Blue Jay

Jennifer , this cat is absolutely adorable!! Thanks for sharing its picture! i had a similar black cat who's family I had rescued. There were 5 in all. All of them found really great homes , His mom Ms. Callie is an indoor cat and is totally spoiled. I have never seen a more beautiful feral cat. My cat was very melodious . I have two cats and I feed them at home. I talk a lot to them and believe it or not ,they understand the word "mean" I tell them on and off not to be mean to birdies etc etc , initially when they were younger, I had a bucket of water ready and would throw it at them when I saw them stalking a bird. Seems to have worked. Max ,my older one loves to do flips in the air.He starts clowning when he sees younger kittens.

Jenniffer... I like to see your cats pictures.. add it in Pets category..!!

Marta - check your emails...about being a Project Noah Ranger. You'd make a great one!

Oii..poor little baby fledling blue jay! Thank you for saving him!..well, the cat is just acting instinctively as we all know and for them is an act of love to bring you an alive prey..they do that for their owners to show their love..is just that we prefer other meals and that other people kills these for us.. that say, I am more of a bird than a cat lover, just a personal preference :-)

Jenniffer... you have made that poor Black Cat a pure Villon here... Already stole her lunch.... ;)

avtab - I also use coffee grounds as mulch. I've not found them to be particularly acidic. They smell good to dogs who like to roll in them or lick them, though, so I let them sit out a few days to loose some of their smell or I mix them with mulch. But, the world-wide coffee industry is harsh in human and land resources - so that is something to consider if buying grounds just to put on as mulch or animal deterrents. I think it is about keeping products out of landfills - that I already was being used or was already going to go to the landfill. If you can re-use that waste, and postpone or prevent from going into a landfill, I'm all for that. This is one of the longer Noah discussions...It's been good. Please remember to keep the attacks on the poster to a minimum. Challenge ideas but be nice. We are all here to learn and spread knowledge. There is bound to be disagreement. At some point - agree to disagree but please refrain from attacking a poster. Those types of attacks are not appropriate here.

avatb - I did not realize that was the only way fox urine was collected. I assumed it was from captured foxes, who may be captured for various reasons - injury or abandoned or killed mom. I don't know. It could be from caged foxes who's waste is collected in saw dust or the like, and ground up for resale, much like bagged "man-ooer" manure is. If it's waste by definition, and is discarded into landfills...and the foxes are not harmed in the process of collecting it, or are even being rehabbed - then why not collect it and use it? Regardless, I will investigate the source and see if I can locate a source that is not harming or trapping healthy foxes for this purpose. As for the resident human male...illegal in the city where I live.

Hear, hear! Plus the biggest threat to wildlife in general isn't predation but loss of habitat & the use of pesticides which remove essential elements from the food chain. These are things we do have control over, even if is only at limited level, i.e. our own backyards.

LOL! Seriously not all predators are after you! Typically dangerous encounters with bears or mountain lions is because of encroachment by humans on what was their space to begin with. They would much prefer a different food source that you. And bears typically attack to defend. The domestic cat has been around for thousands of years and historically was used to help control rodent populations in food stores. Predators are needed in nature to control balance. When a prey population becomes unmanaged from lack of predators typically their numbers are reduced naturally by disease. Lastly prey typically has defenses. Birds can fly, have talons, and sharp beaks. They can fight or flight. However if every creature was invincible then all organism populations would get out of control. I think the question of why an organism is doing something needs to be answered first in order to find to best way to co exist without culling. Culling from lack of understanding is just barbaric. O and on dogs you apparently have never met a Jack Russel. I know one that will take out snakes, minks, the fish off your line, she just loves the chase. Dogs and humans are no less guilty of what you are condemning cats for doing.

Trapping is the absolute best way to eliminate the problem. Once Trapped you take them to your Animal Control dept. then they determine what's next. Should we let marauding bears run lose till nature/man balance out ? Should we let Mtn Lions with a thirst for humans run amok? Should we let Terrorists go because that's what Terrorists do? The Balance was undone by their/Cat introduction ... who's multiplecation is grossly more than that of its Easy Prey, birds, lizards, reptiles, They are NOT a BLESSING in nature. Because they've been around for way to long is no reason to continue the onslaught. I sense to some of you that had that Blue Jay been ripped up and left or drug to someones porch would be, ho hum. Cats are doing to nature's wild small defenseless creatures What Man did to the Whale, only for No Reason other than 'that's what they do'.

Hi.. Jennifer Please update ID Blue Jay... Nice story and debate... Cats are top positioned predators in Web of Life.

Thank you for provoking an interesting debate Jenniffer!

Spaying and neutering is the best approach, if you have the time and funds to do so, some clinics do it for free actually to. Cats have territories, if you relocate a cat, new ones will just move in in their place, its a waste of time for you. Whereas if you spay/neuter the cats, they will defend their territory and usually no new cats will move in, keeping the population in that area very low.

Any person who traps a cat and turns it in to be killed is not an animal lover that's for sure. Being a cat owner I would report anyone trapping cats to the ASPCA in a heartbeat, its illegal to do so where I live, what does that tell you. There are lots of invasive species, it's not our place to play god and decide who lives and who dies, that's just wrong. And since your a bird lover, let me state people kill sparrows and pigeons because they call them a nuisance. I don't agree with this at all either, leave nature alone! besides, all animals got here by people bringing them, and they will never go away, your fighting a losing battle there.

Cats both domestic an feral are an invasive species in the natural world. You should review the science on the matter: http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/index.html Again, i post this link from the American Bird Conservancy of independent studies. CATS are a Problem World Wide, desemating species after species. You can say all you want the facts are clear Cats desemate and the desemation continues. Those who understand and take action and don't let these predacious beasts kill for thrill (~ that's what cats do ~ it is the nature of the beast. Not to mention the ever present cat crap in the garden etc) They Turn them over to the Animal Control when trapped in ones yard, & by maintaining feeders that cats can't get to (i maintain a feeders at 7' and or enclosed / Water.bath at 5.5' ) Last yeat the Animal Control euthanized near a 1000 cats and a figure of 3000 would have been maybe half the problem. The original post was typical of cats, show me the dogs who thrill kill birds ? The only place for a cat is in the house - hense House Cat. or on a leash.

And, not arguing here, just stating the obvious; HUMANS have done more harm to every species through rampant overpopulation and habitat destruction than all the cats and dogs through all time could ever do.

And to the OP thanks for helping the bird!

Cats are everywhere and will continue to be. The best thing you can do is to place bird feeders and bird houses in places cats cannot get to. To William Crain, did you forget pet dogs also kill much wildlife such as rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels, and birds to, yes some dogs can catch birds! Like I said, don't blame anyone, as long as there are pets and people wildlife will always be affected. There are people who hate birds because they pop on cars, so think about that too. Everyone should stop arguing the battle never ends.

@JennifferBookins Glad you were able to save him. I apologize for being off topic because this post was about a bluebird spotting. @WilliamCrain Cats seem to be a problem for you but they are not a world wide problem. NOt all cats are pets. Not all cats kill for fun. Just like not all people kill for fun. However it would not be fair to say all people killed for fun just because some do. Hunting is a survival instinct. And I seriously doubt that domestic cats whether they are a pet or not is responsible for impacting any species to the degree of decline. Just one more note...animals generally aren't aware of human laws. This is when we need to be more intelligent and think of creative ways to co exist with those that follow only the laws of nature and not human laws. An good example would be how you elevated your feeders.

Articles on Trap, Neuter, Release: http://www.feralcat.com/articles-reports.html I'm glad your jay lives to fly another day!

It is also extremely painful & some cats never fully recover from the trauma. It can lead to aggression, avoiding the litter box & other anti-social behavior.

Let me state this more clearly than I did last time -- fox urine extraction is cruel. Coffee grounds on the other hand have the added advantage of being great mulch for plants. People worry that they're too acidic, but they really aren't. And just an added note about human urine as a repellent; it is also a great weed killer when applied undiluted, and it adds much needed nitrogen to the ground.

Jenniffer, I'm pleased there is a happy end to this story!

William, cats are territorial & once established tend to respect each others boundaries. Removing a cat from it's territory is likely to just lead to another increasing it's territory. Responsible ownership - i.e. neutering & keeping the cat indoors is the only answer - but unfortunately many cat owners don't do this. Incidentally, declawing is a completely barbaric practice - it involves removing the entire end of each digit, not just the claw. It is extremely in-humane & is banned in many countries & should be in the US.

Thanks for the Fox urine idea. i have a yard full of Great Plains Toads, the concepts of spreading moth balls and other alien products coffee grounds etc doesn't work for me and i 'll be the toads wouldn't either but the Fox urine might be more in line with their habitat. i live in the middle of the city ~ and GPT's are everywhere but i like them and have made Toad Pools for them to uhhh fornicate in ~ love their nightly singing/pinning.

Interesting idea avatb - it would be an interesting talking point with the neighbors! We have resident foxes & it has no effect at all on the squirrels, other peoples' cats or anything else! Sometimes we even see the squirrels on the bird feeders with the foxes rooting around on the ground below!

Avatb you are as wrong as wrong can be . i dare you to check the link sent above = see all the studies done on Cats : Well fed, Declawd and with a bell on they are every bit 100% predacious. Your solution is just an old wives clap trap. Feral Cats decimate as do Domestic Cats all the time That's what they Do! the storyline of keeping them so other cats don't move in is Cat Tripe.

Another possibility is to have your resident human male go out at night and pee around the edges of your yard to ward off cats, squirrels, etc.

Unfortunately, fox urine is collected by keeping foxes in cages. Also, it's not legal in some states.

Trap, neuter and release programs actually work better than trap and kill programs to lower populations of feral cats. Part of the agreement is that if you trap a cat you feed it in perpetuity, lowering it's inclination to kill birds. This seems to have worked with the 3 feral cats who occupy my property. The female had had two litters; only one kitten had survived and I got that one fixed and into a home at the same time I got the mom fixed. If I had the feral cats killed, it would just have created a vacuum into which other cats could move. Domestic cats are another story and their people need to work to keep them in at least during the day. At night they can hunt roof rats and gophers, which I see as a service!

fox urine....sprinkle fox urine on the corners of your yard, about every 3 or so feet another sprinkle....this seems to keep squirrels, chipmunks, and cats out of my yard where I sprinkle it. Sometimes, if I sprinkle too much, it attracts the dogs to do their business on that spot, and I can burn my grass/plants. Fox urine is purchased at higher end nursery stores. It stinks. A little goes a long long way.

http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/index.html Thanks for your reply Jenniffer, Cats are a terrible problem world wide and cat owners could careless. check the link - the program of gathering them up and neutering them is rediculous as rounding up the Wolves and neutering them.. They still Kill and Eat. but at least the wolf eats it's prey Cats kill for thrill ~ it's what they do; doesn't matter birds by the billions, snakes, lizards, the decimation is overwhelming. i feed birds in my back yard and fight the cats off daily. Feeder for the Blue Jays is 6.5' up in the air and the water/bath is 5 feet off the ground ...

thank you for saving this young Blue Jay. Cats are altogether an INVASIVE species. There are laws all over America forbidding cats roaming outside of the owners house... Most Cat Owners could care less and are flagrant violators %99.9 percent of them have total disregard for their Invasive Killer destroying billions of birds, snakes and other reptile for the sake of Killing.