Oliver, whilst being a cat lover, was concerned that our beloved pets are a part of the problem. They are made in colours that birds can easily see, and spot from a distance, and have bells on them that can be heard by the birds. These are now also available from the Vet Farm and Pet Clinic in Warkworth, and, from the data that we have collected from friends testing the collars, appear to have cer
tainly made a big difference, by significantly reducing the amount of birds caught by cats. We have even had good results with a collar for a cat who, up until now, has managed to escape from every collar he has been given. We don’t want people looking at our pets as the enemy, so it is our responsibility to do everything in our power to prevent them being so. The use of these collars, along with a night time curfew, can help all of us to reduce the numbers of native birds being killed every year (note - not all birds nest in trees). Birds are particularly vulnerable during the night, but a night time curfew is actually simple to instigate. Just get your cats used to a certain feeding time each night, and lock them in when they turn up for dinner. Then let them out once it is light again in the morning. It may take a short while to get them used to it, but we have done this with every cat we have owned, with no problems. Whilst saving native birds, we may very well be saving our pets.
