Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi

I have just had a neighbour visit to complain about the effect one of our cats is having on the local bird and wildlife population. The trigger for him coming to see us was that he has just lost his 15 year old pond fish to the cat, and he is very and understandably upset. Yesterday, I spotted another neighbour and her kids looking for their guinea pigs the other day. I fear the cat has taken them. She eats everything she catches and can be absent from our home for days on end. It has been going on since we had her and let her out.

The cat, a small white and black female called Tinker, approx. 4 years old, was born in a garage rather than a home, and seems to be semi-feral, and undomesticated.

In short, we really think we need to rehome her to somewhere where her predatory instincts might be more appreciated. She is a family pet, and we are responsible owners, but I think our responsibility is to rehome her. We can't just keep her in.

We live in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Any advice please would be very much appreciated.

Andy

Hi Andy, I am involved in cat rescue and we re home a lot of feral cats to farms and stables and they love good hunters but it really depends how domesticated your cat is as to whether it would be fair....
If she is in by the radiator when it's cold then an outdoor home wouldn't be the best setting for her.
However if she is away for days at a time all weathers then she may be be happier in a more rural setting.
If you are on Facebook there is a page called Ferals and farm cats UK that finds area suitable placements and as a rescue we also use Facebook to advertise on local equine pages for stable type homes.
You would need to make sure she was kept shut in a secure stable or dog crate in a stable for the first 2-3 weeks tho.
Good luck.

I agree with the previous comment that if she is in by the radiator when it's cold, then an outdoor home wouldn't be the best setting for her.

Most cats have the hunting instinct. We adopted 2 kittens. By the age of 6 months, one had decided that she preferred home comforts and the other had turned into a hunter/killer. She would have been out 24 hours a day if we allowed it, but we brought her in at night for her own safety. She loved watching the fish in next door's pond but never got one - we would have known because she brought all of her other kills (birds and mice) into the house. We saw herons steal the fish though, so our neighbours eventually covered their pond with netting to prevent that.

Did your neighbour see your cat steal the fish or is he assuming she did?

Also a collar with a bell, or even two would give a lot of the birds a chance and at least show your neighbours that you are trying to do something, even in the short term?