My cat just caught his first-ever bird and I handled it terribly

[catzies]

Frankly, I didn't think he had it in him. He never showed an inclination to hunt; he never even went outside regularly until last year when he was 4.

The sliding glass door was open, and he brought it in and walked through the living room with it in his mouth. I freaked out, I'm ashamed to say.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT, MOGLI! WHAT DID YOU DO!!!!!" I yelled, and then I tried to catch him, which resulted in him running through every room of the house, leaving feathers in his wake, with me behind him yelling every step of the way. Since that didn't work, I tried to steer him back out through the open door and that didn't work either and he kept running through the house. When he got in my office, he relaxed his bite and the bird got out of his mouth so I pushed him out of the room, closed the door and caught my breath and thought about what to do next.

I called my daughter the vet tech who was home from work and she came right over. The wee birdie (I think it's a female Phoebe) was under my desk, so she caught her, put her in a towel and looked her over. She was intact limb-wise, but did have puncture wounds in her head where he grabbed her in his mouth.

We took her outside and released her into bushes, and she was stunned, but mobile, and seemed relieved to have survived. I hope she wasn't a mom who has babies waiting for her, that would be awful.

See, he's a momma's boy and likes to have attention called to his accomplishments and relishes praise. If I had cooed and said, "Oh, what a good boy! Show me what you've got, baby," he might very well have dropped the bird, or at least let me near him. When I screamed, he ran, and that's where my troubles began.

And now I have to clean up the feathers and the trail of blood.

I need a beer to calm my nerves. :D

[Wabbajack]

1. My

Grandfather once threw a pet cat across the street for eating a pet bird.

[diddlysquat]

2. I freaked out when my cat brought a snake in the house...

but then I'm afraid of snakes. Birds aren't so bad.

[finecraft]

6. Been there, done that

We've had a bird, a baby rabbit, a squirrel, numerous mice and yes.....the dreaded snake all presented to us by our loving feline. Thankfully the bird, rabbit and squirrel survived. My husband beat the snake to death with a shoe (after the cat dropped it on our bed..YUCK!)Sorry if this offended anyone who likes snakes, but neither my husband or I can go there....thruthfully, I'm surprised that neither one of us passed out.

[catzies]

11. Yeah, see I know cats do that to show they love you

And that's why I regretted yelling. That probably stunned him -- I never yell at him.

He probably thinks "I was just trying to show her I love her, what's her problem?" :D

But I can't hug him, he's got bird blood on his white bib (he's a tuxed ocat).

[bigwillq]

3. Enjoy that beer!

:toast:

[VOX]

4. As shocking as it is for your cat to have prey in his mouth, PRAISE him!

Give him a verbal shower of love ("Oh, what a good boy! What a brave hunter!" Etc.), and I can almost promise you that he will drop the critter on the floor/ground in front of you. At which point you can separate him from his catch, and make the rescue attempt.

He's bringing the prey to you as tribute, and to let you know that he's doing a good job in managing the Hunting Department.

It may not feel like it, but you're being honored! :hi:

[rox63]

9. Even indoor cats do it

My indoor kitties treat their toy mousies like real prey. Sometimes they deliver them to me, other times they drop them in their food dish. It's pretty cute. :D

[LostinVA]

31. Mine put them on my pillow when I'm sleeping

FAKE mousies, but they feel like real fur. Try waking up to one of THOSE on your face at 2 am, and see if you don't wake up screaming and flinging it across the room. Heart attack city...

[catzies]

12. Yep, that's exactly what occurred to me -- AFTER I calmed down.

I'm embarrassed now.

[LoZoccolo]

26. I used to go so far as to eat what my cat would bring me in front of her.

No I wouldn't. :+

[BikeWriter]

40. I will bet you the dead bird...

does not feel honored.

[Dunedain]

41. Sure is

Sometimes my cat drops a half eaten animal on my chest in the middle of the night.

[bertha katzenengel]

5. You didn't handle it terribly.

You can't help your first reaction, catzies. I think you did very, very well. Don't worry. Mogli and the phoebe will both be fine.

And if you get any nasty replies in this thread, do not take them to heart, whatever you do. You're okay. :hug:

[catzies]

19. Aw thanks, and if I was there, I'd help you clean your house

:hug: back atcha

[Medium Baby Jesus]

30. Are you expecting anyone in particular?

[Ready4Change]

7. Could have been worse.

I have a friend whose cat used to stalk deer.

Never brought one home, though. :)

[Goldeneye]

8. Don't want to be a downer,

but if it had puncture wounds and blood loss, I doubt the bird will live. I'm curious, did he look like this:

[catzies]

13. That looks like an immature male Phoebe. Females have the crest

but they're more brown. The males are striking.

[trof]

10. To paraphrase, "You can take the cat out of the wild,

but you can't take the wild out of the cat."
They are carnivores and just natural born hunters.

Before Ace got old, diabetic, and pathetically slow, he's lie, belly up, all four legs spread out, on the back walk. Eyes closed.
Apparently dead.

The blue jays swoop lower and lower, getting braver and braver. At last their nemisis was at their mercy.

Lower and lower until SWIPE!, scratch one blue jay. Ace is a crafty old cat, he is.

His trophy room contains mice, swamp rats, birds, skinks, snakes, and squirrels. There was one blue crab that was ruled a draw. Both sides retired and managed to save their respective dignities.

If it's any consolation, pesticides and vehicles kill many more birds than cats do.

Give ol' Mogli a scratch for me.
;-)

[catzies]

14. Bless your heart, trof! Your Ace sounds like quite the feline fella.

Give HIM a scratch from me. :)

[amazona]

18. no way vehicles kill more birds than cats

Cats are one of the leading causes of bird mortality in North America, and worldwide they contribute to bird extinction, indeed, they are the ONLY contributing factor to at least one bird species' extinction, the Stephen Island wren.

Compared to that, vehicle strikes are a trivial problem.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[amazona]

15. unfortunately the bird won't live

Cats have a bacteria in their mouth and teeth that kills birds hours or about a day later even if it is a tiny scratch. Sadly I have some experience with this. :-(

Yelling at the cat or not yelling at the cat didn't make a hill of beans worth of difference. The bird was dead the minute it was bitten or scratched. So no use kicking yourself over a perfectly normal human freak-out.

Animals pay for our mistakes -- and we all make them. I hope it strengthens your resolve to keep your cat inside.

Now get that beer. I'll have one too. We can't change the past, we can only change the future.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[flamingyouth]

16. I have had experience with that too

I tried desperately to save a little bird my cat had attacked when I was a kid. She only had one or two small puncture wounds, but she died by the next day. :(

[catzies]

17. Wow, I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me.

:cry: poor bird

[B Calm]

20. You should see what they do to baby rabbits..

[jmowreader]

64. Baby rabbits need it, too

Wild rabbits breed prodigiously, and rabbits are nothing more than cute vermin.

[redqueen]

65. Large birds eat rabbits too...

but apparently they don't matter.

:shrug:

[jmowreader]

66. There are enough rabbits to go around, I think

We will never have to worry about a shortage of rabbits due to their breeding habits. There are plenty of rabbits for raptors, domestic cats, coyotes, bobcats, humans, and any other rabbit-eating predator.

I am also not worried about shortages of voles, moles, mice, rats or any other rodent.

[Zorra]

21. My sons dog used to bring home dead cats all the time.

He was really an excellent hunter, and really good at catching those wily kitties. Sometimes he would even find a litter of kittens to maul; I always thought it was so sad when he would bring those limp, bloody, wet little lifeless kitty bodies home, but it just could not be helped I guess. Dogs will be dogs.

We told him he was a good dog and cooed, "show me what you've got baby" and he would always proudly drop those dead cats at our feet.

I always thought that it was decent of him not to torture them before he snapped their necks with his powerful jaws.

(Just "joking".)

[catzies]

22. .

;(

[B Calm]

24. I had a Lab that like hunting kittens. He use to bring them home

too.. I think he was just wanting to play with them, but they ended up dead..

[left is right]

27. my little daschund is a "great hunter"

when he brings me his catch (mostly field mice and occasionally a bird) I always say, "Thank you, I'll eat it later." He wags his tail ans thinks he has done a noble deed.

[BikeWriter]

36. Cat entrails all over my yard...

Commonly occured when my Chows (in my fenced yard) would catch a roaming cat and play tug of war with it.

[matcom]

23. keep your cat in the house

period.

[Scout]

29. I'm with you on that one. n/t

[progressor]

42. Not a chance...

Cats and dogs are animals - they are naturally inclined to be outside - they climb trees, roam the neighborhood, hunt birds, get in fights, and so on.

Plus, if you have an indoor cat, your house ends up smelling like litter box. And that's no good at all.

Our cats don't have a litter box. They go out when they need to go. And the nutcase little one gets locked out all night, every night because she has a tendency to knock things over and make noise at night. Or she scratches up the couch and gets a swift slap to remind her not to.

The old one - who can barely walk - she stays in at night and sleeps, but sometimes ends up pooping on the bathroom floor - on the bathmat/towel and bunches the towel up to "bury" her turds! Hahaha.

[Scout]

44. You're kidding, right?

If it's your cat, you can put up with your house smelling like a litter box (or gosh, why don't you clean the litter box once in a while, then they don't stink) ... I don't have to put up with your cats shit in my yard, and it yowling, and it tormenting my dogs who are in their own yard/house.

Unless I can bring all my dog's shit (which I clean up) over to your yard and leave it, 'k? Cuz I don't want my yard to stink like dog shit.

What a nice neighborly person you seem to be (Not).

[progressor]

48. Not kidding and don't insult me.

I'm not the one making veiled threats to kill "trespassing" animals. Now, THAT's neighborly!

In case you didn't know, we're talking about cats, which are very clean and inconspicuous about their shitting. Shit smells, it doesn't belong inside, so until I'm willing to follow my cats around and change the box every time they shit, they go outside.

They shit and they bury it. Our cats have a little area off to the side of our house where they go, and they bury it when they're done.

Dogs are a whole different issue.

Animals go outside, people go inside. When cats grow opposable thumbs and start flushing the toilet, then they can shit inside.

Besides, cats love being outside. Climbing trees, chasing cars (I know, my cat is nuts), eating bugs/birds/grass.

[BikeWriter]

50. I have cat shit in my garden...

and dead birds in my yard. Any animal found in my yard belongs to me. ;)

[BikeWriter]

47. Any animals in my yard belongs to me.

That's one of my rules. No one else lives here to contest those rules. Possession is something something of the law. Whatever. Any animal seen on my property will be dealt with as I see fit. :)

[thinkingwoman]

25. one of my cats

once laid a mouse on my chest as I slept. Then she adjusted it with her paw until I woke up.

Of course I screamed bloody murder and jumped straight up. I can still see the mouse, and my kitty, flying up into the air.

Thankfully, the mouse was dead.

I praised my kitty though, endlessly. I told her how proud I was of her and then followed through on the ritual we have in our house to honor kitty kills...

Fresh tuna in the food bowl.

We have three indoor cats and one outdoor and we've followed this ritual for years. Any cat that kills a mouse and presents it gets fresh tuna and lots of praise (even if it comes after a round of screaming!).

We adhere to the view that cats who kill mice (or birds, sadly) are fulfilling their role in the world and that when they present them to us, or bring them home, we must acknowledge their successful hunt, whether we like it or not. sigh.

You did fine for your first time. Praise your kitty and give him something special to show your appreciation (real or faked for his benefit).

[bertha katzenengel]

32. Great story! Hilarious. I love tales of levitating cats.

Tuna for a kill: perfect. We don't give him tuna, but we praise Petey mightily whenever he brings us a stray sock or a string.

[sasquatch]

28. Tell him to work on catching mice from now on.

[Contrary1]

33. We had a dog a few years back

who loved to be chased around the yard for whatever happened to be in his mouth. The game always went the same.
After a few minutes of my running around after him, he would drop the item on the ground as a teaser, wiggle his behind,
and pick it up and take off again.

One day he sat at the back door and flashed his familiar teeth-closed smile, which meant he had something in his mouth
that I would be interested in. (Yes, I swear this dog smiled.) So after the usual game had gone on for a few minutes, he
dropped the prize for me to see. In his mouth, he held 3 tiny baby bunnies, all still very much alive, but most likely in shock.

I was able to get them out of our fenced back yard, and under a neighbor's bush. Hopefully, their mother came back for
them. I didn't have the heart to go back and check.

[TyeDye75]

34. My cat used to regularly come home

with sparrows, frogs and the odd fish (????). Not anymore though, she's old and getting a little slow.

It can be upsetting to be confronted with a dead bird but thats just the cats natural instincts.

[BikeWriter]

62. As it's some people's natural instincts...

to protect our native fauna from roaming pets. ;)

[BikeWriter]

35. Your killer cat belongs inside your house.

The bird is probably dead already from Pasteurella bacteria. It's very toxic to birds.

[progressor]

43. Probably right...

I'll disagree about the indoor thing, but if my cat brought a bird in that had a puncture wound in its head, I'd probably take the bird out back and give it the flat-end of the shovel treatment. Quick and painless.

[BikeWriter]

46. Excuse me, but if your cat is outdoors...

you are inviting the same brutal treatment for him.

[progressor]

49. So?

Like what?

Cats get in fights, the scratch each other, they bite. They live. My cats used to get into fights constantly and when they come home, they get the peroxide treatment and some extra attention. The next day, they go back out to God knows where and do their cat things.

What is it with people in this country trying to protect every little thing and prevent everything. From people keeping their animals inside to people keeping their kids inside because they're afraid of pedophiles.

It's all a little too paranoid for my tastes.

[BikeWriter]

51. Good. Let your animals run free...

on my property. On my property they belong to me. Thank you very much. ;)

[progressor]

54. Sounds pretty demented and cruel to me...

You eat cats or something? Murder them? What?

Either way, I'll be sure to visit you in prison! :rofl:

[BikeWriter]

55. No problem...

If you choose to allow your pet to run free on my property I will handle the situation as I see fit. Thank you for your kind consideration. ;)

[progressor]

57. I suggest...

A secluded hut somewhere in Montana, with plenty of weaponry, and a razorwire fence. And a dash of paranoia, with optional messiah complex.

[BikeWriter]

58. No problem. I am a property owner...

...and a responsible one. Animals found on my property will be treated responsibly. ;)

[BikeWriter]

56. Edit all you like.

If I find your pet on my property I will take the responsibility for it. ;)

[rppper]

37. i had a similar experience.........

....at work with a stray we have adopted named tom....

he too had never shown any inclination to hunt, but one day when a robbin got trapped in our screen porch, tom waited untill the bird got tired, drifted low enough, and too my horror, became lunch...feathers and all...he only left a leg and the beak...i started to scold him, but one of the clients said i should let him be...it is ingrained into all cats, be it a lizard or palmetto bug...they are hunters...always have been, always will be.....

[dpbrown]

38. Since cats don't know what to kill, they shouldn't be allowed outside

They are an invasive species that kill native species at an alarming rate.

The guy in Wisconsin was right.

Thank goodness feral cats are fair game anywhere in Minnesota.

[BikeWriter]

39. Thank you.

[Logansquare]

45. I keep my cats outside, but two times one of them has gotten out

and were gone for several hours. I hate to think that this would justify them being shot. I use a Have a Heart trap to capture cats I don't want on my property. It doesn't hurt them, and I can take them to the shelter.

[Yupster]

52. My thinking too dpbrown

If cats were a native species, they would be part of the natural habitat, but they aren't. They are an invasive species that does damage to the native fauna. Keep your cats inside please so they don't kill the native animals that are often already under great stress.

[Dookus]

53. Heheh

I suspect 98% of cat owners react the same way the first time. I know I did.

It never seemed to affect the cats, though. Now I calmly pick up whatever they bring, and if it's alive, I release it, and if it's dead, I trash it. I've become adept at catching birds, mice, gophers, lizards and even worms (yes, the lame-ass cat in my avatar only hunts worms).

Now they don't bring me stuff much because it disappears immediately.

[Floogeldy]

59. You need to give birth to some children

You are concerned about your cat more than most mothers are concerned about their children.

Hook up with some dude and get it done. Honestly. I'm fucking serious.

Do it or you will go even crazier.

[progressor]

60. You said...

"I'm fucking serious."

Is that an offer, or am I mistaken.

:rofl:

[catzies]

63. You're clueless. I have a grown daughter.

Asshole.

[rene moon]

68. Wow, what a dumb thing to say

:wtf:

[BikeWriter]

61. All your cats are belong to us

when they're on our property. They will be treated responsibly. ;)

[rug]

67. Geez how long will this thread go on

The bird is dead! Move on.