Nooooooooo Nature is nature, but I really dislike cats too!

I think that you have to make cats feel uncomfortable in your garden! Those false black cats you can stick in the ground. Naphthalene, chemical cat deterrents, lion poo, water pistols. Frighten them when you see them or throw tennis balls at 'em.

Cats are a nuisance this time of year with all the fledgelings about,Magpies kill them too.I chase both from my garden if I see them.Invest in a super soaker water jet gun and give the moggies a good shot up their old one eye.

cats don't like Lilly plants either so you could plant lots of them.

 

I likes cats but they are a nuisance as are magpies at this time of year.

RSPB advice for cat owners is to keep them indoors at dawn and dusk,and to put a loud bell on their collar.

Happened here the other day, but was a magpie that got them

I will defend Magpies to the hilt...   yes they feed on meat...  roadkill or baby birds..  but they do it for food and to feed their young.    The government is currently sanctioning a cull on Magpies & it makes my blood boil    At the same time there are initiatives to preserve the cuckoo...  yet the cuckoo lays its egg in reed warblers nests, and when it hatches it pushes the warblers eggs out of the nest (killing them)...    I hate the prejudice agains Magpies.   they are beautiful birds.   They mate for life...   if their mate dies, the remaining one soon follows, as its so bereft it fails to look after itself properly.

 

And...  anyone saying that Magpies are the most vicious bird out there wanna research Robins..  they are really vicious birds!  

 

 

As for baby blackbirds getting killed..   yeah, its heartbreaking.   the bloody things fledge 1-2 weeks before they can fly...  living on the ground whilst still fairly helpless & dependent on the parents for food.    We've had a couple in our flowerbeds in that state...  & for the whole fortnight I have to take the dog into the garden on a lead...   and am forever chasing off cats that come anywhere near the garden.

Ditty it's moggies that I have problems with.7 million in the UK,say 5 to 6 million are outdoor cats that take birds even one a week never mind one a day.

its true...   45% of the decline in songbirds (which is the reasoning behind the magpie cull) is attributed to cats.   that means the remaining 55% is environment (which has to be a biggie), yes, magpies (but also other birds of prey, sparrow hawks, owls, kites etc),  

Yes the changes to farmlands, hedgerows destroyed etc.Gardens changing,slabbed over or decking put down foreign plants no use to native species.Houses getting  done up ,no old slate roofs etc for house sparrows to nest in.I have a pair of carrion crows that visit the garden,they are the only things that the magpies are scared of,even the lesser black backed seagulls get the wind put up them by the carrion crows,they are fearless. It's just magpies are messy when they kill songbirds and are not quick with it,so you hear the wee birds screeching in terror as the magpies stab at them.

Not had a problem with magpies... don't see them much, theres two cats that are regularly in my garden though.

 

 

Had it been in the states I expect you could probably shoot them

Oh Mr Mincey then you would have all the mad cat laydees on your case.

I've witnessed that and I never want to witness it again.

 

We have baby starlings around at the moment and the noise the adult birds make when a magpie is around is deafening.

Miss S, that's where the dislike of Magpies come from I think,their prey suffers.Sparrowhawks kill quick and clean,they have powerful snap shut claws and dispatch quickly.I bloody chased a magpie once through three gardens with a young starling screeching in it's claws.I knew it was futile but I tried anyway.

thats sad, i adore blackbirds

AwwKatty - I was too late to reach the wee baby last year - I could hear the screeching of the adult birds but when I made it to the garden the magpie had it in its clutches pecking its wee head.

 

As Ditty said though, they are just trying to feed themselves and their families and it's nature... but it's still so sad. 

Didn't know there's a magpie cull planned.. not good.  Crows are as much of a threat to small critturs, are they not? Despite their thug tendencies, I like both birds , they're smart cookies!

Yea Slinki,but I'm in an urban area and see one pair of crows. I've counted dozens of magpies.They both are very clever birds, in fact crows are the cleverest of all birds,problem solving,tool using etc.

They're clever right enough Real tricksters I watched two of them  ganging up to con another one out of a roll he'd nicked outside a cafe.. one stood in front of him ,flapped, let out a surprised kind of sound and looked up the way - he dropped the roll and looked to see what it was about and the other one snuck in and legged it with the roll  while he looked the other way  

Think all the weegie crows must live in my back garden, got loads here!