Belling the cat - why doesn't it work?

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RapidFire1

New member
Okay; my wife got her tights in a twist because one of the cats killed a small bird - big surprise! So she bought collars with bells on them for both cats. Today I'm working outside and I see the one cat go around the side of the house with a bird, so I followed her. She has a collection of partially eaten birds hidden under a shrub. So why isn't the bell warning off the birds? Do they not hear it or do they just ignore it after a while?
Regardless; the collars are coming off. They obviously don't work.
 
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TimIsenhour

New member
The simplest and most accurate answer is that cats are not "natural" predators of birds, so the birds allow them to get close enough to catch and kill them.

To the birds, a cat is just like a squirrel; competing for the seeds you put out and they don't see a cat as something that will eat them.
 
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Anna

Member
cats are really smart. Even though the bells make sounds and may warn the birds, cats find other alternatives to hunt for mice and birds and other small creatures. Cats are predatures even if they are house pets, their instict is to hunt just like their big cat relatives.
 
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Ash

Member
cats are very smart they have many ways of working around the bells.

it is possible that your cat/s are holding the bell in its mouth. my cat did this and even when we had two bells on. it wasn't until we added a third that she couldn't fit them all in her mouth.

also cats stalk their prey and have probably worked out that the bell only jungles when it is hit and that it is more likley to be hit if the cat walks/runs fast. so they sneak up on the birds/mice without hitting the bell.

but adding three bells seemed to work for us. the bell was annoying at first but after a couple of weeks we got used to it. its just like if you have a dog and floorboards, you can heard them clipping the floor as they walk but you get used to it.
 
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