I have only today heard about the cat bib. It shows you how big the internet is. The “cat bib” is a device that stops the domestic cat catching birds and other species of animal, and killing them. It is a triangular shaped piece of soft, washable material that hangs from the cat’s collar. It simply presents a barrier between prey and cat. “It defeats all the cat’s stealth and cunning at exactly the moment it’s needed…” It is meant to be worn when your cat goes out but can be left on all the time as it is claimed to not interfere with the normal activities of a domestic cat except hunting.
The 64,000-dollar question is: Is it a good idea? Well, it depends on how we relate to our cats and nature in general. As I see it there are two ways of approaching this product.
FOR: The manufacturers say that it is 81% successful and therefore is effective in stoping cats killing birds. This is a good thing many would argue. Cats kill billions of birds some people say. We must protect native species from the invasive species that is the domestic cat. However, people, including bird conservationists over egg the cake when discussing the data about cats killing birds. It is not as bad as they make out. The fact is we don’t have reliable information on the impact of the domestic and feral cat on native animal species, despite what people claim.
NOT SO SURE: As far as I can see no one has asked what the cat might feel with a fairly large piece of material hanging from his or her collar (your cat will have to wear a collar to use this). And how does the cat react to being prevented from expressing natural behaviour? Does the cat bib stress the cat slightly? We need to ask ourselves how we might feel if a major part of our natural activity was terminated at a stroke.
The cat bib seems to be one more product that further domesticates the domestic cat and reduces its natural behaviour. How far do we go to modify our cat’s natural behaviour and appearance? Breeders have created some odd looking purebred cats and this product seems to be designed to assuage our guilt at knowing that our cat might kill birds. This seems to be a bit similar to declawing only much more humane of course. But it is designed to modify behaviour or more precisely to curtail the effectiveness of natural behaviour. Declawing stops natural cat scratching behaviour and the cat bib stops natural cat hunting behaviour. How unnatural do we want our cats?
In defence of our cat companions, the cat bib looks wrong to me. I certainly would not buy one. It also looks ugly on a cat. A minor point perhaps but a point nonetheless.
But I see the argument. It is good from the bird’s standpoint and from the standpoint of protecting wild species of animal. The more important point is that people can do things that have a far greater impact on increasing bird population numbers without interfering with a cat’s natural behaviour.
We can stop damaging bird habitats. By far the greatest damage to all wildlife is due to habitat loss which in turn is due to human population growth and increased human activity. Can’t we talk about the unmentionable, human population growth, and deal with that? We will have to one day.
Also, as mentioned, we need to recognise that the killing of birds by domestic cats is highly exaggerated in my opinion.
In conclusion, I understand the reason behind manufacturing this product but don’t like the way a domestic cat’s behaviour is being further modified. If we want to protect wildlife we should first look at ourselves and ask what we can do. It is careless and convenient to blame to cat.
Correct and thanks Kit.
The real solution is spay and neuter. Billions of birds killed by cats?! I doubt it. But, any number would surely be reduced by bring the cat overpopulation under control. In the end, the real overpopulation problem is that of humans. The major loss of birds is from habitat destruction caused by humans. Obviously, humans are also the reason for the cat overpopulation. Let’s get the real source of the problem right, here. Bibs? ….finger in the dike.
Thanks a lot Nadine for your long comment. I didn’t realise that it is a product which would interfere with a cat defending him or herself. I certainly agree with you that it is not a good product. There is another product which I’ve written about as well which appears to be more successful and it involves the cat wearing a brightly coloured collar. You can read about it on this page:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/noticeable-brightly-coloured-cat-collar-protects-birds-from-cat-predation.html
What do you think about it?
I cannot believe the loopy support of this utterly ridiculous invention. Cats hunt birds. It’s an ecological issue, and an important one, but chaining an outdoor cat to a cumbersome hunk of plastic or fabric, that goes around it’s neck, is beyond irresponsible. The woman who invented this thing is a narcissistic nation, and the company manufacturing this thing is even more detestable.
I am an Ethologist, with over 40 years of experience working with, studying, and rehabbing animals. Let me clearly explain what this bib does: by putting it on your cat, you are severely compromising your cats ability to defend itself or escape from the myriad of dangers they face outdoors. It’s a matter of when, not if, that leads to injury or death. I am utterly floored anyone with support this lazy and dangerous approach to the problem. Research and statistical data have proven time and time again that using bells radically reduces successful hunting of birds by cats in feral colonies I wont even try to rationalize this to people who actually choose to keep cats as pets, bc not only should you know better, but you have a responsibility to both your cat and nature- by using this, you’re failing one. You’re endangering them as well. Shame on you.
If you don’t want them to miss out on nature, build an enclosure. Otherwise, get them inside. It is absolute bullwhark that 2 cats can’t be socialized to live together- any cats can be socialized, feral or not, when the caregiver puts forth the effort. It takes time, patience, and dedication, but if you can’t muster that, you shouldn’t have a cat. If you live in the country and have barn cats, or let them outside, YOU are responsible for protecting both cat and bird.
After taking a bird to our local animal rescue today, after our rescued feral cat got it, I’d had enough. He’s a serial killer! Yes, he gets lots of rats and mice and gophers, which is fine, but not the birds. I believe in indoor only cats. All my previous cats have been indoors and we now have one that is 23 years old. The new ginormous male we saved is much larger, much younger and they are both males which means we can only keep Frank ( the outdoor/feral) inside when we are there.I am hoping that when the old one goes ( Jupiter) that we will be able to keep Frank inside, but until then, I need to stop this bird killing. It IS the responsible thing to do as a cat owner. I bought the bib today and have read countless testaments to its effectiveness. My concern now is that it may impede him from defending himself against predators IE; dogs, mountain lions, foxes, other CATS ( that he’s been known to fight nearby) and any other predator.I’d rather try something else though. I have considered the birds be safe collar. Here is a link to a pretty thorough study on that one.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000050
Hi Mary. I totally understand. There is a collar which I think is better. This page covers it:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/noticeable-brightly-coloured-cat-collar-protects-birds-from-cat-predation.html
Thanks for sharing.