How to stop cats killing?

"Adam Helberg" wrote in message
k.net...

"Ellie Bentley" wrote in message
...
I know all cats have a deeply ingrained instinct to hunt. I don't mind
that. It's just the constant killing that I would rather have them
avoid. Birds, voles, mice, shrews, weasels, and rabbits: I find them
all waiting for me on the kitchen floor.


Mine killed sparrows, until I put a bell on him and it certainly helped.
Although you will hear that it does not work, it worked for my cat.

Adam

Yep, there's a real origin to the old saying 'bell the cat'. The sound
warns of the birds no matter how good a prowler he is.

I put a bell on my kitten just to keep track of her in the house - she was
SO disgusted with me - she couldn't seek up and pounce anymore. But it gave
me piece of mind, I least I knew she was just hiding and hadn't gotten
outside.

-- maryjane

Keep your cats indoors at all times. There should be no reason to even let
a cat outdoors unleashed.

Otherwise, you can expect the local rodent/bird population to be affected.
You're can't change a cat's killer instinct.


"Ellie Bentley" wrote in message
...
I know all cats have a deeply ingrained instinct to hunt. I don't mind
that. It's just the constant killing that I would rather have them
avoid. Birds, voles, mice, shrews, weasels, and rabbits: I find them
all waiting for me on the kitchen floor.

Any ideas on how to stop them actually killing? I wouldn't want to put
an end to their going outside and hunting. I'm thinking in terms of
some kind of muzzle or head-guard. Or maybe there's some other device?

Everyone of my cats have a loud bell on them with glow in the dark medals on
them so I can see the little devils at night and hear the furballs
I got two solid black cats, two tuxedoes cats, one gray cat
If I could figure out how to put a constant flashing bulb on them like the
planes have and they would not be hurt by it. I would do it in a heart beat

wrote in message
. net...
"Adam Helberg" wrote in message
k.net...

"Ellie Bentley" wrote in message
...
I know all cats have a deeply ingrained instinct to hunt. I don't mind
that. It's just the constant killing that I would rather have them
avoid. Birds, voles, mice, shrews, weasels, and rabbits: I find them
all waiting for me on the kitchen floor.


Mine killed sparrows, until I put a bell on him and it certainly helped.
Although you will hear that it does not work, it worked for my cat.

Adam

Yep, there's a real origin to the old saying 'bell the cat'. The sound
warns of the birds no matter how good a prowler he is.

I put a bell on my kitten just to keep track of her in the house - she was
SO disgusted with me - she couldn't seek up and pounce anymore. But it
gave me piece of mind, I least I knew she was just hiding and hadn't
gotten outside.

-- maryjane

Mike wrote:
Keep your cats indoors at all times. There should be no reason to even let
a cat outdoors unleashed.
You can't change a cat's killer instinct.

As you say, the cat has a hunter/killer instinct which can't be changed.
This instinct is given natural fulfillment when the cat is allowed to
roam free - like his ancestors. The joy my cats exhibit when we go
outside is amazing to see. When I let them out in the mornings we then
all walk half a mile through open fields to the letter-box. They bound
along in front of me as carefree as new-born lambs. And then they bound
back up through the fields with me before we go out separate ways for
three or four hours until I call them in for their main meal (just
before twilight, so they can't vex roosting birds). I couldn't possibly
deprive them of their natural pleasure.

Adam Helberg wrote:
Mine killed sparrows, until I put a bell on him and it certainly helped. Although you
will hear that it does not work, it worked for my cat.

It's a good idea, Adam. A year and a half ago I put a bell-collar on
each cat, just before letting them out. However, I still found them
playing with voles and birds until these creatures expired. So, I went
off to one of those craft shops and bought a packet of 10 bells and
added 5 more to each cat's collar, making 6 bells in total on each cat.
The biggest advantage of all these bells on their collars is that if the
cats are anywhere on the property I know where they are. When I call
them in for dinner, I can quickly tell which direction they are heading
from.

But as for stopping them from hunting and killing . . . they have learnt
to work with the handicap. I have seen them crouching for hours in
front of rabbit burrows, not moving a whisker, just waiting, until the
rabbit has fully emerged and then . . . bang! As the cats pounce on
their prize I think the jangling of all the bells just makes it all the
more bewildering for the poor bunny!

wrote:
Yep, there's a real origin to the old saying 'bell the cat'. The sound
warns of the birds no matter how good a prowler he is.

My two cats are the most intelligent I have ever owned. I managed to
teach one of them to pee and poo using on one of the two (human) toilets
in the house. The other one was too instinctual to learn how to use
the toilet, but that doesn't mean to say he isn't bright. He's
exceptional at doing what's natural to cats - while his brother can do a
number of "human" things.

They have both demonstrated the ability to learn how to work around
their six bells.

NO MORE RETAIL \ wrote:
Everyone of my cats have a loud bell on them with glow in the dark medals on
them so I can see the little devils at night and hear the furballs
I got two solid black cats, two tuxedoes cats, one gray cat
If I could figure out how to put a constant flashing bulb on them like the
planes have and they would not be hurt by it. I would do it in a heart beat

We're on the same wavelength. Last summer I took the cats on a walk up
into the hills behind my house, right up to the summit. There was a lot
of bracken up there - and full of rabbits. When it was time to return
home one of the cats wouldn't reappear so I went home with his brother.
I returned several hours later . . . and boy was he pleased to see me
and come back home. To ensure this didn't happen again I bought a
couple of tiny cheap radio-controlled door-bells from Hong Kong. I hung
a chime from each cat's collar and put the two doorbells in my pocket
and off we went. The wayward one got carried away again when we got to
the summit and stayed put somewhere in the bracken - so I couldn't hear
is bells jangling. He could me calling, of course, but he was thinking,
"Oh, be quiet, don't you know this place if full of bunnies and I'm in
paradise!" I reached into my pocket pressed his doorbell button, his
chime sounded, and instantly knew where he was hiding. I strode through
the waist-high bracken for about 30 yards and there he was, crouched
beside a burrow.

I understand your thinking behind the flashing bulb!

mandyoo wrote:
You could try puting a bell on her collar.

Done that, see above - they have six bells each.

Ryan Robbins wrote:
Why not? You're begging for trouble when you let your cats outdoors to roam
around. Buy a harness and a leash and set aside a half hour each day to take
your cat out.

I used to live in a high-rise apartment in a city in the desert where
they were hundreds of stray and unwanted cats. I figured a life stuck
up in my apartment all day was better for my two cats than the life they
had been living down in the rubbish bins and alleyways. But now I live
in the middle of the countryside a long way from the nearest road and
surrounded by trees and streams and birds and many forms of wildlife.
The joy my two cats express when we go out in all this is wonderful to
behold. They run unfettered across fields - as swift as arrows and as
fast as any dogs. They are supremely healthy as a result of this, very
muscular - particularly in their hind legs.

We did the leash thing for an hour each day when they were kittens and
could easily have got lost and been unable to fen for themselves. I
should add that now they don't get into trouble themselves. They are
tough hardy cats when they are outside. The reason for my question is
that it would be better, I think, if there were some way to stop them
ruthlessly killing every living creature they can lay their paws on
while at the same time allowing them the joy of freedom in the wild
outdoors.

Anna via CatKB.com wrote:
You can also take them out yourself using a harness and leash or tie-out
(never tied up unattended though, too easy for dogs or other cats to get at
them).

The harness and leash aren't an option but I am concerned that any other
suggestion doesn't, as you say, pose a danger to them.