Never thought I'd use this as a subject line, but: Darned cats
A good start to the morning is NOT stepping out my door and finding a bunch of loose feathers and blood. The darned neighbor's cat is killing a bird a day, and spends the rest of the day hunting them.
If the cat were a stray or feral cat, I'd feel very slightly less bad about this, but the cat has a collar and an owner, someone is feeding it, it does not need to hunt to eat. (Though I know cats are predators and would rather hunt...)
I can't decide if I should take the bird feeder down or not. I feel like all I'm doing at this point is making it easier for the cat to kill them. If I weren't attracting them all to one small area, maybe it wouldn't be so easy for the cat. (And maybe if it were a more natural feeding setting, they might be more watchful?)
If I'm going to take the feeder down, now's a good season to do it. There should be lots of food around for them to eat. To be totally honest, I wouldn't mind saving the money I spend on seed ($25/week). I have to fill it daily, and clean the birdbath, but neither of those are much work at all. My porch area would be a lot cleaner if I stopped, too. On the other hand, I do enjoy watching them, but I don't watch them nearly as much as I used to. On the other-other hand, I'd have more privacy if I stopped (I leave my curtains all the way open so I can watch them, and my window faces the sidewalk/mailbox area, so anyone can look in).
So, what do you all think?
Poll
I wish I didn't feel like I had a hand in the death of the birds...
If the cat were a stray or feral cat, I'd feel very slightly less bad about this, but the cat has a collar and an owner, someone is feeding it, it does not need to hunt to eat. (Though I know cats are predators and would rather hunt...)
I can't decide if I should take the bird feeder down or not. I feel like all I'm doing at this point is making it easier for the cat to kill them. If I weren't attracting them all to one small area, maybe it wouldn't be so easy for the cat. (And maybe if it were a more natural feeding setting, they might be more watchful?)
If I'm going to take the feeder down, now's a good season to do it. There should be lots of food around for them to eat. To be totally honest, I wouldn't mind saving the money I spend on seed ($25/week). I have to fill it daily, and clean the birdbath, but neither of those are much work at all. My porch area would be a lot cleaner if I stopped, too. On the other hand, I do enjoy watching them, but I don't watch them nearly as much as I used to. On the other-other hand, I'd have more privacy if I stopped (I leave my curtains all the way open so I can watch them, and my window faces the sidewalk/mailbox area, so anyone can look in).
So, what do you all think?
Poll
I wish I didn't feel like I had a hand in the death of the birds...