Change your cat's bell to save birds

The age-old technique of attaching a bell to a cat's collar to warn birds of its approach is losing its effectiveness because cats are learning to walk without ringing them. Wildlife experts have told cat owners they need to regularly change their cat's bell to stay one step ahead of their pet.

They are also calling for owners to give their cats garishly coloured collars and to install sonic devices in their gardens to scare their pets indoors. The advice is contained in a new guide produced by the British Trust for Ornithologists (BTO) which aims to reduce the impact of cats on garden birds.



Cats are believed to be responsible for the deaths of 55 million birds in Britain every year and have been blamed for contributing to the long term declines of garden birds like the house sparrow. Populations of other garden birds, such as the robin and dunnock, are also said to suffer from predation by cats.

Dr Tim Harrison, from the BTO, said cats were able to reduce the effectiveness of bells through careful movements. By keeping their heads still as they stalk, the sound of the bell is reduced. "It is fascinating that you have this animal that can try to compensate for this bell put round its neck. It also couldn't harm to try a colourful collar on the cat. Birds are predominantly visual foragers with keen eyesight so anything like that wouldn't do any harm."