Pepsi Catbreath

May 17, 2008 9:59 PM

The CatBib Will Stop Your Cat From Catching Birds! video. Scientific proof.

The CatBib gently interferes with your cat's hunting skills, without interfering with any other kitty activities. It acts as a barrier coming between your cat and the bird your cat is after. Simply put...it gets in the way just as the cat strikes out for the bird. Additionally, because birds see in color, it also functions as a colorful visual warning to the birds. The birds are more apt to see the cat, before the cat gets close enough to attack. A simple solution to a big problem.

posted by KokuRyu (33 comments total)

The fox in my yard will interfere with your cat's hunting.
posted by caddis at 10:02 PM on May 17, 2008

There's a cat in my neighborhood that's forced to wear one of these humiliating devices. It looks like it can't wait for it to come off so it can chomp on someone's throat.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:02 PM on May 17, 2008

Sure, but what can I get that will assist my cat with catching birds? Do they sell very small sniper rifles?
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:20 PM on May 17, 2008 [6 favorites]

OH HAI

I NO CAN HAS BIRDZ. I HAS BIB.
posted by optovox at 10:29 PM on May 17, 2008

Did someone say cat snipers?
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 10:36 PM on May 17, 2008 [1 favorite]

I have actually purchased one of these bibs to stop my dear male kitty from chowing down on the birdies. (He progressed fairly quickly from the lepidoptericide I complained about in an old AskMeFi post.)

The very first day we put the bib on him, he caught a bird. *sigh*
posted by Asparagirl at 10:38 PM on May 17, 2008

Reinforcements.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 10:40 PM on May 17, 2008

Huh. I just strap one of those old orange bicycle flags to my cat, complete with the 5 foot fiberglass pole.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 10:40 PM on May 17, 2008 [4 favorites]

CATBIB!!!!
posted by user92371 at 10:48 PM on May 17, 2008

Excellent use of the pethumiliation tag.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 11:28 PM on May 17, 2008

So, zoos spend millions on making animal enclosures that enable as much expression of natural behaviour as possible in an artificial environment. Meanwhile, pet owners are busy suppressing every natural behaviour that's even slightly distressing, turning their animals into fluffy toys that really purr!
posted by xchmp at 11:48 PM on May 17, 2008 [6 favorites]

I tried this on my cat, and now it wants fricken lobster all the time.

I don't have a cat
posted by dirigibleman at 11:56 PM on May 17, 2008 [8 favorites]

This should also help keep cat's paws off MacBook trackpads.
posted by Tube at 12:13 AM on May 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

i just gave my birds switchblades. only takes the cats once to learn.
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 12:37 AM on May 18, 2008 [4 favorites]

2. There was no statistically significant evidence that differently coloured CatBibs varied in their effectiveness.

Your tax dollars at work!
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 12:38 AM on May 18, 2008

Awwww I was hoping that the bib would fly up into the cat's face Marx Brothers style. 'cause, anything that robs a cat of its dignity is a good thing.
posted by mattoxic at 1:14 AM on May 18, 2008

My cat used to hunt, but he retired at age 10. He stopped cold turkey (bad knee), and within a month, I couldn't walk around my yard without falling into mole tunnels. And rabbits ate all my lettuce. On the plus side, there were no longer piles of feathers and/or mouse entrails left on the Sacrificial Front Stoop.

On balance, I need another hunting cat.
posted by Ella Fynoe at 5:00 AM on May 18, 2008

That bib wouldn't last an hour on our cat. We've never even been able to keep a collar on her. Put one on her, let her out - by the end of the day, it's gone. No idea how she gets them off or what she does with them. The neighbor cat does the same thing. Yes, they're probably in cahoots. Cat cahoots.
posted by jammy at 5:49 AM on May 18, 2008 [2 favorites]

I'm proud to say that my cats do an admirable job of controlling the in-house mouse population. I can't say that I particularly like finding half a rodent under the dining room table, but I much prefer it to having a thriving population of thousands inside the walls. Good job, mighty hunter kitties.

(Of course, that's just about the only useful thing they do around the house. Lazy ingrates.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:27 AM on May 18, 2008

It also comes in handy when your cat is eating lobster.
posted by miss lynnster at 7:00 AM on May 18, 2008 [2 favorites]

Tube--others have the opposite problem.
posted by nax at 7:14 AM on May 18, 2008

We solved this problem by tying a bell around the cat's neck.
posted by Atreides at 7:38 AM on May 18, 2008

I would like to try this in combination with my project to encourage the destructive capabilities of cats. To that end, I have a broad, flat tree stump upon which the cats (acutely conscious of any elevation advantage) will perch. I wish to plant bushes around it, for concealment, and then a very low bird-bath. This would enable the typical shooting-forth-like-a-rocket behavior cats so excel at. All I would need is a webcam triggered by motion detection and one of these Catbibs and we could find out just how effective they really are.
posted by adipocere at 8:14 AM on May 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

But hunting birdies is how kitteh shows me he loves me!
posted by sambosambo at 11:46 AM on May 18, 2008

So, zoos spend millions on making animal enclosures that enable as much expression of natural behaviour as possible in an artificial environment. Meanwhile, pet owners are busy suppressing every natural behaviour that's even slightly distressing, turning their animals into fluffy toys that really purr!


The point of something like this, or anything to reduce the number of cat killed wildlife is not for the "ickiness" factor, but to keep cats from predating on threatened wildlife. Cats can devastate wild populations of birds in a relative short amount of time, and your cat doesn't care if its an English Sparrow or a rare Hooded Warbler.

Personally, though, I think you can get much better results by keeping your cat indoors and getting a laser pointer.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 3:25 PM on May 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

I prefer the Warner Brothers Method: Stirct cat monitoring while outside and prompt retrieval of any caught fauna while repeating the calming mantra "dropit dropit dropit".
(beating of cat with broom was for illustrative dramatic effect and is never to be done in real life)

Or, you could dress the cat in a tux. Everyone knows cats can't hunt in formal wear.
posted by djrock3k at 4:51 PM on May 18, 2008

Cats can devastate wild populations of birds in a relative short amount of time

I had to take down all my birdfeeders when the cat-people moved next door. Their cats were killing the birds at an alarming rate, depite the fact that the feeders have tons of clear space around them and that we have a dog (who hates cats) and that they claimed their cats "don't hunt". Now someone just needs to invent something to keep cats and their toxoplasmosis carrying feces out of my vegetable garden and we'll be all good.

Cats need to be kept indoors.
posted by fshgrl at 4:56 PM on May 18, 2008 [1 favorite]

We've got to stop coddling birds, people. We feed them, provide housing, and now take side in ages old conflict that we should have not be part of. Kitty sniper rifles, yes!
posted by Lesser Shrew at 5:44 PM on May 18, 2008

The two cats we have that were born of a feral mother are hunters, and they have clear preferences. Timmy The Dumbass (or "T the D" for short) leaves rat stomachs or sometimes half rats (the back half) lying around the yard. He is unable or unwilling to catch the black or grey squirrels we have here, even the juveniles.

Jerry is the bird killer, and his cat bib is nearly 100% effective (he has managed to get it off once or twice) and has the added bonus of making him look extremely silly. It is only necessary during fledging season, although I am tempted to put it on him the rest of the year just to rob him of his dignity.

The one time his bird killing wasn't a completely bad thing was when a pretty but obnoxious scrub jay took up residence in a tree overlooking our entire property. It would scream and scold me and anyone who went outdoors and tried to enjoy the lawn, leave for work, etc. If the screaming didn't drive you off, he would dive-bomb you (or other animals) Stuka style. The squirrel vs. jay scold-screaming matches were at least entertaining. "Tchk tchk tchk tzzzz! Raaawk!"

Jerry would try to go about his cat business without paying any attention to the jay until after a few weeks, it dived too close, Jerry sprang vertically what looked to be over six feet, and came down with the bird. I yelled at him to let go, but he just got a good grip and ran off with him. He brought me back one blue feather late that evening.
posted by Hello Dad, I'm in Jail at 6:00 AM on May 19, 2008 [2 favorites]

A list of things my cats won't wear, in order.

1. anything

posted by dirtdirt at 8:09 AM on May 19, 2008 [3 favorites]

I don't let my cats out, primarily because I have herons and ducks, both of which can take a cat, despite my cat's protestations that he can catch the 3 foot tall bird, REALLY!

But we've been known to get rodents (mice and voles) in the house, and I *want* the cats to catch those. I can't even imagine a cat relaxed enough to wear the bib. Mine would chew my arm off, or piddle on my pillow...either way, it would suck.
posted by dejah420 at 12:51 PM on May 19, 2008

When it comes to hilarious cat accessories, I think the cat bib is second only to the cat bathing bag. But I bet this thing would also keep a cat from killing birds.
posted by tom_r at 6:00 PM on May 19, 2008

Sorry, what I meant was this thing.
posted by tom_r at 6:02 PM on May 19, 2008