Tom, a church cat, kept pesty pigeons at bay in the 1920s

There was a time, when Tom, the church cat at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, UK, kept away pesty pigeons. Tom live for 15 years from 1912 to 1927. He is buried in the church grounds. Since his death the church has struggled with a persistent pigeon problem. Worshippers are complaining that they have to duck low flying birds and avoid slipping on pigeon excrement. The administrators have resorted to a full spectrum of deterrence including spikes and gels, using a hawk to frighten the pigeons and employing a marksman to shoot them but all to no avail.

The church dates from the 12th century and was until recently the tallest building in Bristol. Queen Elizabeth I described it as “the fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England”. It looks like a cathedral.

The latest attempt to keep pigeons away is to install an electric shock device which ensures that the surfaces deliver a small but disconcerting electric shock to the birds which would persuade them not to return. Wires will be embedded in a rubber strip that is fitted to the surfaces where pigeons perch.

Permission was given by the consistory court of the diocese of Bristol to install the electric shock wires. The consistory court is a Church of England body which adjudicates issues in local parishes.

Comment: this is another example of the usefulness of working cats. I’m surprised that there are not more church cats. You might know that the earliest known cat door or cat flap is in a church door. Specifically, it is a hole in the door below the astronomical clock of Exeter Cathedral, Exeter, UK. It dates back to the early 1600s.

SOME ON WORKING CATS:

Equal rights for this hospital cat

Elwood has been hanging around an Epworth healthcare center (hospital?) in Richmond, Australia. They don't know where Elwood came from ...
Read More

“Churchwarden” black cat has served the church and congregation diligently for 18 years

CAT NEW AND VIEWS: A devout and elderly black cat has welcomed visitors and attended services at St Mary's Church ...
Read More

University of Verona allows employees to bring their pets to work after lockdown

I don't have the full story of this because of various reasons but it caught my eye as something that ...
Read More

How a nursing home cat had the unusual ability of predicting death within the next hours

You may remember Oscar. He is quite famous (actually very famous). He's a fluffy, grey-and-white brindled cat who was adopted ...
Read More

Should California learn the lesson of the London plague of 1665?

Dr Christina Lin, writes of a massive homeless crisis and infectious disease threat in California in The Times of Israel ...
Read More

In Indonesia domestic cats are snake catchers

Harking back to the very beginnings of the domestic cat around 9,500 years ago when wild cats were domesticated because ...
Read More