Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: Patricia Preece on June 03, 2011, 08:13:50 AM
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Hello everyone, I have recently joined and I am hoping to find out more about cats. In particular, I want to hear the common sense behaviour of cat owners who are not as blinded by the cuteness of the loveable furry monsters as I am.
Recently, my cat has taken to catching rabbits, dragging them through the catflap and leaving them de-capitated for me to find in the morning. Yesterday, I trod on the remains of one without slippers (the horror).
I have been advised by the vet that putting a bell on his collar will make little difference since cats learn to hunt without making the bell ring. However, I feel that it is my duty to the bunny community to do something.
What do you reckon? Should I put a bell on my cat's collar to save the rabbits?
regards
P
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It's worth a go - but do make sure they are the safety collars with the break-away. you know , the ones that the cats lose in about 10 minutes......................... :evillaugh: ;)
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You can try if it makes you feel better, however, it makes no difference to my Chilli's bird catching ways, don't even know why I bother putting a collar on her! Everyone knows who she is and she's so stealthy I don't often hear her coming either so totally pointless all round :evillaugh:
Best thing you can do is keep him in overnight, particularly at dusk and dawn as this is when they are their most prolific. Doing this has cut down Chilli's kills considerably, we'll gloss over the two little birds she left for me in the bedroom the other day..................
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Hi I have to agree that there is no point putting a collar with a bell on your cat, the kitchen from a couple of doors down from us manages to sneek up on me without me hearing her and she has got a double bell on her collar.
They are hunters
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Many thanks for your replies.
I will be glad if I can spare Clawde the indignity of tinkling. He may look like a ridiculous fuzzball of a cat but I am sure he imagines he's a tiger.
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Agree with the others ;D
Am just moving this thread to the right place :evillaugh:
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Keep in at night and forget the bell
Our house can look like the killing fields due to my hunting ferals I often have 7 legged headless rabbits!!!! :rofl:
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:welcome:
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:welcome:
Agree with the others about the bell. Although my cats are indoor cats (so I am spared the joy of "presents" :innocent:), I think it must be really annoying for cats to have a bell tinkling in their ears all day. And like others have said, they soon learn to move without it making any noise.
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I agree about the bells -my Jack loves playing with things with bells on. The other day I put a collar on him just to see if he would be comfortable with it (he is a house cat and is never alone outside) and within seconds he was half-strangling himself trying to get at the bell. :scared: So we gave up on that one pretty quickly.
He sounds like a bull in a china shop anyway, however, and still managed to mangle our house mouse for me to find next to my bed one morning.
I wish you many rabbit-less mornings to come ;)
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I think the bell on the collar tactic works to a degree - but they'll still be wildlife casualties. Astryd has brought two birds in in two days.... :tired:
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Sorry I must have been thinking of two things at once, I have just read that I put kitchen instead of kitten, oh dear, hope all the advice works