Many people who love birds simply love animals. Almost all animals. This includes cats. My daughter loves all animals. She had to have inherited her love of animals and nature from her mother and me. She’s an adult and has joined a Sea Turtle rescue organization. She also rescues feral cats and 5 of them have ended up in my backyard (I live in the country) . Of course they have been spayed and neutered and they get regular vet care and Pet Smart loves my weekly visits to purchase food for them. The issue here is how can I have birds in my backyard and also have outdoor cats?
You can search the web and find organizations that promote keeping cats indoors. This is a great idea but not practical for the feral cat population that we all know is already too large to begin with. If you live in a neighborhood with neighbors close by you’ll also have to deal with those that have no issue letting their cats out to come stalk in your yard. There’s not much you can do about this either. So what do you do when you can’t really keep cats out of your yard and you want to attract birds into it?
Ideally you should place your birdhouse as high into the bird’s habitable zone as you can. What I mean by a habitable zone is that height off the ground that a bird prefers. For example a Violet-Green Swallow prefers to be 5-15 feet above the ground while the Indigo Bunting prefers 2-10 feet. If you’re trying to attract the Swallow place the house 15 feet above the ground and for the Bunting 10 feet. This puts as much distance between your birds and any marauding cats as possible.
One option many people use to set up their birdhouses is to mount them on 4″ x 4″ posts purchased from one of those huge hardware stores. In many cases this is a great solution and better than trees because posts can be set up in such a way to discourage both cats and squirrels. When you purchase the post also buy a length of PVC pipe 5″ in diameter and a can of foam sealant. Get 8 feet of PVC pipe and have the pipe cut the same length as your post, or if your post is longer than 8 feet use it as is. Once you have your post firmly in the ground put the PVC pipe over it and sink the pipe about 6″ into the ground. If you’re cementing the post into the ground this should be done at the same time. Once the pipe is in place seal the exposed end with the foam sealant and trim and paint to match your yard. The PVC pipe can also be spray painted. Doing this will prevent cats and squirrels from climbing to your birdhouse and attacking your birds.
Even taking all the precautions you can you’re still going to have fatalities if cats roam your yard. You cannot stop it and you need to be prepared for that. All of us love nature and we don’t mind the Osprey or Eagle snatching up a fish. Yes, we know that this is what they must do because no one is feeding them. Cats, even domestic ones, cannot deny their nature. They were born hunters and, given the opportunity, that’s what they’ll do. If you put all the safeguards you can in place you can mourn any losses you have and reconcile it with the fact you’re providing an environment where many more birds will live than might have otherwise.
A Wolf Mountain birdhouse is designed for specific birds. Visit the Wolf Mountain Birdhouse online store and select a birdhouse for the bird you want to attract.
