Cats on the Bird Table (1 Viewer)

[NoSpringChicken]

We have a bird table in the garden, which is the type with a little roof on top and we hang the feeders from it. It has been fine until recently when some new cats have been introduced into the neighbourhood. We have now discovered that they have started jumping onto the table and curling up under the roof.

Naturally this is not going down too well with the birds and we can't be there all the time to 'shoo' them off. The other day I put an extra post in the centre between the roof and the table so it was harder for them to lie down. This seems to be keeping the larger cat off but the smaller one still manages to fit itself onto the table.

I have to admit my partner and I are not really cat lovers and she is getting fed up with running outside to move them on, so has anyone got any suggestions for keeping them at bay.

Ron

 

[etudiant]

If the cats can jump up to this table from which you hang your feeders, no bird using any of the arrangement is out of reach. In effect, you're offering a kitty fast food site, with a sheltered postprandial resting space.
The fixes will all have disadvantages. A taller(over 6 feet) pole for the table would be a possibility, with a large(18 inches or more diameter) baffle.
Is it possible to talk to the owners of the cats? In many communities, cats are not allowed to roam free, precisely because they are such efficient killers.

 

[dafi]

You might have to bite the bullet and change the table a bit. A three foot sq base screwed on underneath will help. If the table is nice and wide the cats wont be able to get up over the increased overhang. A lenth of plastic drain pipe to cover the upright post will help as the cats will find it hard to get a grip and climb up.
Hope this helps!

 

[KLH]

Fox gets on ours, usually at 3 in the morning sending any waterbowls and tin trays out out clattering around the gravel......

 

[NoSpringChicken]

You might have to bite the bullet and change the table a bit. A three foot sq base screwed on underneath will help. If the table is nice and wide the cats wont be able to get up over the increased overhang. A lenth of plastic drain pipe to cover the upright post will help as the cats will find it hard to get a grip and climb up.
Hope this helps!

I haven't seen it myself but my partner tells me they jump straight onto the table, rather than climbing up. It's a Gardman table and about four feet off the ground, I think. We moved it onto the lawn away from shrubs and bushes as the cats like to lurk in there. At the worst, I suppose we might have to scrap the table and use a pole to hang the feeders from instead. That would be a pity.

We have an ever changing cast of neigbourhood cats, which use our garden for all sorts of unpleasant activities and then return to their owners to be fed. In case you haven't guessed, I'm not a cat fan.

Ron

 

[Peewit]

I haven't seen it myself but my partner tells me they jump straight onto the table, rather than climbing up. It's a Gardman table and about four feet off the ground, I think. We moved it onto the lawn away from shrubs and bushes as the cats like to lurk in there. At the worst, I suppose we might have to scrap the table and use a pole to hang the feeders from instead. That would be a pity.

We have an ever changing cast of neigbourhood cats, which use our garden for all sorts of unpleasant activities and then return to their owners to be fed. In case you haven't guessed, I'm not a cat fan.

Ron

Hi Ron

Can I suggest this without going into the Kitty cruelty thing here (I love cats myself by the way. The thing is (birds and cats do not get along that is the problem).

This has worked more than once for me in the Blue Tit Box and Bird table department.

Buy a length of barbed wire, and for the table simply wrap wire around the support post, and curl it around any exposed areas of your table. Does the trick every time.

Bird boxes: Curl a piece of barbed wire around the lid area, and cats will never sit on the bird box :t:

Hope this helps.

Of course there will be differing views here

 

[Jos Stratford]

I haven't seen it myself but my partner tells me they jump straight onto the table, rather than climbing up. It's a Gardman table and about four feet off the ground, I think. We moved it onto the lawn away from shrubs and bushes as the cats like to lurk in there. At the worst, I suppose we might have to scrap the table and use a pole to hang the feeders from instead. That would be a pity.

It seems a very nice cat abode - as you are maybe scrapping it, could you pack it and post here, I am sure my cat will be most chuffed to have a new bed.

 

[NoSpringChicken]

It seems a very nice cat abode - as you are maybe scrapping it, could you pack it and post here, I am sure my cat will be most chuffed to have a new bed.

Sounds good to me. Do you want a few cats to go with it?

Ron

 

[dafi]

Sounds like you might need to raise the hight of the table. Could you mount the one you have on a taller post protecting it with a plastic pipe sleeve?

 

[NoSpringChicken]

Hi Ron

Can I suggest this without going into the Kitty cruelty thing here (I love cats myself by the way. The thing is (birds and cats do not get along that is the problem).

This has worked more than once for me in the Blue Tit Box and Bird table department.

Buy a length of barbed wire, and for the table simply wrap wire around the support post, and curl it around any exposed areas of your table. Does the trick every time.

Bird boxes: Curl a piece of barbed wire around the lid area, and cats will never sit on the bird box :t:

Hope this helps.

Of course there will be differing views here

Thanks Kathy. The trouble is I'm a bit accident prone so I foresee bleeding knuckles using this system.

The thing is, I don't know why the cats come into our garden. It's not as if there is anywhere obvious to hide.

Ron

 

[NoSpringChicken]

Sounds like you might need to raise the hight of the table. Could you mount the one you have on a taller post protecting it with a plastic pipe sleeve?

I might have to resort to that although I don't want to have to use a step ladder to put food on the table.

Alternatively I could add some 'bars' round the perimeter, far apart enough to let the birds in but close enough to keep cats out. How far apart is that?

Ron

 

[Peewit]

Thanks Kathy. The trouble is I'm a bit accident prone so I foresee bleeding knuckles using this system.

The thing is, I don't know why the cats come into our garden. It's not as if there is anywhere obvious to hide.

Ron

I can see that there is some Kitty scrub to hide in. Well seeing it from here that is

Seriously, try the barbed wire thing, cheap and effective. Not all bad by a long chalk. I never gashed myself at all. Honestly.

 

[Jos Stratford]

Alternatively I could add some 'bars' round the perimeter, far apart enough to let the birds in but close enough to keep cats out. How far apart is that?

I still favour sending the table to me, but otherwise you could buy an offcut of wire fencing and tack this round from the underside of the of the roof to the lip of the tray part - if done well, it looks okay and plenty of spece for birds to get in up to the size of blackbird.

 

[Birdy Trish]

I can't offer any more suggestions that have already been made. Just wanted to say we had a stray cat adopt us. It turned out it was a killer of birds. As I feed birds every day it just didn't work out. I tried to keep the cat inside all the time but that didn't work. In the end I the RSPCA took the cat to rehome it. It was so fat because I was feeding it a lot hoping it wouldn't kill birds even though I knew that the killing instinct in the cat has nothing to do with hunger.
Just wanted to say that I know what it's like trying to keep cats away from bird tables. It does take up a lot of time, especially if the birds depend on the food on the table.
I think cats should be kept inside by owners. Dogs aren't allowed to roam are they?
Hope you solve your problem.

 

[JeffMoh]

Cats on table

If the table is only 4 feet up, then it's within jumping distance for adult cats. So even if you cat-proof the pole and the top, cats will still be able to jump up and catch birds as the latter land, or take off, or stand near the edge of the table.

I think the only solution is to raise the table by another foot.

Jeff

 

[fiskman66]

cats

I haven't seen it myself but my partner tells me they jump straight onto the table, rather than climbing up. It's a Gardman table and about four feet off the ground, I think. We moved it onto the lawn away from shrubs and bushes as the cats like to lurk in there. At the worst, I suppose we might have to scrap the table and use a pole to hang the feeders from instead. That would be a pity.

We have an ever changing cast of neigbourhood cats, which use our garden for all sorts of unpleasant activities and then return to their owners to be fed. In case you haven't guessed, I'm not a cat fan.

Ron

rig an old hosepipe on a semi permanent basis,,they will only need one or two squirts and they won't come back in my experience

 

[clayts]

Buy a supersoaker water gun. Okay, it means you and yours will have to stay on sentry 24 hours a day, but think of the huge amounts of fun you'll have soaking the moggies.

I'm very lucky - there's only one cat who tried to enter my garden, but after saying 'shoo' to him, he's never been back. Chicken

 

[gracegrecia]

An intelligent feeder siting can reduce the chances of successful stealth attacks. Use this together with smell deterrence and the number of birds lost to neighbourhood cats will be greatly reduced. Cat owners can help by not putting their animals out at night, and fitting bells to their cat's collar.

 

[whomes]

What I can't understand is that, while I get cats in my garden going after the birds, I still have rats from time to time on the feeders!

You'd think that I would one win way or the other.