Tips for cat owners on how to save songbirds

Two leading animal charities, Cats Protection and Songbird Survival, have teamed up to issue advice to cat owners after a recent survey has found almost half (46%) aren’t aware of the ways to reduce cat predation of songbirds who are threatened or already in decline.

When asked to suggest the best ways to reduce hunting, less than one in 10 owners picked out any of the three that are scientifically proven to work best – keeping cats in at night, feeding cats protein-rich food and playing with cats.

Research from Songbird Survival and the University of Exeter shows that regular play with a cat and feeding them a premium diet reduced the amount of prey brought home by a cat by as much as 25% and 36% respectively.

Cats Protection is also urging people to get their cat neutered as it not only reduces cat over-population but also makes them less likely to fight, reducing the spread of infectious disease such as Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). It also reduces the risk of certain cancers in female cats such as mammary cancer.

Aston spoke to Nicky Trevorrow, behaviour manager at Cats Protection and Susan Morgan, CEO of Songbird Survival.

Photo by Erik-Jan Leusink on Unsplash