Cats and garden birds

Cat sleeping on window sill

There is no denying that pet cats kill garden birds. Many people are distressed and angered by someone else's cat killing birds in their garden. Many cat owners want to stop cats killing birds.

The RSPB is not an animal welfare organisation, but a wildlife conservation organisation concerned with populations of all wild birds and other wildlife. The RSPB is, however, aware of people's feelings about this issue, and takes their concerns seriously.

The RSPCA and Scottish SPCA, which are primarily concerned with animal welfare and not conservation, support the advice in these pages.

Cats may take millions of birds every year, but from a conservation viewpoint, we need to consider whether this is causing bird populations to decline.

These pages provide some information on the impact cats might have on birds in gardens, and some ideas on what can be done to reduce it. There is still much that is not clear but we will continue to review our knowledge.

What can I do?

Help keep cats away from your garden birds

Buy the CATWatch cat deterrent from the RSPB shop