyone and everyone that you can reach locally-
positive information- education is the key.
The following link is a good article by Sibley: http://www.
sibleyguides.com/conservation/causes-of-bird-mortality/
<http://www.sibleyguides.com/conservation/causes-of-bird-mortality/>
This link concerns the leading cause of bird mortality: https://www.
allaboutbirds.org/why-birds-hit-windows-and-how-you-can-help-prevent-it/
Making your outside cat an indoor cat: http://www.humanesociety.org/
animals/cats/tips/bringing_outside_cat_indoors.html?
credit=web?referrer=https://www.google.com/
On Mon, Jan 22, 2018 at 3:38 PM, James Blowers <jimvb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Today I had three cats come onto my property. They are a threat to the
birds near our bird feeder, and we have actually seen a cat catch a bird
once. I have sent messages on Facebook about keeping cats indoors, but
instead of controlling their pets I get remarks like this one “There is
nothing to be done about cats. There are no county laws to prohibit them
from roaming. And cats chasing birds is just nature as it is designed to
work.”
No it is not as nature designed it. Cats are not native here. What do we
do about neighbors like this one?
Jim Blowers
