Wildlife UK Forum - Discuss the UK countryside and wildlife

You have some very good points there SCR. I think this is a very biased argument against cats, when there are many more culprits for the declining bird populations.

well i aagree and i cant belive how much some people can hate cats the resons why they are alowed to roam the streets is because they are smart enough to figure out where they live unlike dogs which would happy go off forever thats why i keep cats

all i did join this fourm for hopefully some good advice about my egg from wildlife enthuisasts not biast idiots

Man is responsible for the decline of wildlife

As i said before this is NOT a personal attack on anyone. I just cant see the point of cats (i did own two myself once!) They go out, dig up peoples gardens to bury their excrement ( they dont cover it very well in my garden!), catch and kill (but mostly do not eat) birds and small NATIVE mammals then go home and sleep all day. I know people that have 'house cats' that never leave the house, thats fine i suppose, but the majority go outside and account for over 1,000,000 song birds deaths per year!! They are not a natural predator in the UK.

I dont think there will ever be positive statistics recorded on the impact of humans feeding or providing nest boxes etc. For the majority those actions have nothing to do with the welfare of the birds but simply to attract birds to their gardens so they can enjoy them. Feeding birds through bad winters and providing nesting places where there would n't possibly be any must surely be positive?

For the record, I also cant stand irresponsible dog owners BUT it is the owners NOT the dogs, as dogs generally act as the humans allow or tell them too. Cats are just kicked out to do what they want. They dont kill for survival as they are usually fed well enough at home. They do it for fun or as their natural instinct tells them too. How many cats do you see with bells on their collars? This simple act has been shown to cut down the number of death to birds a cat can inflict.

SCR, what was the Canada Goose thing you refer to? Sorry, i didnt get the gist of that.

Jamie, there are no species of bird in the UK that kill songbirds in the numbers that cats do! I'm certainly not saying that there are plenty of sad humans that account for the loss of birdlife be it through habitat destruction or direct killing.

And again, this is NOT a personal attack on anyone. The reason cats are allowed to roam the streets is because humans let them. My arguments about cats are based on facts not bias and i am most certainly not an idiot, thankyou. The advice you recieved about the egg was relatively sound. Throw it away. Your cat may have just come across it on the ground. Alternatively he may have killed the mother bird and in the process destroyed a nest full of eggs. I guess we will never know. Does your cat wear a collar with a bell on? If not then maybe it should. To some extent i blame myself for adding my personal opinion about cats, although i am obviously not alone. Blue_egg89, i apologise i i have made your experience on this forum uncomfortable. It was not my intention and as i have said on numerous occasions it is nothing personal to you or your cat. I hope this has not put you off continuing to use this forum as there are some very knowledgable and friendly people on here. None, i might add, i would call idiots!

yes he wears a collar with a bell it also must have been from a nest because he perviouslly the day before brought in one which was cracked, i will not be throwing the egg away because i belive everything deserves the best chance in life and i am this egg only chance of living a decent life i already have planned everything for its future if it has one, i certainly woullndt throw it away as there may be something alive in the egg life is precious and shouldnt be thrown away

The fact that he brought in one the day before would lead me even more to the same conclusion. If the egg has been abandoned for over 24 hrs it will most certainly have gone cold and therefore anything inside it would be dead. Your sentiment and comitment to the unborn 'chick' is very credible if not a little eccentric. Good luck to you and the egg, let us know how you get on!

Oh and heres some other threads you might want to look at as a cat owner.

http://www.wildlifeuk.net/disease-threat...t-976.html
http://www.wildlifeuk.net/keeping-away-cats-t-248.html

I don't like cats but well done for blue egg for seeking advice about the right thing to do...

OK in the hope that this doesn't start another intense debate.
Jamie mentioned non-native bird species also having an impact but no-one seeming bothered.

I picked Canada geese because they are not native and they have an impact on native fauna but people are bothered and they are controlled in some circumstances (under general licence).

Oh right. Get you now. Although they dont have a detrimental effect on any other birds as far as I'm aware? And Canada Geese do get to the UK on under their own steam, so could well have colonised without the help of human hands. Unlike Ring-necked Parakeets who definately are having a detrimental effect on native bird species!

Ring Necket Parakeets have a great impact on wine farmers as well, as they loose the farmers about £1,500 a year in wine sale loss.
Did anybody watch that show on a few months back about Ring Necked Parakeets, I think it was only a short 15 minute one.

I'm going to London at the end of May and stopping at a friends Mum's house who has an oak where RN Parakeets roost! Will finally get them on my UK list!

Can I draw your attention to a BIG spelling error on this thread:

Many of you have being using the words cats and pets in the the same sentence, this should of course be cats and pests!!!!!

No doubt someone will correct me if I'm wrong (I have a terrible memory) but I believe that the BTO stated that domestic cats are responsible for the deaths of around 70 million song birds each year.

I had to laugh at that, but it is indeed why my three cats are strictly indoor cats.

In fact, the only cats which were not kept strictly indoors are ones which I had when I also had a roommate who was vehemently opposed to keeping them indoors .

Kingfisher