Ideas to stop Meg hunting!!!

[funkiechicken]

i think its something you will always have at some point - but hopefully it will lessen with the 2 bells. None of my cats can have bells (my older one when he was here had no problem) but they go mental and start to do backflips 
Sadly i am a bit hardened to the murder scences that decorate my lawn - although I find it particularly upsetting if the prey is alive and try everything to save them. But if they're already gone i dont find it as distressing as i used to 
My boy has brought home some interesting things lately and has had me giggles (post pending lol)
MrsR has a point about the birds though. They work better in numbers and some birds are particularly vicious in protecting each other by swooping the cat.
I must say i am glad i dont have a cat flap as Peanut goes through phases and i know my house would be full of rodents and feathered creatures often several a night!!

I do hope your theory works!! wish mine would have a bell, but i find as they get older their constant supply of carcasses does diminish slightly!

[MrsR]

Try and get more birds into your garden. Sounds weird I know but the more birds the more eyes and warning to the birds. Since we actively attracted more birds out bird death toll has dropped to zero

[Tempest]

Thanks for the replies Yes both my two wear Ancol safety release collars and I'm with you JackSpratt - if I can give the wildlife a chance by them wearing bells then I think that's got to be worth a try?

Thankfully she's not brought anything in since I've put 2 bells on her collar but I'm not sure that will last........

[JackSpratt]

I will admit, if an animal looks to be either dead or "on their way out" I tend to leave the cat to it. Purely because it's past help. If it looks as though the animal can be saved, I'll try.

Sadly, it is instinct - cats are teeny predators, no matter how much we try and overlook that bit.

But I have collars with bells and safety releases on mine too. Doesn't hurt to give the prospective prey a chance if you can.

[Hippykitty]

She's a cat. Cats hunt.

I'm so sorry that her behaviour upsets you so much, but what can you expect? It's how she's programmed to survive, and the instinct remains even though she's being given lots of yummy food. My attitude is to let them get on with it.

If the bird/mouse is obviously shocked or wounded, there's nothing you can do but walk away and leave your cat to it; however, I have saved mice who seemed fine just after they were caught.
I've had cats who've ripped off feathers, scattering them around; and other cats who've just eaten the bird/whatever in a couple of bites: feathers, beak, everything, then, for the next few days acted like they've had a tonic, feeling very proud of themselves. This is easier for us to bear than the type who just play with the catch.

However they behave re hunting, it's my opinion that if you choose to live with a predator you accept all the "distasteful" behaviour that comes with your kitty; otherwise choose a rabbit.

I don't mean to seem harsh, just calling a spade a spade. I hate bells on cats. I hope the collar is snap-release. 

[Tempest]

Thanks for all the replies I found another spare collar that seemed to have a much louder bell on it than her existing one so I've put that bell on her collar too (she doesn't seem to be fussed by the bell noise thankfully).

I think at the moment there are lots of fledglings around which doesn't help as I think the bird she brought in yesterday wasn't fully able to fly yet.

She's such a tiny little girl and soooooooooo sweet it seems hard for me reconcile what a hunter she's becoming!!

[JackSpratt]

Sadly, I think the instinct is just stronger with some cats than others. No amount of bells seems to stop Darwin.

[Hippykitty]

You may just have to accept that cats are natural predators. They bring the catch home because they think you need to practise hunting. It's just a healthy part of being a cat.

I've known cats who've been made to wear bells and the poor cats have been neurotic. Imagine: everytime you move, you tinkle. One cat in particular who belonged to an acquaintance was positively potty but improved when the bell was removed from her collar.

I'm a big believer in allowing a cat to behave in a natural manner even though it may offend our sensibilities. I'm veggie, so imagine how I feel when my little carnivores bring home their treasures.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Its a cats natural way and dont think any number of bells will stop her sadly.

I have two successful hunters and one who is two next month who can catch flies and things but thinks if you stick out your front legs at front and back legs at back and do a bellyflop, that will work 

I wish he was that innocent in all other things 

[Tiggy's Mum]

I've heard of two bells being more effective than one, mainly because they can walk 'cleverly' with one bell to avoid it making a noise when they're stalking but it's much harder to do that with two bells!

[Tempest]

Now Meg kitten is nearly a year old she seems to have turned into a bit of a hunter  In the last 3 weeks she's brought in 3 birds and a mouse 

I've never ever owned a cat that has brought anything in before so it's all a bit of a shock!! Both her and Jasmine have bells on their collars and Jasmine has never caught anything to my knowledge.

I'm just wondering if there's anything else I can do to try and lessen her chances of catching wildlife? I'm wondering if there's a louder/better bell that I could get for her collar? She's really tiny still (about 3kg) so it can't be anything that's going to be too big for her collar as she still wears the tiny kitten ones. She's already kept in at night to lessen the risk but unfortunately that doesn't seem to stop her