I have a skillion roof that my study overlooks. Spotted doves and crested pigeons feed off the seeds that drop onto it from the surrounding trees.
I had a hawk take one once, and figured that was nature. But the neighbour's cats regularly get one. Any suggestions on deterring them? Most commercial systems seem designed to operate at ground level. The cats jump from their hot water tank onto my high fence then into a tree and up onto the roof.
I am a cat lover so Im not going to promote anything that harms cats.
However being on a roof, its hard to deter them. They are excellent jumpers as you'd know and you cant exactly fence of a roof.
Just have to hope they catch the feral birds and leave the natives alone!
If they are using the fence to jump and there is no other way they can jump besides using the fence, can you not block the fence somehow? Eg put something on top of the fence which the cats can not grip on.
Perhaps rather than trying to fence off an area, you need to train these cats in knowing that your roof is a no-go area! Perhaps a water-squirter that will reach them will tell them that if they are going to climb your roof, they'll get wet, as most cats don't like water when it's given to them that way. It's a method often used in training young cats not to jump up onto tables or kitchen benches, as you don't want them in amongst the food!
Hope this will do. I'm no cat lover and if I can any feral cat that I can lay my paws on gets a swim in the dam. However, for those many people surrounded by selfish louts that refuse to use catteries (humane and stimulating cat enclosures)or even basic desexing you might try the following.
Our chook run is surrounded by a fence that has proven to be cat and fox proof for years (15 years for foxes, 3 years since modification for cats). It is 2 metres high and topped by about 30cm of stiff (pardon the brand name) Waratah chicken mesh cut to curve slightly out, floppy to climb but springing back when loose. Cheap chook wire is a real flop and cats readily get past it. The base has an apron of wire extending 1 metre along the ground. The grass grows through this making it impenetrable to anything (so far), just watch the mower height. Avoid overhanging trees that come within 1.5 metres of the fence: taller is OK as is shorter or further.
In your roof situation, try fixing such a springy/floppy guard between guttering and corrugated iron. May not be beautiful but I think it will be effective and still let the birds sun and feed. Of course if you want to spend more, use a proper electric fence, many designs being available online. The kids will never get their soccer balls back.
Greetings from the northern Southern Tablelands of NSW
poephila - you're not a cat lover so what do you do, drown them in a dam? Do you gain pleasure from seeing an animal suffer? Why do you hate a cat just because it is behaving in the way nature intended? Is it the cats fault that it is a hunter and birds are its prey? Did the cat asked to be introduced into this country?
It is the fault of people, NOT the cat. I absolutely detest anyone who tortures, abuses or kills an animal because they 'dont like' that particular species. Despicable and inexcusable.
Now, as for traps.
You can buy humane traps from farm supply shops etc.
Most cats are pretty savvy to them though so you need good disguise.
Just dont bother setting a trap unless you are going to treat the animal in a humane manner.
Animals dont make othee animals suffer for pleasure or opinions, it is for survival.
And yes if a cat is going to catch anything I'd rather it be an indian myna than a honey eater. Preferably they dont catch anything at all but let's be realistic.
Oh and I dont hate feral birds nor do I hurt or drown them.
You've completely turned my post around.
Cheers
We humans don't have a particularly good record when it comes to rational thought and the land. While I regard cats as a major pest species with terrible effects on wildlife I am no sadist. I dislike having to kill anything, but do so on occasion.
I admire wild cats in their native habitats, where they run the risk of being devoured by other larger carnivores and live amongst prey animals that have evolved to handle them, so are seldom annihilated. Australia is no such place. our native predators, such as quolls, were bloodthirsty enough and efficient predators, but no match for cats and foxes. Every 10 years or so in a 150 kilometre radius from here, someone reports a spotted-tailed quoll. Maybe they will hang on, but their prospects are not great.
You can pretend to have ethics about wildlife and cruelty, but as you live you cannot help your footprints crushing some life out of the ground. Yes people introduced cats. Should they be punished? Lobby to get our laws changed and find resources to police them. Poor cats. No it is not their fault. Nor is it the fault of hundreds of bird species, little lizards, baby snakes, tortoises, marsupial mice, possums and even young wallabies that cats play with them then kill them, often not even for food. Poor cats, if only they were human we could re-condition them to make them socially and ecologically acceptable. But they're not. We haven't even managed that for humans. They do a great deal of harm to our remaining wildlife (both cats and humans).
So, should we ignore this problem? I can't take on a cat crusade. Maybe you can. But I can try to deal with the problem as I can, when and where I can, with the limited resources available to me. But it is hard. Especially when the sole condition for land ownership and management is bank credit. As a result people from urban blocks move onto 10 hectares thinking they have boundless freedom for their pets. Around me even now I have neighbours that release their cats onto their farms and into the bush, refusing to desex them (too much bother and expense). Their kittens get disease, killed by other predators (including other cats) and the toughest survive to prey on the wildlife that even in this relatively remote rural/bushland area is in decline.
What are our options? Prevention is best, but the cat lobby is fierce enough to ensure the active disinterest of any government, Federal, State and especially Local. Educating my neighbours is an option but their perceived emotional needs to play with purring kittens outweighs my most diplomatic efforts. Most of my neighbours, fortunately, don't keep cats but the two who do feel no guilt in their pets' unrestrained access to our land and wildlife.
How vegetarianism got into this argument is beyond me but, if you've ever really surveyed land managed by people check the wildlife. Clearly natural bushland contains a greater diversity of native species (depending on many factors). Grazed country where tree and shrub cover is maintained with patches of native vegetation remaining is also reasonably rich in native animals. But commercial crops are generally managed in a far less wildlife friendly manner, using a range of chemicals and bird deterrents. Of course larger mammals are often out of the question in such areas. Apart from the farmer with his shotgun aiming at cockatiels, I hope you are prepared to spend time and energy trying to convince the many gun owners around that killing ducks, quail, kangaroos (etc.) for fun or because they are perceived to be vermin is really not a good idea. Then deal with the city blokes who visit their country mates and shoot willie wagtails because the kangaroos were smarter than them.
In this forum I have (apparently falsely on occasion) supposed that the major interest of participants is the observation and conservation of native birdlife. Cats are a problem that needs recognition in a level-headed way, with appropriate responses and management.
Greetings from the northern Southern Tablelands of NSW
Oh, and PM6, cat traps are commonly available in my part of the world. You can get them from produce stores, rural lands protection outlets, the RSPCA and (usually expensively) from a range of other commercial retailers, many of which advertise on-line. If you live close enough to an RSPCA collection area you can deliver the animal for euthanasia (if they have the resources these days). Many vets will do the same.
Greetings from the northern Southern Tablelands of NSW
Thank you for your intelligent response poephila.
You are right on the money.
Cats DO need to be controlled, but drowning or otherwise torturing cats (or any other animals) that are trapped is unacceptable, not to mention illegal.
It's not rocket science - set a trap, take the cat in trap to RSPCA or other shelter. If no microchip is present the cat will likely be humanely euthanased. Unfortunate outcome for an innocent animal but it can mean the difference between those rare nestlings surviving or those native baby mammals having a chance.
The key word here is HUMANE.
If you are not capable of treating an animal, ANY ANIMAL, with the respect it deserves as a living being, then leave the trapping to someone else. Unfortunately it seems there are just too many people with personal agendas out there who give little thought to the feelings of other living things.
ScareCrow Sprinklers keep animals out of your garden and out of the yard. The patented Scarecrow Sprinkler is the smartest scarecrow ever invented. When it sees an intruder it instantly releases full hose water pressure towards the trespasser. The effect is both startling and immediate! It detects animals as small as rabbits and cats. Uses only about 2 cups of water per deterrence. Runs for months and "fires" 1000's of times on only one 9 volt battery. Environmentally friendly.
The Scarecrow senses animals the same way security lights detect people; movement and heat. When an animal is seen, a valve opens instantly releasing a three-second pulsating spray of water.
It is effective on Deer, Dogs, Cats, Rabbits, Raccoons, Squirrels and Birds! The combination of the sudden noise, movement, and water frighten animals away. This startling, yet harmless action is a remarkably effective deterrent.
You can stick it in the ground or mount it on a wall or FENCE...this will keep the cat off of roof tops!
I would put a link, but it wouldn't let me. I'm sure if you google it, you will find it.
wont it also scare the birds off :p
Wow, that caused a stir, Marj!
Not much use for roofs etc. but the simplest solution is the cat's old adversary the dog. We have cat owners on both sides. Prior to the arrival of our large pooch we would have regular feline visitors. My wife found the carcasses of 8 or 9 white plumed honeyeaters under one of our Robin Gordons, where one of the neighbours cats lay in wait for unsuspecting birds. Cats are smart, when they know a dog is around they don't come in, or are unceremoniously removed by the big girl usually to the accompaniment of a banging of tin as they go over the fence. Funnily enough birds don't see dogs as a threat.
Regards,
bushie.
I had major problems with cats when I first moved into my present house. There were several of them that would lay in wait once they found out that we fed the birds in the morning and had water around for them all day. I developed a strategy of running straight at the cats screaming like a banshee with my arms raised. I swear I have seen cats go white. I got so good at it I nearly caught a couple of them. Don't know what I would have done if I had. Not much I suspect.
That worked to a point as the neighbourhood felines became a nervous lot who would disappear if they sighted me anywhere. But we solved the problem once and for all when I letter boxed my street and a couple of adjacent streets letting people know that I had a humane cat trap and would take their moggies to the RSPCA if I caught them. I made a point of discussing the matter with my near cat-owning neighbours as well. All bar one were in the habit of allowing their cats to roam at night--it's natural, they said--and as we abut a nature reserve, what their darling little loves were doing at night doesn't bear description.
After a couple of trips to the RSPCA we had no more problems with cats. The neighbours keep them inside at night and, as they still speak to me, I guess they saw the justice in what I did.
I have a cat myself, and regularly rescue little lizards etc from her. But you may be interested to know that the fiercest deterrent in our neighbourhood for the cats is the Noisy Miner itself!! They actively harrass the cat until she comes inside. Our neighbour's cat comes literally running from over the road ( we live in a semi bush area in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast and have hundreds of birds as our neighbours)and I can hear his bell (barely) above the sqwarking of the noisy miners! Even if my cat sits inside at the window , they get in the tree outside and carry on at her. I think it's hilarious that the birds win the battle every time. Plus we have lots of really tall trees and they and get up high and safely out of the way.
She is learning to be an indoors cat for a lot of the time.
I would agree too, that when our dog was alive there wasn't a cat in sight in our last garden. All the neighbourhood birds felt safe in our garden.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I got Two cattle dogs.
They are really friendly. To the birds, well normally they just ingored, The birds.
By doing so the birds normally Fly in own yard newly all the time.
I don't know what it is. But it is just like the birds feel, that as long as there are dogs in the yard they are safe from the cats.
We have a bit of a nature strip at the back of my house.
It there so the fire trucks can get to the back of the yard.
I sometime let my chooks run around the strip. You get days where some time the Rosella will go down and join them to eat the grass seeds. They must think they be safe around the biggers birds (chooks). Beside the fact the chooks are whipps.
And will practily run away from anything.
Hmm, the simple spray em with water seems to work with me.
We have three cats and we love them. But in shifting to a new home recently we found that a neighbour's cat has been hounding and attacking them in the daytime, and walking on our roof at night yowling (even though there is supposed to be a cat curfew - our cats are kept inside) and so on.
I spoke to the local vet to find out if there was anything we could do and she advised using a citrus spray. I told her we had a grapefruit tree and she told me that was the best fruit to use. I've cut several in half, squeezed them and mixed with water (50/50) to make the spray and I spray where I know this cat has been hanging around. I've left the carcasses of the grapefruit along the fenceline of where the cat comes from and also at entry points under our house.
I've not seen it much for a few weeks now. Probably only once or twice - it seems to come in at the top of the garden by the road now. The grapefruit seems to be working - it keeps our cats in our boundary and the other ones out. They don't like walking over it or around it, or anywhere near.
Perhaps putting some of this in the areas you want to deter them will help?
As for birds in our own area - they are mostly large, kookaburras, rosellas, etc and the cats don't seem to bother them.
Kathiemt
Selby, Victoria
Hi Marj, do you get on well with the neighbours? if so it might be worth a visit for a diplomatic chat, they may not even be aware thier cat is doing this, with luck they might be as horrified as you that it is stalking and catching birds.
A cat collar with bells works a treat and for the clever moggies that manage to stalk and keep the bell still and quiet, extra bells (cheap from pet shop) can be sown around the collar. A neighbours cat has the record of six bells sewn on to the collar, works a treat for alerting the birds (and the dogs!) though once it is safely indoors at night they take it off or they can't sleep!
I have also seen a sort of 'bib' device that stops the cat from the pounce that catches it's prey, saw it at the vets, I can't comment on the effectiveness of this though as I don't know anyone who has used one.
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best
i breed birds for a hobby and have a problem with a stray cat sitting on top of my aviaries and trying to catch them for fun some of my birds are worth several thousands of dollars and cant afford to lose one to this cat i have set up traps to catch it but have failed my next step is to kill it by any means possible as i have lost birds to cats before and wont let it happen again i have a can of petrol just waiting for this cat once i catch it i am going to burn it
OMG! Why does the very mention of the word "cat" seem to bring out the very worst in people?
I am pretty sure that Marj would be horrified by your last comment.
You obviously care for your caged birds, let's just leave it at that.
Personally I would prefer to watch a plain old sparrow free to fly wherever it wants, rather than a rare bird in a cage, anytime.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Yes, I was Birdie
I just hoped the comment was deliberate exaggeration. There are many humane ways to deter cats - as this discussion has shown.
I rigged up a sprinkler that came on at regular brief intervals - the birds seemed to like it too.
The cat's owners and their cats have moved away. My new neighbour though likes to feed Indian Mynahs with food scraps on the nature strip. Life is never simple.
Yes, I was Birdie
I just hoped the comment was deliberate exaggeration. There are many humane ways to deter cats - as this discussion has shown.
I rigged up a sprinkler that came on at regular brief intervals - the birds seemed to like it too.
The cat's owners and their cats have moved away. My new neighbour though likes to feed Indian Mynahs with food scraps on the nature strip. Life is never simple.
Yes you are so right Marj about life. Feeding Indian Mynahs ... not good !
Glad you got around the problem with the cats. I have to admiot that I have two cats around my place, one of them mine. I just keep them well fed and under surveillance as much as possible. Still, as I said before, the birds seem to have it all over them here thank goodness. We don't have a lot of short shrubby type vegetation in our garden and hence the lack of small birds but at least I know that usually the rest of them are too far out of reach for the cats to do much harm to.
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Crikey, I must agree with you Birdie with the fact that 'cats' seemingly bring out the worst in people. My own idea but it thought maybe rigging up 2 cages with one for the birds and one a metre out to stop the cats getting anywhere near the birds. Must also agree with you birdie on seeing a sparrow fly free then a rare bird in a cage, whenenever i\I see birds in a cage I just feel like freeing them, but of course there would be no point because they would just get themselves killed... Luckily our next door neighbours appear to have the right ideas with cats, both of them they own have bells and so far I've only ever found one dead bird (Turtle Spotted Dove) in our backyard. However my trip down south really did open my eyes about the damage cats (or maybe foxes?) do when I went to an island where the whole area was literally full with short-tailed shearwater 'nest holes', unfortunately several of these had dead short tailed shearwaters out the front of them, I don't understand animals sometimes, why kill something if you're not going to eat it?
Ah ... you may well ask that question Amateur, but maybe we should look at our fellow man and ask him?
cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland