Stop cat from hunting?

[NorthernStar]

So, my cat's about a year old now, male, and apparently he's an expert hunter. Even though we feed him plenty and make him wear a bell, his hunting instinct always gets the better of him. He catches an average of 2 birds a month, brings them home, drags them under the couch and plucks them. At least he has the courtesy to break their necks first, but, needless to say, as an animal lover, this is quite a jarring experience.

Keeping him inside is not an option, he's used to going outside and the shelter where we got him insisted that he should be able to go outside. We feed him enough and play with him.

Does anyone have any tips that can help me preserve the bird population or at least keep the casualties to a minimum? I know this is instinct and I'll have to live with the occasional prey, but I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with this matter. It's a great cat, so if I can't help it, so be it. I'm just getting sick and tired of lying on the floor and checking for feathers first before I can sit down on the couch

 

[Phasmal]

Does your cat have a scratching post, and things to climb on?

Also, I know you dont want to keep your cat in but keeping it in at night may put a big dent in how much he manages to actually catch. Also, you may want to get a collar with more than one bell on it, because some cats manage to learn how to keep the one bell quiet when they are chasing birds.

 

[NorthernStar]

Does your cat have a scratching post, and things to climb on?

Also, I know you dont want to keep your cat in but keeping it in at night may put a big dent in how much he manages to actually catch. Also, you may want to get a collar with more than one bell on it, because some cats manage to learn how to keep the one bell quiet when they are chasing birds.

He has a scratching post and regularly climbs on the furniture and high shelves

The thing is, though, I'm already keeping him in at night! We have an electronic cat door that closes automatically whenever it gets too dark, so he's always in at night.
I'll def try putting more bells on his collar, good tip, thanks!

 

[Your Fearless Captain]

Other then killing the cat of keeping him in you can't really stop him from hunting. You could try making the birds smarter if you have the time.

 

[Palfreyfish]

Does your cat have a scratching post, and things to climb on?

Also, I know you dont want to keep your cat in but keeping it in at night may put a big dent in how much he manages to actually catch. Also, you may want to get a collar with more than one bell on it, because some cats manage to learn how to keep the one bell quiet when they are chasing birds.

He has a scratching post and regularly climbs on the furniture and high shelves

The thing is, though, I'm already keeping him in at night! We have an electronic cat door that closes automatically whenever it gets too dark, so he's always in at night.
I'll def try putting more bells on his collar, good tip, thanks!

Yeah, more bells, and a collar that can't be easily removed.

 

[mad825]

Nuder him, de-claw and unsharpen his teeth....shameduser is right however putting a collar with a bell tends to make cats lousy hunters which they will find a way to remove anyway.

 

[requisitename]

Neutering him, if he's not already, may help some. But, cats are predators and birds and other small animals are their prey. It's the way the world works and you can't really change it.

One of my cats is a phenomenal hunter, when he gets outside (which is infrequent these days, I keep him in). He enjoys it and he gets to flex his muscles and natural instinct. I don't have a problem with it because it's the natural order of life.

 

[bluepilot]

Aww, your kitty loves you.

Nothing short of declawing will stop your kitty from killing, I guess you could try keeping him in more (as you mentioned kitty won't like that though).

There is the option of putting a collar and a bell on him, but if he is an active kitty then there is always the risk he could hang or choke himself.

I think that you have to accept your kitty. The good news is he will grow out of it in a few years. You cannot really punish animals for doing things that are in their nature (obvious exception being dogs), cats cannot really be trained either.

My kitty put a seagull in my bed.....yes my 1kilo 1 year old kitty managed to catch a great big seagull, I think the seagull must have been sick though.

 

[NorthernStar]

Hi guys! Thanks for all the replies.

My cat is forcing his way onto my lap as we speak ;-)

I have been taken it as a token of appreciation. His recent offerings include two legs from a mouse (yes, just the legs), another mouse and a tiny sparrow. If I'm home and I catch him coming in with something, I'll chase him out of the house again (he holds on to his prey so that solves the problem), but otherwise I've come to accept it as part of the deal.

I think I should just be grateful the animals are a) already dead and b) under the couch and not in my bed ;-)

Thanks again, all!

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

He is just trying to bring you presents because he cares about you. Your so insensitive!

Cats are meat eating predators and when you force them not to be that they can find substitutes. I would recommend a laser pointer or rc mice. You need to play with him more.

 

[NorthernStar]

He is just trying to bring you presents because he cares about you. Your so insensitive!

Cats are meat eating predators and when you force them not to be that they can find substitutes. I would recommend a laser pointer or rc mice. You need to play with him more.

Hehe, poor kitty has it hard with me not appreciating all the blood and gore in my house ;-)

Pretty sure the playing thing isn't the problem though. I could fool around with him all day and he'd still go out and hunt something. He's young, male and has a good instinct so he'll keep hunting no matter what I do. He has an abundance of toys, gets plenty of love and attention and still goes out to decrease the bird and mice population. Also: I live in a very rural area, so there's plenty of stuff for him to hunt.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

He is just trying to bring you presents because he cares about you. Your so insensitive!

Cats are meat eating predators and when you force them not to be that they can find substitutes. I would recommend a laser pointer or rc mice. You need to play with him more.

Hehe, poor kitty has it hard with me not appreciating all the blood and gore in my house ;-)

Pretty sure the playing thing isn't the problem though. I could fool around with him all day and he'd still go out and hunt something. He's young, male and has a good instinct so he'll keep hunting no matter what I do. He has an abundance of toys, gets plenty of love and attention and still goes out to decrease the bird and mice population. Also: I live in a very rural area, so there's plenty of stuff for him to hunt.

Being a fellow male myself I don't like recommending it, but neutering him will help some. He wont try to be such a BMOC kitty and the hunting levels should go down.

Captcha says "Dear Cookie"
Sounds like a really good children's book.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Just because the cat should be able to go outside does not mean that they should be able to roam free. There is nothing wrong with tying up your cat similar to the way people tie up dogs.

Doing this has the benefits of your cat not contributing to the decimation of certain songbird populations and your cat will probably live substantially longer, too. Plus, there is no risk of your neighbors getting pissed because your cat tore up their garden or pooped in their sandbox.

 

[NorthernStar]

Being a fellow male myself I don't like recommending it, but neutering him will help some. He wont try to be such a BMOC kitty and the hunting levels should go down.

Captcha says "Dear Cookie"
Sounds like a really good children's book.

He's already neutered Was neutered when we got him out of the animal shelter. So imagine how bad it'd be if he wasn't ;-)

@ohnoitsabear : You know, this kitty is so adventurous and loves getting about so much that I would do him a major disservice if I were to tie him up. Also; I think I'd have to have done that straight from the beginning. Doing it now, when he's used to getting about, would be kind of cruel, I think.

 

[BrassButtons]

Do you think his need to roam around outside would be satisfied if you were to take him for walks? If he needs to spend the majority of his day climbing trees and terrorizing the local wildlife then this probably won't work, but if one or two long walks a day are enough to satisfy him, then that may be a solution. Obviously this assumes that you have the time to devote to both the walks, and to training him to wear a harness and walk on a leash. But if so I think this could be worth trying out. Would keep the cat safer too--if he's only outside with supervision, then there's less chance of getting hit by a car or getting into fights with other animals.