However, the difficulty of enjoying both was brought home to me again the other day when my wife spotted a normally placid cat in our garden gleefully torturing a thrush. After she hammered on the window to distract the cat, the badly injured thrush managed to struggle free and hide in undergrowth. But a scattering of torn feathers the next morning betrayed its fate. Cats are born killers. Even more than dogs, they seem to have retained many of their natural instincts which is part of their attraction.
Cats fitted with bells are, of course, less likely to surprise a bird.
However, some cunning pets learn to muffle these as they close in on their victim. A new electronic collar recently on the market is said to be far more successful at saving garden birds. This lightweight device emits a sharp sonic warning signal at the cat's approach and has won praise from the British Trust for Ornithology. Domestic cats are not the only feline threat to birds. Feral cats are now part of the landscape in this country and assorted colonies or loners survive on their wits in most towns and cities.