I am so sad this morning.

[FairyMom]

Well, first thing this morning I get a call from my mom saying to come over when I get a chance cause she has a huge spider in her bedroom. She absolutely hates bugs of all kinds. So I get my son to school and finally get over there and she has allready dealt with the spider but as I pull up in the drive way she comes running out her front door like a bat is after her or something. She tells me to get inside one of her cats has a bird. So I hit to door running thinking its one of my moms pet birds. I finally found the cat under the table with a beautiful robin between its jaws. I was able to scare the cat off but it was too late for the robin. I sat there and held it for 2 minutes while it took its last breaths of life. She was such a big beautiful Robin.

I honestly have to say that I hate that cat of my moms. This isnt the first bird she has killed either. I know its in a cats nature to go after birds, but its not like this cat is starved, its fed twice a day canned food and dry food all day long. Why cant she just leave the birds alone. There was absolutely no way to help this bird. From what I could see the cat paralized it. the only thing moveing was its beak and chest as it breathed. And its eyes

I also am very upset with my mom. As much as she claims to love birds, and seeing as there was no blood(which makes mom squemish) she could have scared the cat off as soon as she saw what was going on. Instead she ran out the front door freaking out. I picked that sweetie up in a towel and took her outside and just held her to where she could see the sky. I pray only that she knew she was safe as she took her last breath and I hope she knew that I wouldnt let any more cats get her.

I know its probably silly to get so upset over a wild bird. But she was just so pretty and her eyes looked so wise.

Thanks for listening to me babbeling, I am going to go spend some time with my babies now.

[Kachina]

So sorry to hear about the robin. It would have broken my heart, too. Last year I went out of my way to try and catch a hummer with a broken beak to try and get it to a wildlife rehabber but no luck.

Unfortunately, well fed or not it is hardwired into cats to be hunters. I'll have to dig up the stats I found one day on how many creatures the average housecats kills for pleasure each year. It was enough to make me sick.

No offense to your mom, but the cat needs to be kept indoors. They have leash laws for dogs but I wish there'd be more of a push to do the same for cats. It frustrates me to no end to see our neighbor's cat hungrily eyeing my birdfeeders.

[dlaura]

I can only imagine how you feel. Prior to owning birds our cat used to kill birds now and then so I put a bell on her collar. Eventually the bell did fall off, but once we got birds as pets the cat no longer kills outdoor birds. Our cat was about 8 years old when we got our first bird so it amazes me that she has done this on her own. Would it be possible for you to put a collar with a bell on your mom's cat? That would help.

[Irish]

You can't fault a cat for being what it is--instincts will rule, even for a well-fed domesticated, spoiled cat. Don't hate it for being what God made it to be.... It has its place in the scheme of things, too, ya know :-).

I feel for you, though. I've tried rescuing enough small animals and birds from enough dogs and cats to know that saving the little ones is very difficult. Even if their injuries aren't all that bad, shock often takes them, anyway, or fear, or the stress of being held captive. The worst ones have been squirrels and baby crows that fell out of their nests and succumbed to predators on the ground. It always makes me cry. I'm sorry that you had to witness the death of a beautiful, wild soul. Try to put your mind and heart at rest, though. You did what you could for it, and hopefully brought comfort to its last moments. It was a kind and brave thing to do.

Peace be with you :-).

[FairyMom]

Originally Posted by Kachina

No offense to your mom, but the cat needs to be kept indoors. They have leash laws for dogs but I wish there'd be more of a push to do the same for cats. It frustrates me to no end to see our neighbor's cat hungrily eyeing my birdfeeders.

I only wish that were possiable, but with the number of animals my mom currently has, it would be impossiable for her to keep them all inside have it even remotely habitable by humans. They currently have 5 birds, 6 dogs, 2 puppies, 8 cats and 5 kittens AND a huge fish tank. And this is probably the smallest amount of animals they have had in years. I remember at one point in my childhood they had more than 50 animals. ALL INSIDE most of the time.

[FairyMom]

Originally Posted by dlaura

I can only imagine how you feel. Prior to owning birds our cat used to kill birds now and then so I put a bell on her collar. Eventually the bell did fall off, but once we got birds as pets the cat no longer kills outdoor birds. Our cat was about 8 years old when we got our first bird so it amazes me that she has done this on her own. Would it be possible for you to put a collar with a bell on your mom's cat? That would help.

if only that were possiable. I couldnt afford to collar and bell all my moms cats. Way too many as mentioned above. But thats a good idea. I am going to suggest it next time I go over there, and I think I will go out and get one for the menace cat that did it this time. Those cats are going to hate me. NONE of them are use to wearing collars not to mention how badly the bells are goign to drive them nuts.

[FairyMom]

[QUOTE=Irish]You can't fault a cat for being what it is--instincts will rule, even for a well-fed domesticated, spoiled cat. Don't hate it for being what God made it to be.... It has its place in the scheme of things, too, ya know :-).[QUOTE]

I know I cant fault the cat. It just made me sad to see that poor little bird. And this isnt the first time she has done it.

Thank you all for your kind words. I really do appreciate them.

[homebird]

All of us who have cats understand.
Just this fall my toothless old cat came thru the cat door with a young 'flycatcher', in her mouth. I rinced it off & put it in a cookie jar with a branch & water, over night. I let it go the next morning.
..... I love my cat, I even held her mother during her birth, but I have to wait for my very own fid until she's gone. Plus she's very jealous.
Aren't animals great?
We all know that keeping 'pets' is a tad unnatural but it's so rewarding too.

[Tiki]

Fairymom, I am so sorry to hear that. I hate when wild birds get killed by cats too. Maybe you could get the el-cheapo collars at a dollar store or something with bells, you could probably do it for under $20 if you shop around. It's worth it to keep the birds safe.

[Stacey32]

Or you could make your own. Buy bells from a craft shop and add them to the collar with leather lacing? any other ideas from anyone? I'm really not a handy type person.