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Local Talkback
Talkback is for the residents and businesses in Liphook to voice their views and opinions about local issues and events.

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Pair of thrushes, that was...
- Mary (25th May 2015 - 09:12:11)

I've been celebrating the fact that this is the first year I have seen a pair of thrushes around my bird feeder, taking seed to help feed their young. So beautiful.

As I watched one foraging this morning, a sudden movement in the bushes and a ferocious looking cat pounced and seized the thrust and was gone.

This cat, black with a white bib, I believe comes from somewhere in the few houses along the Portsmouth Road, after Station Road, going out of the village. I know that someone along there has several cats.

I know the cat fraternity will be up in arms, but is there not room to compromise? Could cat owners just keep their cats indoors until the morning feeding frenzy is over, when birds and young birds are just out in force feeding their hunger pangs after sleep?

55 million birds are killed by cats every year. They can't all be starving. Can't we make a start in Liphook and see if our small village could be below the national average?

Re: Pair of thrushes, that was...
- Keith (25th May 2015 - 10:34:32)

Mary

While it is sad to witness a cat catching a bird, it is just nature taking its course.

According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB):-

"Despite the large numbers of birds killed, there is no scientific evidence that predation by cats in gardens is having any impact on bird populations UK-wide. This may be surprising, but many millions of birds die naturally every year, mainly through starvation, disease, or other forms of predation. There is evidence that cats tend to take weak or sickly birds."

Re: Pair of thrushes, that was...
- Ian (25th May 2015 - 11:05:52)

What a silly post. I'm afraid nature is not controlled by Disney sentimentality, birds kill insects, cats kill birds... etc.

Re: Pair of thrushes, that was...
- Freya (25th May 2015 - 11:43:02)

Cats can do what they like when they like by law. Unlike any other animals


www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforwildlife/advice/...

Re: Pair of thrushes, that was...
- Mary (25th May 2015 - 18:26:52)

The RSPB website quotes the 55 million songbirds killed by cats in the UK every year, I didn't pluck the figure out of the air. And there was nothing sickly about my poor mother thrush, gathering food to feed a nest of babies that will now probably die.

A plea to cat owners to keep them indoors during the early morning is not unreasonable.

In the wild, many animals are predators, killing for food. That is understandable. I am talking about other peoples domestic pets roaming my garden to kill the songbirds I enjoy. If dogs were allowed the same licence that cat owners are, you would all be up in arms. Dangerous dog roaming the park, how terrible.

If those same dogs were allowed to catch cats, now then we might see a very different reaction.

Maybe I should try to train the local fox...

Re: Pair of thrushes, that was...
- Suzanne (25th May 2015 - 20:12:21)

I am with you Mary, but I think it would be difficult for people to keep their cats in until the birds have eaten as most people go to work. Can you perhaps move the bird feeder away from the hedge?

Re: Pair of thrushes, that was...
- Dee K (25th May 2015 - 22:08:03)

Mary, l too have had enough of cats roaming my garden. we have bird boxes around the garden most of which are occupied this year. We have a cat which visits !!! who not content with hiding in my flowerbeds ready to pounce decided to climb on the roof to attack the starlings which are nesting in a gutter. Glad to say it didn't succeed this time.

Re: Pair of thrushes, that was...
- S (26th May 2015 - 01:44:53)

Cats hunt nesting songbirds, no one can really argue with that.

But no amount of ranting on here is going to solve this problem. It is not an easy solution to keep cats in the house during the early hours, it is simply not practical.

The RSPB also says "cats are unlikely to have a major impact on populations", so you are rather selectively choosing your quotes from that article.

It is unfortunate for 'your' thrush that a cat got it. I do sympathise as I am also a fan of songbirds and it is great to have them nesting in your garden.

But let's please not turn this into 'pitchforks at dawn' against the local cats. They are doing what they are programmed to do, and while you enjoy your thrushes, equally cat owners love and cherish their cats as family members.

What is scary about these anti-cat attitudes is that too often stories arise in the newspaper about neighbours who have taken things a step too far and harmed or killed neighbourhood cats for the cause of saving the birds, or the flowerbeds.

Obviously I do not suggest that you would take such measures, but I just hope this discussion can continue with some empathy in mind, and that we can remember that cats are not cold-blooded killers out to ruin your garden and decimate local wildlife. They are beloved pets whose welfare is very important to one of your neighbours, and at this time of year they are unfortunately victims of their instincts.

It is not nice to witness a cat hunting in your garden but unfortunately that's life, and you must try to remember that many of the young birds killed by cats would meet their fate before fledging by some other means anyway, whether through bad weather, predation by magpies, disease or starvation.

Perhaps a better plea would be for cat owners to ensure their cat is neutered and reduce the number of unwanted kittens to grow up and catch more birds in the future.

Re: Pair of thrushes, that was...
- tony (26th May 2015 - 09:26:29)

I think Mary's plea for responsible cat owners to keep their cats indoors during the early morning was a reasonable one. Hopefully a lot of people would be able to do that.

The cat population is really an artificial one as so many people keep them as pampered pets, their population has exploded and whilst they're lovely, they are also highly evolved precision killers.

Another responsible step that used to be common, but has gone out of fashion is to put a little bell around their neck, then your cutie little ball of fluff can't sneak up on the songbirds and tear them to pieces, without giving them a fair chance!

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