Does putting a bell collar on your cat REALLY stop her from getting birds outside?

I doubt if it does any good at all. When a cat stalks a bird they hardly move a muscle in their body except the leg muscles.

There have been several studies of cats and the killing of birds in England and have not been able to substantiate the fact that cats are responsible for that many bird deaths.

Actually birds are quite difficult to catch. Some cats may master it and it's mostly the ground dwelling rodents, snakes, etc that they are able to get.

Collars with bells really dont stop cats from getting birds. Cats dont move many mucles when the are after pray, and the sound of a bell will drive a cat nuts. Thats why they put bells in cat toys. Most of the time cats don't get a hold of that many birds because they fly at the first sense of movment which is often about the same time with or without a bell on a collar. Collars can also be dangerous to cats because they are naturally curious, they can get them selves caught and hung. You would be better off not putting a collar on your cat because there aren't many plus sides to using one for a cat. If your worried about the cat getting lost have the cat chipped. It is a harmless implant that may cost a little more at the begining but if the cat ever dose get lost it is more reliable than a collar. Anything can happen to the collar if they get lost and cats are hudinis at getting out of collars.

Not really, because the birds would not associate the sound with an approaching cat. The only way to keep him from killing wildlife is to keep it inside or build an outdoor enclosure You can try getting a doggy door that uses special collars, and only opens for the animal that is wearing the collar. This could also help keep the cat away from the outdoors.. If you do get a collar, buy a safety release collar. It's got a special snap that will release if the cat gets stuck. They come in various styles and colors, even reflective so your cat can be seen at night. They vary in price from $5-$9. But a collar will not stop a cat from preying on birds nor will it scare the birds off in time. But personally, I would not keep a cat outdoors because of all the risks such as snakes, cars, disease, dogs, other cats, poisoning, etc.

Collar Bell

No, it has been scientifically proven that cats learn to stalk birds without sounding the bell. They can still kill hundreds of birds even with a bell on. Cats are responsible for the death of millions of songbirds each year contributing to the decline of many bird species. They do make a "collar" scientifically proven to keep cats from catching birds...it does look a little silly though. Take a look at the website below:

http://www.catgoods.com/index.html

http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/in...

Also, it really does not matter if you live in an urban area or not..your cat is still exposed to all sorts of dangers being outdoors period.

No sadly enough if your cat is a predator they will work there way around the bell. It's in there stalking, they move quite slow and are able to have the bell not move or even tinkle. Quite clever really, when you think of all the things we do to a cat to stop it from hunting. It will find a way around it! So bell or no bell it's basically up to you and your conscience? Will you feel better if the cat has a bell on? Or your not worried? Only you can decide what the answer is to this question.

Not at all. They quickly learn how to move so it doesn't make a sound. Very clever! My cats are now always indoors because it's just not possible to stop a natural hunter. I have heard of electronic collars that pick up on the cats heartbeat, they let out a loud beep when the cats heart beats faster. Not sure of the cost and how well they work though. Good luck.

Your cat could possibly get a bird with the bell ON...so what's the point?

Not really, the cat will adapt her walk in such a way as to stop the bell from making noise when hunting. I have seen it happen, usually after about 2 weeks,

My cat never has trouble with catching birds or mice and she has a bell collar.