Thread: Cats in garden
View Single Post
  #45   Report Post  
Old 08-07-2007, 05:35 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Graham Harrison Graham Harrison is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jul 2007
Posts: 12
Default Cats in garden


"Mikesndbs" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello

I know this is an emotive subject and indeed I have already had my
fingers burned when I added a link to an official government petition.
However as this thread already exists I don't see that it would do
harm to add it here!

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/control-pet-cats/

This is a much more level headed one from some of the extreme ones to
be found and as such may get more attention.
If you agree please vote.
If you don't then you need do nothing.

For the record I don't hate cats, I dislike the owners who buy/get
cats for the kids and then leave the cats to roam free.
I do indeed hate it when well fed cats kill the wildlife in my garden
that I strive so hard to promote.
I also do hate getting cats mess on me and finding my plats uprooted.

I have raised the concern, lets see if those in charge of our destiny
can come up with an answer.

Thanks for your time.


I have a cat. I've recently moved it (and me!) from an urban to a rural
location. In the urban environment we would get very occasional kills
(usually mice/shres/voles but one or two small birds).

Since we moved the kill rate has increased. Now, if she was killing lots
of birds I would be worried. However, the majority of her kills remain
mice/shrews/voles. She has also had 3 small rabbits and 1 mole (at least
we think she had the mole, we found the body where she has taken the rabbits
previously and we've seen her catch and eat a rabbit there).

The rabbits are a real nusiance. They damage plants. I don't want her to
kill birds (well, I might not object to some wood pigeons) but if she can
keep down the rabbit population I'm cheering her on. I don't want her
hobbled by having to wear a bell.

But I also have sympathy for people who object to cats. We have some beds
we don't want her to use so we use cat pepper and, as someone else
suggested, short sticks at close spacing.

In the end, I don't know the answer.