Are you passionate about Cats and Birds?

Are you passionate about cats and birds? If so, this may leave you in something of a quandary when your cat kills a bird.

My name is Elizabeth and like many of you, I love cats! Like some of you, I also adore birds. Our feathered friends make my heart sing, each one with their distinctive character and song.

Early in life my companion cat was called Marmalade ~ a beautiful ginger tom. Latterly I have shared my home with two beautiful Burmese - Harry who was sadly killed on the road in 2012 and Harriet, my current companion, age three.

My sole purpose in setting up this website is to help those of us who cannot give up cats - their special and unique ways, their independence and the love they freely share - but who are afflicted by their maiming and killing of birds. If we are passionate about birds, every time our cat(s) kills or maims a bird we feel it deep within our hearts and the regret is palpable. So many times I have regretted that there seems no tangible means of making amends. Despite the very latest in bird collars which buzz and flash red, the bells –one,two,three! – still I am stuck not knowing what to do. Sometimes my heart is in my boots watching the relentless climbing by my cat of trees and bushes in the attempt to empty nests of young fledglings and on many occasions, it is sadly mission accomplished.

Many times people have voiced the same words to me, ‘You know it is in a cat’s nature to kill birds…’. Yes indeed that is true. The killing of birds by cats is not malicious in any shape or form, it is of course part of a cat’s natural instinct and therefore, in the great Chain of Nature, it has its place. These instincts are there for good reason – each creature being dependent on another. However, we know that we have interfered and therefore numbers are out of control having a knock on effect in the bird kingdom. There are 9.2 million cats in the UK – they are all gorgeous of course! However, when they are not neutered, the numbers get out of control and the poor things suffer from overcrowding which leads to all sorts of territory problems and overcrowding.

What can we do of practical help when our cats kills or maims a bird?

I suggest to you, my fellow cat and bird lovers, that when our beloved kills or maims a bird, that we make a donation to the BTO. Given that there are 9.2 million of us, if we each paid a minimum of £1, this would amount to a great deal of money that could be used to support birdlife in the UK, having knock on effects all round the world. Please start now by going to my Just Giving website where funds will be paid directly to the BTO.

Note: 99% of funds raised will go directly to the BTO with 1% covering running/administration/website maintenance costs.