# Cat v Magpie



## kato (May 12, 2007)

Whilst minding my own business this afternoon I spotted a cat stalking a solitary magpie. What happened next I found quite amazing. The beat up magpie flew to a tree nearby in a dazed fashion and out of nowhere came a squadron of magpies, about a dozen. Once formed into an attacking formation the cats days were numbered as the magpies attacked. To make things worse for the now beat up cat an elite squadron of three crows then attacked the cat. The hostilities went on for about seven minutes.

The cat should have learnt it's lesson from the brutal revenge attack, however it died so didn't.


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

seriously?


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## MrJsk (Jul 29, 2012)

They killed the cat!? :gasp:


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## Blazin (Mar 25, 2007)

1 for sorrow 2 for joy, 12 for oh shiiiiiiit run!!!!!


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## Serious D (Apr 12, 2008)

Wow that's amazing well not for the cat.
I noticed today that a group of 4 magpies were eating stuff off the road outside my house, one would munch abit while the other 3 took up different positions along the crib, then take it in turns to get some grub, quite a cool thing to whitness.


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## Hootz (Aug 28, 2014)

Seen similar in my garden with 4 magpies and a squirrel; squirrel was burying hazelnuts in the moss in the lawn, a magpie started getting a bit too close so the squirrel ran after it and chased it off. Looked back 5 minutes later the magpie was now 4 magpies and they looked to be trying to make a meal of mr squirrel (he was a regular in the garden, only had half a tail). Fortunately for mr squirrel my retriever appeared up from the bottom of the garden, went spastic at the group of tasty looking stuff on the ground - and they all legged it and mr squirrel made good his escape. On this occasion at least. He got splattered by a car about two days later, didn't leave much behind apart from the half tail >.<

Sucks to be that cat. Or that ^ squirrel.


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## kato (May 12, 2007)

freekygeeky said:


> seriously?


Yes. Never ever seen anything like it before.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

As an animal lover that made me feel quite sick.

Can I just ask one question. Why did you just stand and watch and not intervene?? I'm trying to get my head around that?


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## Blazin (Mar 25, 2007)

A domestic cat can attack and kill wild birds all day long and people don't intervene. The score is birds 1, cats 128474833556890


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## Blazin (Mar 25, 2007)

And to add it is awful and I have a cat that I couldn't imagine that happening to but it really is 'nature' without the cat winning


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## MrJsk (Jul 29, 2012)

Hmm I wonder in how many cases of a missing cat, this is the story behind it. You often hear "my neighbour moved and took my cat" or "my cats missing"

Maybe, it was the magpies..


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## Iulia (Mar 2, 2011)

Blazin said:


> A domestic cat can attack and kill wild birds all day long and people don't intervene. The score is birds 1, cats 128474833556890


some people would intervene - but this was probably a pet. Possibly a cherished family pet of a small child inconsolable tonight. 

Or maybe it was feral and nobody gives a shit. 

I still find it a bit disturbing, sorry Kato


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## UpLink (Dec 14, 2011)

It's nature these things happen ill remember to cross the road next time I see a magpie though


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

feorag said:


> As an animal lover that made me feel quite sick.
> 
> Can I just ask one question. Why did you just stand and watch and not intervene?? I'm trying to get my head around that?


When should he intervene? When the cat was going after the magpie or when the magpies ganged up on the cat? Cats kill thousands of birds, mice, rats and much more but when something kills a cat they should be stopped?


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## mitsi (Feb 1, 2012)

gavgav04 said:


> When should he intervene? When the cat was going after the magpie or when the magpies ganged up on the cat? Cats kill thousands of birds, mice, rats and much more but when something kills a cat they should be stopped?


Maybe its because cats are seen as pets, and wild birds, rats, mice etc arent, I know my cats kill mice and rats, and the occasional pigeon, ive also watched my cats get chased across my garden and down from the trees at the bottom of my garden by crows, its nature working, I have intervened with my cats when I can catch them early enough, but its their natural instincts to hunt, its the birds natural instincts to protect, and lets face it, we are the ones who have the most affect on the birds etc.


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## BMo1979 (Feb 13, 2012)

I think purely from the pet ownership perspective I would have intervened. I would do the same if I saw a dog being attacked by a fox. I used to also stop MY OWN CATS (I grew up with 2) from killing wildlife if I happened to come across, as IMHO other than following their hunting instinct there was no "survival" reason for them to hunt and kill. Obviously the ratio between rescued and killed prey was at least 9:1. Mice and rats were usually "delivered" already dead, but birds usually only played dead (much to my surprise when I opened the bin and the "dead" blackbird my gran had previously disposed of flew out) and we once also rescued a baby rabbit and our neighbours' goldfish.
Funnily enough our cats never seemed to have caught and crow like birds, maybe they knew better.

I also remember having a very angry neighbour at our door claiming that one of our cats was taking his fish out of his pond and he would have to start claiming compensation from us, only to eat some humble pie when he caught the actual culprit one morning: A heron!


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## colinm (Sep 20, 2008)

Clever birds Magpies, they killed it outside the boundary rope. I guess they didn`t want the batsman getting a five for hitting a foreign object.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Blazin said:


> A domestic cat can attack and kill wild birds all day long and people don't intervene. The score is birds 1, cats 128474833556890


How do you know people don't intervene? You don't. A lot of the time someone might just not be there.



gavgav04 said:


> When should he intervene? When the cat was going after the magpie or when the magpies ganged up on the cat? Cats kill thousands of birds, mice, rats and much more but when something kills a cat they should be stopped?


If it had been me it would have been when the cat was going after the magpie, naturally. As an animal lover I don't like seeing any animal (or person) harming another.

I just think (as has already been mentioned) that could have been someone's pet and they'll never find out what happened to it. The magpies are no-ones pets and, although I would never agree with it, are considered as vermin in this country, so would you have still had the same opinion if it had been a gang of rats??


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## Salamanda (May 28, 2008)

Blazin said:


> A domestic cat can attack and kill wild birds all day long and people don't intervene. The score is birds 1, cats 128474833556890


Still find it quite disturbing. Why watch and photograph any animal being murdered? Probably someones pet.
If it was a bird getting killed by a cat.. I couldn't watch that either.


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

feorag said:


> If it had been me it would have been when the cat was going after the magpie, naturally. As an animal lover I don't like seeing any animal (or person) harming another.
> 
> I just think (as has already been mentioned) that could have been someone's pet and they'll never find out what happened to it. The magpies are no-ones pets and, although I would never agree with it, are considered as vermin in this country, so would you have still had the same opinion if it had been a gang of rats??


I know this is a tad far-fetched, but if you were on safari and noticed a severely malnourished lion on the brink of death stalking a gazelle would you make a noise so the gazelle got away or would you let the lion have it's chance? 


The cat could be a pet, yes, but as a cat owner I have a responsibility to keep my cat in a safe environment hence the reason I don't let it wander the streets. I would have the exact same opinion if it was rats, spiders, snakes, pandas or whales. The cat was hunting the magpie and it backfired.



Salamanda said:


> Still find it quite disturbing. Why watch and photograph any animal being murdered? Probably someones pet.
> If it was a bird getting killed by a cat.. I couldn't watch that either.


I love animals but most importantly I find them fascinating and so I would have done the exact same thing( maybe not the filming or photography side but that would be because I would be far to intrigued to miss any ). I find this animal killing animals should be stopped talk so strange on a reptile forum so strange. I mean we keep so many animals that need other live animals as feeders. I know they are[mostly] only insects but they are still animals.



colinm said:


> Clever birds Magpies, they killed it outside the boundary rope. I guess they didn`t want the batsman getting a five for hitting a foreign object.


Stupid mammals cats, if it could just read the banner it would have got the warning. It's need to feed was caught out.




I guess the lesson learnt is - people should start caring more about the dangers of letting cats free roam.


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## Blazin (Mar 25, 2007)

I was gonna do a big reply but gavgav summed it up well


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

gavgav04 said:


> I know this is a tad far-fetched, but if you were on safari and noticed a severely malnourished lion on the brink of death stalking a gazelle would you make a noise so the gazelle got away or would you let the lion have it's chance? .


Good question and one that I couldn't answer unless I was standing there and forced to make a decision, to be honest. I hate the way wildlife watchers don't intervene when an animal is suffering and either help it or give it a quick easy death. Even when very young animals are dying they are left to die (because "that is nature"), whereas I would want to intervene, take that young animal, rear it and try to rehabilitate it back into the wild. 

That's my soft nature, I guess, but I believe that where there's life there's hope and cannot watch the needless or painful death of any animal.

However, I really don't see the similarity there. That cat could have been someone's pet and yet someone watched it die.

I notice Kato hasn't replied and I am wondering if he's 'pulling a fast one' and this is a photograph he's found of a dead cat that could have had magpies simply feeding on it and he's put it on here to see what reaction it gets.

I really can't imagine for one minute that he would have stood and watched that happen and done nothing and I hope I'm right.


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## Salamanda (May 28, 2008)

I don't have an issue with animals killing one another. I have an issue with animals killing someone's loved pet (possibly all they have) while some buffoon sits there and photographs it. Sinister


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

feorag said:


> However, I really don't see the similarity there. That cat could have been someone's pet and yet someone watched it die.


I know there was no real similarity, but that is why I stated it was a "far-fetched" point. Both points are nature in action and if you would intervene in one it would only be right to intervene in the other and vice versa.



feorag said:


> I notice Kato hasn't replied and I am wondering if he's 'pulling a fast one' and this is a photograph he's found of a dead cat that could have had magpies simply feeding on it and he's put it on here to see what reaction it gets.
> 
> I really can't imagine for one minute that he would have stood and watched that happen and done nothing and I hope I'm right.


To be honest you can't really tell too well from the photo just how close the photographer( just in case you are correct ) is to the incident. I doubt someone is going to run a good distance like a raving loon just to stop a cat attacking a magpie and then for it to turn around like it did or didn't( what ever the case may be ) would be such a shock to anyone that by the time they realise what is going on it would be over with. I certainly never thought the outcome would have been what it was even though I know they can be aggressive beasts. 



Salamanda said:


> I don't have an issue with animals killing one another. I have an issue with animals killing someone's loved pet (possibly all they have) while some buffoon sits there and photographs it. Sinister


That's the problem with free roaming cats though, isn't it? My cat never gets to free roam outside, it is primarily a house cat and when we go out the house it is put in an old 60'x40'x20' aviary. I know not everyone has the luxury of such a large outdoor enclosure but they need to think about all the dangers of letting a cat roam. I see most cat owners as people that like the idea of the pet but would rather not have the hassle of owning one. Obviously this is not the case with all owners but I do think the majority fall into that bracket.

So would you be alright if the cat took out the magpie? 


Gavin.


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## Iulia (Mar 2, 2011)

I think there are many cat owners who know the risks, but feel it gives the cat a better quality of life

its another debate entirely imo

The first post said the incident took 7 minutes. 

I wouldn't watch a cat maul a bird for 7 minutes, any more than I would watch dogs fight or anything else.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

gavgav04 said:


> I know there was no real similarity, but that is why I stated it was a "far-fetched" point. Both points are nature in action and if you would intervene in one it would only be right to intervene in the other and vice versa..


Yes, I realised that. And really my answer is in any situation where an animal is in danger or pain and I can do something to prevent it - I would!



> To be honest you can't really tell too well from the photo just how close the photographer( just in case you are correct ) is to the incident. I doubt someone is going to run a good distance like a raving loon just to stop a cat attacking a magpie and then for it to turn around like it did or didn't( what ever the case may be ) would be such a shock to anyone that by the time they realise what is going on it would be over with. I certainly never thought the outcome would have been what it was even though I know they can be aggressive beasts..


Honestly? I would! I wouldn't care what I looked like, cos I'd act on instinct. I'd run and make a noise and frighten the shit out of the cat to make it leave the magpie alone and leg it. That way I'd have saved the magpie (which wasn't killed anyway) and have saved the cat too.

As has been pointed out, if the incident took 7 minutes, then even with a telephoto lens the photographer could have got there in time to stop the cat being killed.


> That's the problem with free roaming cats though, isn't it? My cat never gets to free roam outside, it is primarily a house cat and when we go out the house it is put in an old 60'x40'x20' aviary. I know not everyone has the luxury of such a large outdoor enclosure but they need to think about all the dangers of letting a cat roam. I see most cat owners as people that like the idea of the pet but would rather not have the hassle of owning one. Obviously this is not the case with all owners but I do think the majority fall into that bracket.


Totally agree. I've just lost my last cat, but I cat proofed my garden over 20 years ago to keep my cats safe. My cats (at one time I had 10) all had a very low prey drive. In fact they were brought up with squirrel kittens running all over the house and jumping on them and my rats, so anything in the house is left alone. Even on the 1 occasion when one caught a bird in the garden and 1 occasion when one caught a woodmouse, both were unharmed. The cat in question brought it to me and I checked it over, kept it overnight and then released it the next day.



> So would you be alright if the cat took out the magpie?


No I wouldn't. As said above, if I could have stopped the cat attacking it, I would have done.


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

Iulia said:


> I think there are many cat owners who know the risks, but feel it gives the cat a better quality of life
> 
> its another debate entirely imo
> 
> ...


So if they know the risks they can't complain when their cat gets killed, be it by magpies, traffic or foxes to name a few.

It may be a completely different debate but it is one I feel is relevant in this case. 



kato said:


> The hostilities went on for about seven minutes.


It is unclear what exactly went on for about seven minutes, was it from the moment kato noticed the cat stalking the magpie or was it from the start of the mauling the cat got? 

I still think it would be very captivating to watch and that the cat got what was coming to it.


Gavin.


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## Iulia (Mar 2, 2011)

gavgav04 said:


> I still think it would be very captivating to watch and that the cat got what was coming to it.


I just don't have words


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

Iulia said:


> I just don't have words


So you don't find it fascinating that a group of magpies grouped together to fend off and in the process kill a cat? What about if it was wildebeest doing it to a pack of lions? Ants doing it to an anteater? Or dolphins doing it to a whale? In my eyes this is nature at it's best and purest and find it truly amazing. I hope you don't think this is wrong or awful just because it is closer to home and the cat is( well was ) potentially a pet.

I have my opinions you have yours and honestly I find yours as hard to understand as you find mine.

EDIT: Was about to double post but I'll shove this in here.



feorag said:


> Totally agree. I've just lost my last cat, but I cat proofed my garden over 20 years ago to keep my cats safe. My cats (at one time I had 10) all had a very low prey drive. In fact they were brought up with squirrel kittens running all over the house and jumping on them and my rats, so anything in the house is left alone. Even on the 1 occasion when one caught a bird in the garden and 1 occasion when one caught a woodmouse, both were unharmed. The cat in question brought it to me and I checked it over, kept it overnight and then released it the next day.
> 
> No I wouldn't. As said above, if I could have stopped the cat attacking it, I would have done.


I'm sorry to hear that and I take your points on board but my opinions and your's are never going to see eye to eye and I like that. It would be boring if we were all the same. So I'll leave it at that.

Also those two points at the end were directed more at Salamanda as I think we have already went over that, but I think you knew that and just wanted to expand a little.



Gavin.


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## Salamanda (May 28, 2008)

gavgav04 said:


> That's the problem with free roaming cats though, isn't it? My cat never gets to free roam outside, it is primarily a house cat and when we go out the house it is put in an old 60'x40'x20' aviary. I know not everyone has the luxury of such a large outdoor enclosure but they need to think about all the dangers of letting a cat roam. I see most cat owners as people that like the idea of the pet but would rather not have the hassle of owning one. Obviously this is not the case with all owners but I do think the majority fall into that bracket.
> 
> So would you be alright if the cat took out the magpie?
> 
> ...


My cats are kept indoors also because of cat hating idiots. 
And no it would not be ok for the cat to kill a magpie. They are not my most favorite animals in the world (they harm livestock as well as other animals) but yes I would still intervene as I have in the past when I have seen cats in the village attacking birds, mice and even rabbits because its not fair to just sit there and watch an animal suffer.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

gavgav04 said:


> I'm sorry to hear that and I take your points on board but my opinions and your's are never going to see eye to eye and I like that. It would be boring if we were all the same. So I'll leave it at that.
> 
> Also those two points at the end were directed more at Salamanda as I think we have already went over that, but I think you knew that and just wanted to expand a little.


So you are saying that you would have watched that happen and not intervened? And in any similar situation happening between animals you wouldn't intervene?


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## Salamanda (May 28, 2008)

feorag said:


> So you are saying that you would have watched that happen and not intervened? And in any similar situation happening between animals you wouldn't intervene?


I'm wondering how many people would have done the same if it was a dog instead of a cat? :/


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

feorag said:


> So you are saying that you would have watched that happen and not intervened? And in any similar situation happening between animals you wouldn't intervene?


Correct. In this case I would have watched in amazement in this particular situation. In other cases it's so normal to me I wouldn't flinch. Due to where I live and what I do for a living I see animals killed by other animals on a daily basis, it's called nature and I would never think to intervene. There are obviously severe cases that I would but I have never been in that position.


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

Salamanda said:


> I'm wondering how many people would have done the same if it was a dog instead of a cat? :/


I wonder how many people would blame the owners of the dogs instead of the "cat hating idiots" for not intervening if it was a dog. As it is 100% the owners fault for letting the cat free roam.


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## Blazin (Mar 25, 2007)

Salamanda said:


> I'm wondering how many people would have done the same if it was a dog instead of a cat? :/


 Can you really compare? a cat that is probably an outdoor cat, you wouldn't let your dog leave the house through a little flap and come back when it pleased. Don't see anyone handing out PETA awards so calm down :no1:


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## Salamanda (May 28, 2008)

Nah PETA are hypocrites


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## miss_ferret (Feb 4, 2010)

slightly alarmed by the attitudes shown by some on this thread.

would i have interfered? in a heartbeat. why? because the magpies do not need to kill the cat to survive. if i drove it off, they wouldnt have had to kill it, and the cat would be extremely unlikely to go back knowing it would be attacked. they arnt that stupid. the cat does not need to kill the birds to survive, it can go home for food. if neither needs to kill the other to survive, why would anyone not intervene? 

to illustrate my point, at work the other day i heard a rabbit screaming from the fields. legging it outside i saw a young rabbit being mauled by a stoat. given the size difference, the stoat was having trouble killing it, and the rabbit was obviously distressed. i didnt interfere. why? because if i had, the stoat (and possibly her babies at this time of year) may have starved. that rabbit was big enough to feed her for a good few days. if i thought i could have dispatched the rabbit quickly and ensured the stoat would come back and get it, i would have done, but i couldnt.

to summarise: wild and wild i leave alone, wild and domestic, i intervene.


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

Why do we still presume this is a pet and not a feral cat? If it is a feral cat then it is wild which means it would have to kill the magpie to survive.


Gavin.


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## Salamanda (May 28, 2008)

you will very seldom see a true feral cat out in the open in the day. They do their best to avoid people


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## BornSlippy (Jan 11, 2010)

OMG you just stood there and took a picture?? I would have videoed that sh*t. It could have been the next battle at Kruger. I agree with the OP. When a cat kills any of the local wildlife, cat owners always say "oh it's natural, it's what cats do". Well you could say this is just as natural.

To the OP, just out of interest, why did you only take one picture of this epic battle? Because it really just looks like you have taken a picture of a load of magpies round a dead cat (or what actually looks like a dead fox to me) which would have been perfectly normal as they do scavenge carcasses. Do you have any other pictures?


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

BornSlippy said:


> OMG you just stood there and took a picture?? I would have videoed that sh*t. It could have been the next battle at Kruger. I agree with the OP. When a cat kills any of the local wildlife, cat owners always say "oh it's natural, it's what cats do". Well you could say this is just as natural.
> 
> *To the OP, just out of interest, why did you only take one picture of this epic battle? Because it really just looks like you have taken a picture of a load of magpies round a dead cat (or what actually looks like a dead fox to me) which would have been perfectly normal as they do scavenge carcasses. Do you have any other pictures?*


And I thought this page was for animal lovers... 

I highlighted the bit in bold because that was my immediate first thought too...

Sounds like BS to me...


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## albinoxeno (Aug 25, 2012)

Far too many people on here seem to not accept what the natural world is all about, it's possible to be an animal lover and not cry when you see one killed by another people.

At the opposite end of the spectrum it seems some people sound glad the cat "got what it deserved". Sure don't cry about this but don't enjoy it too much either, that could have been a beloved pet...


Ferret speaks the most sense so far, though how I'd act would be situational, would be a lot more straight forward if both animals were wild and native... 


Edit: hit send accidentally. 

Sent from my iPhone using Some kind of sorcery


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## Serious D (Apr 12, 2008)

I was actually talking to my dad about this last night. His house backs onto some woods, and he told me that his cat has been mobbed by a group of magpies in the garden a few times, usually they just chase him into house, but lately he's noticed they have been more daring and a lot bolder where one will distract the cat from the front and another will come in behind and peck at his tail, needless to say my dad has started keeping him in.


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## BornSlippy (Jan 11, 2010)

Serious D said:


> I was actually talking to my dad about this last night. His house backs onto some woods, and he told me that his cat has been mobbed by a group of magpies in the garden a few times, usually they just chase him into house, but lately he's noticed they have been more daring and a lot bolder where one will distract the cat from the front and another will come in behind and peck at his tail, needless to say my dad has started keeping him in.


Those magpies will be taking toddlers soon, you mark my words :roll:


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

I started to read the replies, then gave up. 

If this did actually happen, and you didn't stop it. Then your some kind of twisted *i can't speak without swearing*

Wether it was a magpie killing a moth, or a cat killing a bird, i would of stepped in and clapped my hands, and shoooed them off. 

Really odd.


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## ButterflyLordette (May 17, 2013)

I would have interviened the cat trying to kill the birds, and the birds attacking the cat. Animals are animals, we can't treat one different because of their lifestyle...


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## BornSlippy (Jan 11, 2010)

freekygeeky said:


> Wether it was a magpie killing a moth, or a cat killing a bird, i would of stepped in and clapped my hands, and shoooed them off.
> 
> If this did actually happen, and you didn't stop it. Then your some kind of twisted f*ck.
> 
> Really odd.


What about wildlife film makers? Are you saying someone like David Attenborough is a twisted f*ck? And what about yourself, I take it you don't feed any live food to your pets?



ButterflyLordette said:


> I would have interviened the cat trying to kill the birds, and the birds attacking the cat. Animals are animals, we can't treat one different because of their lifestyle...


These are wild animals (cats are classed as wildlife too as far as I know), so why push our human emotions on them? By intervening you are stopping an animal from getting a meal.


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## Shellsfeathers&fur (Jan 18, 2009)

This is now being locked.

The OP took the pictures on an i-phone, zoomed in, and could do nothing about it.


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