Eating whole pigeons, normal cat behaviour?

In the last week my cat (Ian) has killed and eaten 2 pigeons. When I say eaten, I mean the lot apart from the birds stomach contents of next doors bird seed, some berries and feathers.

He’s coming up to 2 years old and he’s a big cat, not fat, a bit of a machine! Next door feeds all the birds and she’s managed to create a gathering of feral pigeons that wont go away. TBH they are a pain and I suppose I’m glad that Ian has decided to assassinate them one by one but I’ve never seen a cat eat the whole lot too.

It’s not as if we starve him, he gets fed well and it’s good stuff.

He’s tried going after the seagull that visits but he couldnt hang on as it took off from the top of the shed.

Is this normal, should we worry about him catching anything off these pigeons?

…should we worry about him catching anything off these pigeons?

It’s not impossible for Ian to get salmonella from eating raw pigeons.

EDIT : And obviously also other infections such as e coli.

I would recommend that he marinates them in cider and garlic for a few hours and then sticks them on the barbie

Well he also drinks out of the toilet so I suppose he’d be dead by now 😀

If there is a normal for cats, that’s it.
Ours used to eat the lot too. At least he’s not wasting anything.
We stuck a collar with a bell on ours after we both got a bit tired of the carnage. New neighbour has posh doves too.
Works a treat.

Excellent name btw.
I quite fancy Barry for our next one.
Maybe combined with a Sharon if we end up with two.

Ian?

Bloody Ian?

Not really the kind of name one would associate with a furry death bringer, hence the need to reinforce his killer nature. Start calling him Slash, or Tiger, or some other name and your problem will go away.

Carnage is right. We’ve had a new raised deck built an in places it looks like a butchers block.

Not really the kind of name one would associate with a furry death bringer,

He looked like an Ian when he was little, Didnt think he’d turn out like this. 😀

You’ve only got another 12 years or so to go! Our little monster was a rescue jobbie and pretty into the concept of looking after herself. The one night I failed to come home to feed her she went out and caught a seagull – no idea how as she is tiny. I came home the next morning to find a scene from a nature program with the bird splayed out on the patio with the cat standing over it with a red blood covered head as she had eaten a cavity out of the middle.

She was 14 this year and this has been the first year she has not bothered trying to get friendly with the indigenous population.

I think mine really underestimated the size of this seagull. He climbed up the fence behind the shed and shot accross the shed roof and caught hold of it. The seagull went to take off and took him with it but the cat let go, probably realising it wasnt going to happen. Great to watch though!

My cat was picky and never ate mice kidneys. Everything else but never the kidneys.

Our killer cat always decapitates and always leaves the head and guts. Usually leaves most of the boney bits too. She’s got a proper cats name though, Milly.

Next doors cat was called Dave.

My mum’s cat was called Dave. Ian’s brother was called Keith but we had to re-home him.

Ian. 😐

our’s used leave mouse kidneys – obviously not a fan
the current 2 got a bird 1 plucked it (eating feathers and spitting them out till he got bored) the other then moved in and polished off the good bits. Not expert hunters – it had flown into the window and landed on them.

and then sticks them on the barbie

Mine would have preferred to be on the barbie itself. Was addicted to hot. Often smelled the smell of burning cat when it snuggled up to the bar fire a bit too far.
That cat was called Pickle.

Neighbours cat was called Eric. Even after she had kittens.

our third 😯 rescue cat(Pat) is a mad killer and eater of most of its catches has been seen to eat most of a mouse in one go with bones a crunching, last 2 mice were found on drive with only arse and tail left looked like they were half in the concrete! glad its not caught anything big though, take care with cat drinking out of WC, house i shared in N wales had a lot of probs with squirrels outside and in as i found out one morning when off for morning visit, i guess sqirrel was desperate for a drink… must have been to go near that bog must have fallen in head first and been unable to scramble out up the porcelain … dead in trap 1

Huffy The Bunnyslayer Humphrey always used to leave the guts and kidneys, the ears and one eyeball.

The first time he brought back a rabbit it was taken from him and put back in the bushes, the same with the 2nd. So, 3rd rabbit in an hour he was allowed to keep.

Have trodden in many a mouse spleen walking down the stairs at my mum’s house.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cats_actually_kill

Cheers

Danny B

My cat Frank eats whole rabbits on a regular basis, he has had a few squirrels too!! As well as the usual baby robins and meeces.

Just make sure he is wormed and flead regularly and he will be fine.

Mine has brought home and eaten ,countless rats ,several rabbits a racing pigeon ,a mole ,smaller birds and loads of mice ,quite partial to snake and slow worms as well !!

OP ignore the naysayers – Ian is a fantastic name!

He looked like an Ian when he was little, Didnt think he’d turn out like this.

My mum’s probably gone through a similar thought process at some stage.

Tiger.

ours never ate the back legs or tail of mice and voles.

She also killed a stoat tasted it and left it, going by the smell i guess stoats don’t taste great either.

Ollie regularly brings home large rats, bunnies, and occasionally rooks, and apart from the occasional bite mark or clump of fur missing, it doesn’t seem to do him any harm.

He’ll eat the lot though, he doesn’t like wasting food.

He’s not bought me back any pidgeons as yet.

Size 9 foot for reference…

And Ian’s a great name for a cat!

Edited to add: Since I’ve started giving him raw chicken thighs and turkey wings, he’s stopped bringing as much “nature” back into the house. I don’t know if chewing on the bones satisfies something inside of him and stops him hunting. Regardless it’s nice not to come down to a a lounge covered in rat gore every other day.

Our old cat just used to leave the bird’s legs. Found one one day that had been ringed…

Grew up on a farm with about 20 cats around the place. Some tame, some not, some very wild indeed.

One cat (Maggot) used to eat quite enormous mice caught in traps whole without chewing. Very much like you see snakes do. He would pick it up tilt his head back and swallow. Always head first.

Other favourites were adult bunnies, moles, rats, slow worms, shrews and the odd pigeon.

We had a rabbit that escaped from its hutch and dug a warren in the front garden and bred with wild rabbits that moved in. The cats then had a field day killing the baby rabbits as soon as they popped out of the holes. They became very good at it. The front garden was just a mass of rabbit holes and fur.

We had a female cat who had kittens in the straw barn and brought rabbits for them to eat.

Ah happy days…..