Re: [cobirds] Bushtit predation by cats

Thanks to all for their replies.  It breaks my heart every time I see a dead bird.  I also fear

for the life of my cat, since coyotes show up in the neighborhood.  Nevertheless,  I feel I have to

strike a compromise.  At the risk of raising a storm of protest, I assert that my cat would be even 

more deprived of a full life than I would be if I were confined to an exclusively indoor life.  And I

don't think a "catio" would suffice.

So I do as much as I can: I don't let the cat out until several hours after dawn, limit him to a few hours a day, 

restrict him severely when baby robins are due out of the nest, and in general try to keep him with me as I

work in my very large  garden and yard.  If my cat were catching birds often, I would

probably change my mind and keep him in altogether.

I acknowledge the amazing predatory abilities: my cat is quite small (8 1/2 lbs) and has no front claws (that way

when adopted), so I expected him to be unable to snag anything.  But he's still capable.  Honestly, I feel the voles

are fair game, but any bird breaks my heart.  I've been here 47 years but never seen a bushtit caught until now.  

On Monday, July 14, 2025 at 11:37:00 AM UTC-6 David Suddjian wrote:

Cats can jump. And Bushtits are low sometimes, where there is low cover like shrubs.

David

On Mon, Jul 14, 2025 at 10:42 AM dgulb...@gmail.com <dgulb...@gmail.com> wrote:

Can anyone tell me why Bushtits are subject to cat predation?

I never see them on the ground.  They are usually at least 6' up

and moving fast.  Or could it be that Magpies cause some to

fall out of the nest where they are found by a cat?

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