FINCHforum

In early December, my mum invited an old friend who was having a few issues in her life to come and stay with us. One of the conditions for her coming here was to rehome her cat.

For the better part of a month, the cat just stayed in her room and only came out to go into the laundry room to eat and crap... But recently she has started letting her cat out into the yard... Where my aviaries are and the cat has started hanging around my exotic finches aviary... which is on concrete, up on blocks with sand in the bottom where I can see any holes in the floor from mice coming into the cage (big hint, there have been no mouse signs at all) and we have the 7mm vermin proof wire on the aviary.

She told me tonight that her bloody cat was only hanging around the aviary to try and catch mice... I think that's a load of bull because we have a poodle... And we have seen the poodle chasing mice before... so if there are mice around, the poodle would have smelt them and would be sniffing around.

And suggestions on how to deal with the cat hanging around my aviaries.

PS: the owner expects us to give her cat all the room in the world and we are supposed to stop our dog, in its own home from going outside while the cats there. Someone is a selfish * as far as I am concerned,

I don't know her circumstances exactly,I can only say a true friend or family member would understand how much my dogs and birds meet to me if they don't then the welcome is over time to move.sometimes some people just take advantage of a kind gesture

Dramoth

Hey Mark,

Not really the cat's fault.
It's the owner who really needs a reality check to the fact that SHE is the guest in YOUR home.

However, the best thing ever for cats (without hurting them.... I'm a cat lover), is a water hose with a sprayer attached to it.

Cat goes near aviary, cat gets a cold blast under the tail. Works like magic, and they figure it out pretty quickly (they'e not stupid).

Another option, is to get some cheap sticky tape, and wrap it inside out (sticky part outwards) around the bottom of the aviary. Cats tend to hate getting stuck to something, so tend to stay away from sticky stuff.

Also, get a few empty pop cans, put some pebbles in them and tape opening shut. Take aim, and let it fly at kitty or close to him. The noise tends to freak them out.

You can buy cat repellent spray, but the smell may bother the birds, and it doesn't really last very long out doors.


Here's some advice from an on line site:

Scatter fresh orange and lemon peels or spray with citrus-scented fragrances. Coffee grounds, vinegar, pipe tobacco, or oil of lavender, lemongrass, citronella, or eucalyptus also deter cats.
Plant the herb rue to repel cats, or sprinkle dried rue over the garden.
Use plastic carpet runners spike-side up, covered lightly in soil. They can be found at local hardware or office supply stores. Or, set chicken wire firmly into the dirt with sharp edges rolled under.
Artfully arrange branches in a lattice-type pattern or wooden or plastic lattice fencing material over soil. You can disguise these by planting flowers and seeds in the openings. You can also try embedding wooden chopsticks, pinecones, or sticks with dull points deep into the soil with the tops exposed eight inches apart.
photo1933

Perhaps simply keeping the dog outside to chase the cat away from the aviary is the easiest solution. As long as the dog is doing that job.

If I was there, the cat would "disappear". No matter how you try to keep a cat away from birds, it will not work. They will get your birds. They are natural bird killers. I have seen them kill a bird and walk away. I trap them and take them to an animal shelter. A stray cat got in the screen porch of my neighbor and killed his parrot which was in a cage. It tried to claw it's way into my screen porch, but I trapped it that night.

I've also trapped stray cats that started visiting my aviary.
Then moved them to a city 60 kms away, across a big river.
This may however be less of an option in this case, with both cat and owner living in the premises.

w.l.

I would say it's a problem... and hopefully the owner and the cat are moving in the near future. which will make everyone happy I think... or at least make everyone in this house happier

I'm more in favor of 'accidentally' letting the dog out when the cat is outside. It's your house and you should be able to let the dog out anytime you want (or he needs to).

In the meantime, try to further secure the aviary in any way you can. Check around the roof as well, as a determined cat will climb it and try to get in that way.

All hell is going to break loose if that cat should get into the aviary; I just hope that your mom's friend will find other accommodations, and move out before a catastrophe happens.

Dramoth

Hey Mark,

Offer to help her move, lol

House cats are considered by Naturalists to be one of the most deadly predators on the planet. Of course, they aren't killing cows or elephants. But, according to a New York Times story http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/scien ... iller.html house cats, pets and feral cats included, kill over 2 billion (!) birds a year in this country. Even if that figure is wildly off, it is a lot of kills.

House cats, like dogs, shouldn't be given free-run outdoors. A cat visits my aviary most days, and eventually it won't. I find it difficult to be sympathetic toward the owner or the cat.

The birds and dogs have been there longer, and they have the right to be safe. As others have said, you will only have trouble if the cat mixes with either the birds or the dog, or both. Tell the woman she needs to keep her cat inside, its HER responsibility, otherwise she'll need to move.

Good luck

Zebrafincher

Make her life miserable. If that doesn't work, throw them BOTH out!!

Another thought. Do they have coyotes where you live? Nice companion for the cat.

Well everyone... there has been some good news... my mum's friend was asked by my little sister if she was interested in going and sharing a house with her, just over the back.

She moved out today... she still has to come back and catch the damned cat, but it's gone... and I feel a lot less stressed about it all as well

Dramoth