Did my cat just killed a bird?

Yesterday, my female cat Shiva caught a bird as I was walking outside the
house. She got excited when she saw me and came over quickly to do her
offering. She put it down in front of me and it was uninjured enough that
it managed to fly away immediately. I was relieved. It was only because
she didnt have time enough to play with it that the bird got out of it. My
male cat, Chaka, has never ever did any offerings in all his 13 years. He
even runs away with his prey to make sure he keeps it for himself.

Offering depends on the cat personality. I would tend to think that
females do it more, because they have the mother instinct. I can't know
that for sure though.


Elaine


--
My cats:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid906206
Article français sur le dégriffage
http://chakashiva.tripod.com/degriffage.index.htm



"Kuisse0002" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
I cannot believe it but I think my cat killed a bird. She sleeps 23 and a
half
hours a day and spends the rest of the time eating and sitting like a
spinx
before sleeping again. This morning was as per normal but I noticed a
sorta
dead bird about two feet away from her favorite sleeping spot on the
flower bed
and bird feathers all over her sleeping spot. Could she have killed the
bird?
But she did not bring it up to me as an "offering" which birds usually do
for
their owners. I had to pick up the dead bird and put it in the trash.
Yucks to
think that I would cuddle her and nuzzle up to her face, etc.

The crows usually scavenge very quickly what is lying around dead.

Elaine

"MacCandace" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
Or it could have died of an illness. Not too long ago I remember
reading a news article telling people to report to the "authorities"
if dead birds were found. I cannot remember the details (sorry), but
it was regarding a virus moving west.

Wet Nile Virus, pretty much over most of the U.S. now, including most
western
states. If the bird had feathers all around it, though, it sounds like it
was
killed. You can usually tell the difference between a bird that just
dropped
dead and a bird killed by a cat. Personally, I wonder why we don't see
more
dead birds laying around. There are zillions of birds and they only live
a
year or 2 naturally, so where are their bodies? In rural areas, I suppose
predators get them but in big cities, etc., I don't know where they go. I
seldom see a dead bird in my neighborhood but there a ton of living ones.
I
don't think cats generally eat an animal that has died of natural causes
and we
don't have any natural predators in our neighborhood.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye
other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

The crows usually scavenge very quickly what is lying around dead.

Elaine

"MacCandace" a écrit dans le message de news:
...
Or it could have died of an illness. Not too long ago I remember
reading a news article telling people to report to the "authorities"
if dead birds were found. I cannot remember the details (sorry), but
it was regarding a virus moving west.

Wet Nile Virus, pretty much over most of the U.S. now, including most
western
states. If the bird had feathers all around it, though, it sounds like it
was
killed. You can usually tell the difference between a bird that just
dropped
dead and a bird killed by a cat. Personally, I wonder why we don't see
more
dead birds laying around. There are zillions of birds and they only live
a
year or 2 naturally, so where are their bodies? In rural areas, I suppose
predators get them but in big cities, etc., I don't know where they go. I
seldom see a dead bird in my neighborhood but there a ton of living ones.
I
don't think cats generally eat an animal that has died of natural causes
and we
don't have any natural predators in our neighborhood.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye
other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

"Cathy Friedmann" a écrit dans le message de news:
...

"MacCandace" wrote in message
...
I'll bet you don't prowl around on roof tops too much. They probably
huddle down somewhere, not feeling well, and then die in place -- on the
aforementioned rooftops, on cornices, under overhangs, in the same kind
of places they'd nest.

Priscilla

Hmmm, well, I suppose there are some up there but a lot of birds nest in
trees
so they oughtta drop outta them if they die in them. Actually, here in
AZ,
we're up on our roof fairly often as the a/c, the evaporative cooler,
and
the
furnace are up there (common here for some reason) and we've never seen
any.
I've seen a couple of dead ones in my yard that appeared to die of
natural
causes. One day, a few minutes after I came home from work, there was a
dead
flicker in my driveway. He hadn't been there when I came home. My
neighbor
said she had heard him singing up in the tree earlier that day and he
was
right
under "his" tree so I guess he probably was fortunate enough to just
drop
dead
suddenly. We should all be so lucky.

I see your point, Priscilla, but the sheer quantity of birds would seem
to
indicate there should be more dead ones laying around. IMHO, anyway.

Never thought about it much, except on the rare occasion when I've seen
one.
Do crows eat dead birds, besides other carrion? We have a large crow
population here (where I live) - they could explain part of the clean-up
if
they're not adverse to eating other expired birds. Otoh, what about dead
crows (besides those reported for WNV testing)? Where do they disappear
to?


Other crows. :-)


One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & there
was an obviously ill crow on back lawn, poor guy (or girl). He wandered
into the garden & I guess died in there someplace. 'Cause about an hour
later I heard a large amount of cawing that lasted perhaps 30 minutes -
lots
of other crows gathered in a sort of circle around the place I'd last seen
the sick one - I think they were holding a wake or funeral.

Cathy


A little sympathy before the feast.
:-)

"Cathy Friedmann" a écrit dans le message de news:
...

"MacCandace" wrote in message
...
I'll bet you don't prowl around on roof tops too much. They probably
huddle down somewhere, not feeling well, and then die in place -- on the
aforementioned rooftops, on cornices, under overhangs, in the same kind
of places they'd nest.

Priscilla

Hmmm, well, I suppose there are some up there but a lot of birds nest in
trees
so they oughtta drop outta them if they die in them. Actually, here in
AZ,
we're up on our roof fairly often as the a/c, the evaporative cooler,
and
the
furnace are up there (common here for some reason) and we've never seen
any.
I've seen a couple of dead ones in my yard that appeared to die of
natural
causes. One day, a few minutes after I came home from work, there was a
dead
flicker in my driveway. He hadn't been there when I came home. My
neighbor
said she had heard him singing up in the tree earlier that day and he
was
right
under "his" tree so I guess he probably was fortunate enough to just
drop
dead
suddenly. We should all be so lucky.

I see your point, Priscilla, but the sheer quantity of birds would seem
to
indicate there should be more dead ones laying around. IMHO, anyway.

Never thought about it much, except on the rare occasion when I've seen
one.
Do crows eat dead birds, besides other carrion? We have a large crow
population here (where I live) - they could explain part of the clean-up
if
they're not adverse to eating other expired birds. Otoh, what about dead
crows (besides those reported for WNV testing)? Where do they disappear
to?


Other crows. :-)


One died in my backyard a few of years ago. I came home form work & there
was an obviously ill crow on back lawn, poor guy (or girl). He wandered
into the garden & I guess died in there someplace. 'Cause about an hour
later I heard a large amount of cawing that lasted perhaps 30 minutes -
lots
of other crows gathered in a sort of circle around the place I'd last seen
the sick one - I think they were holding a wake or funeral.

Cathy


A little sympathy before the feast.
:-)

Cathy Friedmann wrote:

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...

In ,
Cathy Friedmann composed with style:


Then there was the crow who found a Styrofoam cup in a street & got
inside of it & rolled down the hill - the street was on a hill.
When other crows saw him/her doing that, they took turns - getting
into the cup & rolling down the hill & bringing the cup back up to
the top of the hill again to repeat the process - just having fun,
I guess.


Funny!! I've observed birds quite a bit (hope to soon again, once
the strays are all adopted) and they *are* smart. I love bluejays.
My dad calls them trashcans with wings but I like them.


Oh, I like Bluejays, too. Besides their good looks - pretty spots of color
in nature, when they yell their heads off because of potential danger, I
figure they're acting as warning systems for all of the other birds in the
immediate locale, too. Supposedly (I've read) they 'take over' feeders, but
I've not seen that happen. They take turns w/ the finches, chickadees,
whoever else happens to be around.

Same here. I have lots of different birds at my feeders. I've found the
jays like the squirrel feed I put down, so maybe they're duking it out
with the squirrels and leaving the finches alone.

K


Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

Cathy Friedmann wrote:

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...

In ,
Cathy Friedmann composed with style:


Then there was the crow who found a Styrofoam cup in a street & got
inside of it & rolled down the hill - the street was on a hill.
When other crows saw him/her doing that, they took turns - getting
into the cup & rolling down the hill & bringing the cup back up to
the top of the hill again to repeat the process - just having fun,
I guess.


Funny!! I've observed birds quite a bit (hope to soon again, once
the strays are all adopted) and they *are* smart. I love bluejays.
My dad calls them trashcans with wings but I like them.


Oh, I like Bluejays, too. Besides their good looks - pretty spots of color
in nature, when they yell their heads off because of potential danger, I
figure they're acting as warning systems for all of the other birds in the
immediate locale, too. Supposedly (I've read) they 'take over' feeders, but
I've not seen that happen. They take turns w/ the finches, chickadees,
whoever else happens to be around.

Same here. I have lots of different birds at my feeders. I've found the
jays like the squirrel feed I put down, so maybe they're duking it out
with the squirrels and leaving the finches alone.

K


Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

If you're in an urban area, the local carrion/disposers of the dead
are likely -- rats. Yes, it's yucky.

Kate
sitting with her cat Baku on her lap while Baku nurses her armpit

If you're in an urban area, the local carrion/disposers of the dead
are likely -- rats. Yes, it's yucky.

Kate
sitting with her cat Baku on her lap while Baku nurses her armpit

(Kuisse0002) wrote in message ...
I cannot believe it but I think my cat killed a bird. She sleeps 23 and a half
hours a day and spends the rest of the time eating and sitting like a spinx
before sleeping again.

So many dreams, so little time to eat and hunt.

This morning was as per normal but I noticed a sorta
dead bird about two feet away from her favorite sleeping spot on the flower bed
and bird feathers all over her sleeping spot. Could she have killed the bird?

With such evidence I think a jury would find her guilty, yes.

But she did not bring it up to me as an "offering" which birds usually do for
their owners.

That DOES constitute reasonable doubt. That and the fact that she had
so little time to commit the crime, what with all of her other
responsibilities such as sleeping, grooming, stretching and
defecating.

I had to pick up the dead bird and put it in the trash.

That was a trophy!