How to Stop Your Cat from Attacking Wild Birds

1.  Cats can be conditioned not to bother birds.  I moved into a country home where two cats were left by the previous owner.  Although the cats regularly caught mice, even a gopher once, they never bothered the birds.  As it had happened their previous owners kept doves in the house, chickens, and chicks outside.  So at some point the cats were taught not to bother birds.  This is best done when your cat is young and in your control, as when these people had doves in a cage, if the cat shows any attention to the birds it is met quickly with a squirt of water (from a squirt bottle) to the face (not directly in the eye) and you must stop squirting the cat as soon as it backs away from the birds.  Never chase them away additionally because they wil forget why you sprayed in the first place, and the point will be lost.

2.  Discourage birds from coming to your yard.  Many people have a bird bath, or bird feeder, attracting birds to their yard, even your plants could be bringing birds to your cats.  If you discourage them in your yard, you are not inviting them to be your cats next toy or meal.

3.  If you want to plant trees, plant evergreens.  Evergreens offer shelter for birds without giving the cats an easy way of getting to the birds.  If you have trees, this is the type they should be, fruit trees, alternatively, will especially attract birds, and therefore will attract cats. 

4.  Keep your cat indoors or build it an area covered in chicken wire, where it can go out, but the birds are protected.  Ideally this is the only way to guarantee safety of birds.

5.  If the neighbours cats are the problem, coming into your yard and attacking the birds, you can call your local pet shelter and determine if there are laws in your area regarding pets off their owners property.  In most cities any cat off its' owners property can be picked up and taken to the city pound or SPCA (what ever the animal shelter is in your area).  It is generally illegal to do anything else with these cats. 

6.  Adding a bell to the cats collar might help but probably will not, as cats can learn to move easily and keep the bell silent. 

7.  Realize that cats are cats, and this is their natural habit.  They are true carnivores, hunters of anything they think they can take down.  Human activities kill far more birds than cats do. 

Painting by Byeon Sangbyeok entitled "Cats and Sparrows".