I would never use a BB gun, myself, as I don't even want to "sting" the cat. Just scare him away. (and like you, I'd be afraid that with my luck, the BB would hit an eye). But the other things are interesting, although I haven't got much faith in mothballs (and they are poison, so I'd be afraid my dog would eat one). However, if you locate your birdbath properly, it shouldn't really be too unsafe for birds. It needs to be near enough to cover for the birds to feel secure, but far enough that predators can't hide right next to it. If a cat has to run 15 feet to get to the birdbath, 99 out of 100 birds will be long gone before it gets there.

Having said that, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to do more catproofing. With some cats, the wading pool might actually work. With others, once they set their eye on their prey, nothing will slow them down, not even water. But it might buy the birds another split second or two to make their getaway.

If anyone tries this, I'd like to know what kind of success you have with it.

Another thought would be to surround the birdbath with that anti-cat mat you always see advertised. It's got lots of plastic spikes that poke up and cats don't want to step on it, supposedly. That would be easier to maintain than a wading pool, but I don't know for sure how it works. I've only read ads.

Marcia

I used to spray the neighbor's cat with the hose everytime I caught him in my yard, but it never stopped him from coming over and trying to start a fight with my patio cat.
In my yard, I was more worried about the ground doves than the birds visiting my tree feeder, but since the cat had to jump the fence, the birds would fly off before he landed.
Ginibee, is your feeder in the tree or on the ground?

Okay...my .02. I am a MAJOR cat lover and mine are indoor -I actually have a 13 year old Siamese sitting on my desk as I type this. ;)

Mothballs: it's a myth and it does NOT work. Plus, it is poisonous; other animals will eat them and get sick/die. Plus, with the rain/humidity, they disintergrate quickly.

I too have neighbor cat issues. It is NOT an easy problem to solve. Almost everything that you try to do will simply make the cat FEAR you --- and not keep it from eating the birds. It will simply wait until it hears you leave and start at it again. Cats are smart, after all, and designed by nature to be a predator.

Behaviorly, cats are creatures of habit and LOATHE being surprised. They love the routine and do not like change. It confuses/scares them. You can take advantage of this by buying an inexpensive (or expensive) sprinkler system...put it near the bird bath and set the timer where it goes off/on sporadically. If the cat cannot rely on a consistent time - it will eventually give up and move on.

Maybe start out with a manual system...watch the cat approach turn the water on...watch it run..do it all over again? The thing is, kitty will check back at some point, so be consistent with the surprise factor. Loud noises work the same way, but can be inconvenient. I mean, who wants to run outside to scare a cat away every 20 min?

It is sometimes better to befriend the cat, because then you can deliver it to the neighbor rather than trap it. But, if that is not your thing, a humane trap does work. I recently trapped a ferral pregnant cat (really a kitten) and helped her and the kittens. Just don't leave kitty baking in the sun in it, due to the obvious cruelty factor.

I find that 98% of people who own cats just "don't get it". When you ask them to keep their cat indoors so it doesn't end up on your property. "oh...it's cruel to the cat to keep it confined!" or, they roll their eyes and think it's their "inherent right" to allow their pet to roam.

I do not mean to offend anyone here with my comments. But cats -- by law -- are not allowed to roam loose. The established leash laws cover CATS as well as dogs. Any domestic animal that ends up on your property, you are within your rights to engage Animal Control or other shelter.

I had a neighbor who let her cat loose all the time. A very sweet kitty...but he loved to stalk my birds and then scratch my brand new patio furniture. I was less than thrilled, as you can imagine. I had a few, very nice chats with her about it.

At first, she'd come over and get kitty, but eventually began to ignore my calls and stopped responding all together. So, I called a No-Kill shelter who was happy to pick up kitty and find him a new home. If my neighbor refuses to manage their pet, I do not have to 'get used to it'. I would NEVER punish the animal for having irresponsible owners. I also wouldn't take the animal to a county shelter that euthanizes unwanted pets.

The BB gun thing - well, that's just wrong.

I used to spray the neighbor's cat with the hose everytime I caught him in my yard, but it never stopped him from coming over and trying to start a fight with my patio cat.
In my yard, I was more worried about the ground doves than the birds visiting my tree feeder, but since the cat had to jump the fence, the birds would fly off before he landed.
Ginibee, is your feeder in the tree or on the ground?

My evil twin must have posted the same message. sorry.

The cat mat suggestion is interesting. I have a door mat outside of my door wall and the cats and Franky my dog didn't want to step on it. I had to move it. It has plastic spikey things. Not bad enouth to injure little feet but they just dont like it. I myself must be part Budist. I don't believe in killing anything, outside of roaches and invadeing ants. I share space with my animals and try to protect them, I wold never take an animal to animal control. There are so many great rescue groups. They are doing a great service not only for the animals but the community as a whole. They are shrinking the unwanted pet population through their spay neuter programs. I always felt if we can't tollerate an animal how in the world will we ever tollerate other humans.

That's funny coffemom. So far I've only used the clap-my-hands noise or tell him to go home.

I have my bird feeders on shepherd hooks, so the bottom of the feeder is almost 5 ft off the ground. The doves come visit also. There were 2 pair on the ground yesterday eating what fell out of the feeders while the blue jays and cardinals were keeping the feeders occupied. Haven't seen the woodpeckers for a couple days now. I discouraged the squirrels by putting vaseline on the poles. It was really funny to watch them try to climb and slide down. Now they don't even try - they are like the doves and content to feed on the ground.

It was kind of funny this afternoon. I saw the cat stretched out on the ground close to the feeder keeping one eye on the door for me and the other on the feeder for the birds. I hope if I see my neighbor tomorrow, he will take measures to keep the cat at home.

Saintpfl...check the Cats & Birds post for more comments on owner responsibility, indoor vs outdoor cats, and Neuter and release programs. Pretty interesting discussion.

Regarding the spikey mat thing...I believe I've seen them for sale at several animal websites...do a Google and see what you get. It could be an interesting experiment.

I agree definitely that the element of surprise is very important. That's one reason the motion sensor water spray devices work well. I would say when nothing else works, one of those might just do the trick. The ones they use to scare away deer and other wild animals would surely work with cats.

I'm so glad my neighbors don't have outdoor cats and all try to keep their dogs inside their fences, too. Now if I could just catch the lady who lets her big boxer poop in my front yard every day!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I ALWAYS carry a plastic bag with me when I walk Potter. What's wrong with some people? It makes you understand what makes some folks just suddenly lose it.

Marcia

Marcia...

I got three of my five cats (yes, I'm admitting I have 5 cats...) because they were strays and killing my birds. One of my kitties is a Bengal and quite the hunter. No kidding -- when he was outdoors, he killed 10 blue jays in one afternoon. I even caught him with a woodpecker in his mouth. He's no longer a menace to nature, I am happy to say.

I figure if I can keep 5 cats fat & happy in my house, others can keep their one or two cats indoors as well. Granted, I vacuum alot!!

Wow, someone let a Bengal run loose? They are SO beautiful! Lucky you to have found him, saved him from an outdoor life, saved the birds from his mighty paws, and found yourself a new housecat to boot!

I know what you mean about vacuuming. We have four indoor cats, (HUGE ones...2 over 20 pounds!) and two of ours are longhaired. Lots of vacuuming, but they are worth it. Of course, Potter thinks they are his personal, live-action stuffed toys. They are amazingly tolerant of his antics.

Send me some pictures someday. I love looking at cats & dogs!

Marcia