the great hunter

Hi. I have a male tabby, Tiger, about 2 years old. He is an avid hunter. I love the wildlife in my backyard. Tiger loves it too. He has been killing birds and garden snakes. I've rescued them when I can. A bell collar does not help. I've been keeping him indoors lately to preserve lives out there. He's terribly unhappy about being an indoor cat. He howls mournfully to go out. Any tips on keeping him happy without letting him hunt?

Any tips on keeping a cat happy when he wants to get out and kill birds and garden snakes? Tiger is a 2-year-old tabby who LOVES wildlife. He has killed so many birds that I've been keeping him indoors. A bell collar does not help. He's very unhappy and wails constantly about wanting to go out and hunt. What do I do??

Just wanted to welcome you to the site
I dont have any experience with bringing a cat in from outdoors but I know good help and advice is on the way. He sure sounds like a good little hunter.

Hey Ruthie...is there a way you can provide him a cat enclosure of some kind? Many people have either built enclosures with an access through a cat door or as an extention to their existing house (like a enclosed porch..but for the cat)...this way your cat could enjoy the scents of the great outdoors...but won't be able to harm any wildlife.

http://www.animalnetwork.com/cats/enclosure.asp

http://www.cat-world.com.au/cat-worldenclosures.htm

http://cats.about.com/gi/dynamic/off..._enclosure.htm

http://cats.about.com/od/outdoorencl...endlyfence.htm

http://www.catsinternational.org/art...nclosures.html

Katie

Thanks for the tip. It's something I may try.

Get a cat toy. Get a box. Cut several holes in the box big enough for kitty to reach in and try to grab the toy, but not quite big enough to get it back out. Tape the box shut, with the toy inside.

We had a box at Christmas from a toy, that was clear on one side so the cats could see the toys inside. It was fun until Garfield got so rough he tore the box and pulled the toy out!

For dogs, they sell Kong toys that you can put treats in for them to try to get out. Maybe you can get him something like that, and put treats (pieces of cheese or something) inside so he gets the tasty treat like the birds are.

And is he fixed? If not, that may help. Good luck. I never had one that killed a lot of birds, just mostly mice!

Hi welcome to the site.

Welcome to TCS!

Hello and welcome!!!

Welcome to the site! Since your two threads were asking the same question, I merged them into one, and I will move it to the Behavior forum.

If I had an indoor/outdoor cat, I would go ahead and let them hunt. But...if you don't want that happening, I think the links posted by TNR1 are a good solution.

A cat with good hunting instincts will catch stuff if they are given free reign to move around outside. That's just a fact.