Rabbits destructive this year - Page 3

 

ChairMan wrote:

Sadly you cannot train a cat that some prey is acceptable and others are
not, so they end up killing birds, reptiles and mammals that may warrant
preserving.  While I quite like cats I will not have them where they can
prey on wildlife indiscriminately.  OTOH a good dog can be taught to deal
with the bunnies and other pests and leave the others alone.  And they tend
to eat in field which keeps the gore off the patio.

David

 

On Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:13:30 +1000, "David Hare-Scott"


It's the rare domestic cat that will go after rabbits, and they first
need to catch one and that is a near impossibility that a cat can out
run a rabbit.  The domestic cat preys on mice, moles, frogs, and small
birds... they are not about to take on anything larger like crows,
geese and such.

 

brooklyn1 wrote:

Cats do tend to take only smaller animals and birds. In some places domestic
and feral cats have contributed to driving such natives towards being
endangered or extinct.  I haven't owned a cat that hunted rabbits but I have
been told of  cases where they hunt kits by surprise attack near the burrow
rather than running down adults which does seem unlikely.

D

 



I had a regular old domestic shorthair that stalked cottontails in such
a manner.  She would bring home carcasses several times a week, many of
them adults.

 



I guess they're all different; mine only ever brought me baby bunnies, and
he always kept them alive. He also didn't seem to mind my taking his toy
away too much.

Vegetables can be effective weapons against rabbits. Had a family friend
whose garden was always getting eaten up by them, one day out in the garden
he picked up a turnip and knocked one stone dead. I didn't know whether to
laugh or cry.