Just had to chase the neighbors cat away from a juvenile kookaburra that was on the ground in our yard. The cat has been on the other side of the fence waiting for its chance to finish the job.
We put the bird in a cardboard box to take to the local vet tomorrow.
Can anyone give me any good reason why cats are still allowed to roam free without consequence in this country?
Update: We were woken by cat noises again this morning. After a safe and quiet night in a box the fledgling kookaburra was released where it was found and after several attempts it managed to fly up onto a roof where it will at least be safe from ground based predators today. Multiple adults birds in the area this morning and some amazing bird calls.
My former outside cats didn’t exhibit any of the stereotypical behaviors we all joke about. Of the 6 cats I’ve had in the past, only one was a killer, but he kept to rodents. No idea how that worked out. 🤷🏻♂️
There are several outdoor cats around here, and I’m in the yard all the time. Never seen evidence of them killing anything. Only dead animal I’ve found was a male hummingbird, and as thick as the males were that year, I suspect it was from a hummingbird fight. One third of an acre, on the edge of town, plenty of cats, 1 corpse. YMMV.
Not saying cats aren’t killers! But I’m guessing much of the instinct had faded over time. Again, I’ve only known one killer, among my cats and all the others I’ve known.