Cats urghhhhh

I thought i liked cats until bought a house with a garden now I'm starting to hate them.
I have sowed some seeds in the earth and they have made a mess and dug up the seeds.
Should I have sowed the seeds with protection around around them?
How do I prevent the cats messing in the garden?

appreciate any help

gardening beginner

 

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=24;t=000061
Have a look in here allye

 

And if all else fails.

 

This subject has been examined in detail on Birdforum:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=42039
Mainly from the perspective of protecting garden birds, but relevant to gardens in general, I think.

 

LEAVE US CATS ALONE................

 

allye,

vent your frustrations with cats here.

BM

http://www.richsalter.btinternet.co.uk/cks2/

 

:( A scene of bloody murder met our eyes this morning.
On the path just outside our backdoor lay the bodies of five baby blackbirds.
Their nest was only a few feet away from our back door and it was lovely to see the
parent birds flying in with food.
Not any more!

It can only have been a cat!!!!!!
As a life long cat lover, today I am not so sure.

[ 09. June 2006, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: jjordie ]

 

With regard to the sad demise of our baby blackbirds - would it be best to remove
the nest to discourage new eggs being laid
in such a vulnerable spot?

 

Mmmm - doesn't sound like a cat - the dead fledglings would have been partially or totally eaten. Sounds more like something tipped them out of the nest possibly a magpie or the like - who knows, but tis sad.

Me I'd leave the nest where it is as long as it is not too low - I have a blackbirds nest in some ivy about 6 foot from my back door. So far the first fledgling ended on the floor - prolly fell out, the second couple fledged but pa was killed, one at least was got by my visiting sparrow hawk, they are now on nest three - but I think the male disappeared again, so who knows what will happen.

 

Thanks Fran. Poor things were partially eaten - there was blood everywhere -
didn't know little birds had that much blood in them.

And the nest is hardly 4 ft from the floor - shall I still leave it there? Of course
I would love them to hatch some more but not if the cats get them again. :(

 

It's possible that they were tipped out by magpies, squirrels etc and something else ate them, eg rat or cat.. What a shame. I'd leave the nest just to see if they try again there or opt for a safer spot... :(

 

Still doesn't sound like a cat sorry - However yes I would leave the next where it is - however look to see if you can put some thorny branches around and underneath it. You can't stop other birds, but you can make it difficult for mamals to get near it.

 

That is toooo ghastly, Banana Man! (But I did play a round or two!!

 

Good fun though, don't take it seriously though.

I like cats don't get me wrong but they should all live on farms doing something useful like catching vermin, rather than killing wildlife and pooing germs and diseases all over people pride and joys. Dog owners would certainly be fined if their dog was caught crapping on your front lawn or ripping apart wildlife, how about some culpability for cat owners.

 

how high is the nest? Sometimes cats are overestimated a bit with regards to climbing trees, they don't normally go very high if at all because they have problems coming down again (I remember one of our guys once played hide and seek and we could not find him until we heard a loud *thud!* - when he fell down from inside the conifers and he had hurt himself badly - our adventurous Bengal cat loves climbing the cherry tree but only when we are around to rescue him, he NEVER figures out how to get down by himself, and in order for us to be able to get him down he does not go very high and stays within the strong branches, avoiding the flimsy ones).

I also reckon it must have been a magpie kicking the birdlings out - they were perhaps gnawd by a cat (or more than one) later, when they were either dead or almost dead... as cats will jump at any occasion to hunt down injured birds and some even have a go at dead ones.