My kitteh is being tormented by Blue Jays. He can't even

[Cleita]

step out the door for a minute that they don't swoop down on him. Now they are bombing the window he likes to lie at and look out of. I can't believe it. They dive right at the window and swoop up just in time before going splat. They are relentless. I heard a little squawker, like a baby version of the parents, when I went out, so I know they are protecting a nest. It's up in one of my trees but I haven't been able to spot it yet.

I'm wondering if anyone knows how long before the kids fly off and we get back to normal? Kitteh is getting so frustrated that his daily routine has been interrupted and he's essentially been put under house arrest. He's getting really cranky with me.

[siligut]

1. Point at the birds and tell them to knock it off

At least that is what I do with the crows. Poor kitteh. Sorry, don't know how long until they fly off.

[Cleita]

7. I've gone after them waving weapons like rakes at them and they only

back away for a minute and then they are right back.

[siligut]

9. I think crows are smarter

Like someone said down-thread, blue jays may be the repukes of the bird world.

[cherokeeprogressive]

14. I wonder what a bird thinks when he sees a biped waving a rake...

Sounds like a perfect subject for a short story from the bird's point of view. Sort of a Jonathan Livingston Seagul story.

"That's a strange looking tree branch..."

[applegrove]

2. It was end of May, June before I got my back porch back from a nest of robins. And just look for a

big pile of bird dodo on the ground and then look up to detect the nest.

[Cleita]

4. Are robins aggressive too?

We don't get any in my neck of the woods.

[applegrove]

12. Mine had a nest about two feet above my head when I walked outside under the balcony. I don't know

if she was dive bombing me so much as getting anxious when I was there and trying to lure me away with her flight.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Sounds like there is a nest nearby.

[Cleita]

6. I heard a chick this morning.

That's what they are protecting but damn they are bad ass above and beyond the call of duty.

[Old and In the Way]

5. Friggen Blue jays are the nazi's of the bird world.

They are gang bullies at the feeder and scream incessantly as if they are perpetual victims. I had a small cat that nailed a big one a few years back...thing went totally limp, no fight whatsoever. Against my better judgment I grabbed the cat and it flew away. No thank you, no nothing...

[Cleita]

11. Playing possum?

Smart bird.

[Old and In the Way]

13. Actually, I think that's the natural instinct of birds.

I've had various cats bring their bird trophies into the house, only to have the birds come alive as soon as the cat opened its mouth....then spend an hour trying to get the damn bird to fly out an open door or window.

[cherokeeprogressive]

15. Five years ago when we moved to the mountains my wife started putting peanuts out for the Jays

And for the last four years, if you walk out my back door onto the deck, the SAME Jay comes looking for his peanuts.

I know it's the same one because he has a little puff on his chest where the feathers grow differently from the rest of his body.

[Old and In the Way]

16. You obviously have nice Jays in your neck of the woods.

Mine are a gang a nasty brutes. I blame their parents.

[EFerrari]

29. Birds are 'way smarter than people think they are. n/t

[YellowRubberDuckie]

27. I would have let that cat rip into that son of a...

I hate those bastards.

[Xipe Totec]

8. Nesting Season

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Jay

[Cleita]

10. According to wiki, we have to put up with this through June?

The cat is pacing the floor and howling right now cause he can't go out. It's gonna be along summer.

[SwampG8r]

31. let him out at night

fairs fair and all
they are all brave in the daylight when they have the advantage
kitty rules the night

[Cleita]

33. Wish I could, but there are predators at night here mainly coyotes. n/t

[EFerrari]

17. Can you set out food for the jays away from where the kitty plays?

Lure them to a different area while they're out of the nest?

We had jays up in Boulder Creek. They were ruthless.

[Cleita]

19. I could. Thanks I'll try it. n/t

[backwoodsbob]

18. Bluejays are part of the crow family

intelligent and EXTREMELY agressive

[pa28]

20. Same thing happened to us last year.

When the little jays left the nest the parents were always right there to beat up on the neighborhood cats. Glad you are keeping our kitteh indoors because once the jays are on their own it takes them a few days to fly back into the branches.

[WillParkinson]

21. So your cat isn't a Toronto fan?

Can't blame him.

[UTUSN]

22. A blue jay, capable of malice just for the heck of it

I was on a sidewalk that had an overhanging tree branch. A squirrel was on the branch. The closer I got, a jay started dive bombing at the squirrel, clearly trying to get the squirrel to drop in my path and supposedly I would do something dastardly to the squirrel.

The squirrel finally did drop and ran away, but that jay was projecting its own malice on me. I agree with the poster who said jays are the Nazis of the bird world.

[avebury]

23. I had an aunt and uncle that lived in

Show Lo Arizona and they used to take a hammer and nail peanuts in the shell to a tree. When the Blue Jays would come to try to get the peanut they probably ended up with one heck of a headache when their beaks ended up hitting the nails. It was mean but pretty funny at the same time.

[siligut]

24. Can you hang old CDs in kitty's window?

According to this article, hanging CDs will dissuade blue jays. http://www.ehow.com/how_8694287_scare-just-blue-jays-away.html

1. Use your scissors to cut several pieces of string about six to eight inches long.

2. Tie one piece of string to each old CD or DVD by threading the string through the center hole. Tie it at the top of the CD. You should have about four to six inches of string left at the top of the disc. Use it to hang the CDs from tree branches.


3. Tie several CDs or DVDs to tree branches where the blue jays gather.

4. Do not tie the CD's too close to one another. The discs should be several feet apart.

5. Turn the CDs or DVD' to face outward, so that the shinier of the two sides catches the sunlight. Depending on the time of day, you may have to turn them another direction to catch the sunlight and repel the birds.

[Cleita]

25. Yes, I can do that. I'll try it. Thanks. n/t

[EFerrari]

28. Did you send all those jays over here, Cleita?

All of a sudden, they're all over the place. lol

[progressoid]

34. My Mom did something similar with CDs to keep birds from flying into her kitchen window.

Worked really well.

[monmouth]

26. Spray ammonia on the window, a twofer...n/t

[vanlassie]

30. Blue jays killed my last cat

They pecked the back of his neck and he ended up with an abscess that I didn't find until it was too late. He was not my smartest cat.

[judi.fallenangel]

37. help!

2 blue jays are terrorizing my cat, and I believe she has been pecked. What did your cats wound look like

[vanlassie]

38. The big problem is that the hair covered it and it quickly abcesses underneath. I have seen a vet

Yank a small bit of hair out from over the wound. Then it can be drained or just cleaned. I hope you can get it handled!

[WhoIsNumberNone]

32. Blue Jays are very pretty birds-

-but they are notorious for raiding other birds' nests. Sounds like they are projecting to me...

[judi.fallenangel]

35. my cat being terrorized by blue jays too!!!

OMG: I couldn't believe it when I read your post, because your story is identical to mine, my cat is acting the same exact way. She stays in most of the time and seems depressed. I noticed today that my cat has some kind o injury on her back by her tail. I cant get to close to her injury w/o her hissing at me, but it kind of looks like a puncture wound, but I don't see any blood, can anybody tell me i a Blue-Jay will actually attack a cat/put a peck in the cat? or is there something else going on with my cat?

[gopiscrap]

36. Welcome to DU