Most of the feedback we receive at Birdsbesafe LLC begins with "thank you."
We receive a lot of rave reviews because of how well Birdsbesafe collar covers work for cats. On this page, we share an assortment of comments, primarily from emails from customers. We are also sharing three special testimonials that come from a scientific study, a wildlife rehabilitation center, and a well-known author. If you want to check out more customer comments after you scroll through this collection, check out our social media links, too.
Science Study: St. Lawrence University Validates Birdsbesafe's Effectivenesss
In January of 2015, the report entitled "Birdsbesafe? Can a novel cat collar reduce avian mortality by domestic cats?" appeared in the Global Ecology and Conservation Journal. A field study of our product was conducted over two seasons (spring and fall). The researchers found between 3.4 x (fall portion of the study) and 19 x (spring portion of the study) fewer birds when wearing the Birdsbesafe® cat collar cover.
In their discussion section of the research article, they wrote: "Across all cats in our study, the average cat will kill and bring home 0.72 birds per year with a Birdsbesafe® CC [collar cover] and 5.56 birds per year without a CC." That estimate would represent an 87% reduction in birds caught, on average over all cats over a year's time.
In this same report, the Birdsbesafe cat collar cover was called "highly effective" as a conservation tool. "The conservation implications are clear: if owners of outdoor cats choose to use Birdsbesafe® collar covers, a significant factor in the decline of bird populations would drop precipitously." You can read more details are here.
From a Wildlife Rehabilitation Volunteer Staff Member
Pacific Wildlife Care (PWC) center in Morro Bay, California does wildlife rehabilitation, and of course, that means that they see birds that have been harmed by cats. In 2010, Kathy, a senior supervisor at PWC had adopted a stray cat and it was frequently killing birds due, presumably, to a former need to kill to survive. Kathy found our website and tried Birdsbesafe. It worked for her cat. PWC has been selling Birdsbesafe cat collar covers to visitors of their center since 2010.
PWC described Birdsbesafe's results this way on their website: "... the result has been dramatic. Despite having a yard full of bird feeders, her cat stopped catching and killing birds." Here's the full story, which was featured on their website's home page for years.
From author and customer, Elizabeth Gilbert
In 2010, we noticed an interesting customer: author of Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert. She stocked up on Birdsbesafe cat collars over the next year, and offered this lovely testimonial in late 2011. Ms. Gilbert had written: "What a great product this is! Not only do my cats look jazzy and Elizabethian in these collars, but their murder rates among sprees of local sparrows and robins have been cut down considerably. All very cool."
In early spring, 2013, Ms. Gilbert again graced our product with a rave review in a blog post/and on Facebook, generating much excitement in our product. You can read the witty and wonderful portrait of her cat Clifford and see his photo here. Link: Liz Gilbert on Birdsbesafe helping protect birds from her cats.
More Feedback from Customers
Below, you can enjoy many testimonials by customers, taken verbatim from their emails. The comments are representative of the emails that we receive. On our Facebook page, you can also find recent customer comments and cute cat photos. Thank you for caring about cats and birds!
Sample of Customer Reviews
"No birds have fallen on the field of battle in my neighborhood since I've been using this wonderful cat collar. My neighbor's cat also has one now and no longer goes out without it. She was a regular slaughterer--no more. Thank you for this great invention."
"These collars are the best! My cat caught a few birds, which devastated me. He has not caught a single bird since wearing this collar. I bought three, one for each cat. I no longer get "gifts" from them. I can see them working every day. Best thing to protect the birds when you have rambunctious cats that refuse to be contained indoors."
"This works like a charm. ...I accidentally let him out one a.m. without it and he killed a bird right away so I KNOW this works. If you have a break-away collar and a busy cat, keep a spare on hand when he somehow slips out of it."
"My cat was turning into a big time bird hunter, specializing in hummingbirds. :( I was coming to the point of turning him into an inside cat, as I love birds. I thought I would give this a try, so he could still enjoy the great outdoors and not be such a menace. Since he's been wearing the Birdsbesafe, he now rarely brings home a bird. I think all cat owners with pets who go outside should consider trying this. Simple but effective."
"Mamadoodle is outdoor kitty. I generally don't like having cats outside, but in this instance I took in a mama and two babies to keep them from going to the pound. ... it's a battle all day to keep her away from the birds. I noticed the birds just didn't seem to see her. I tried the collar with bells. Again, it didn't help. Then I saw this and it began to make sense. Cats - especially tabbies, have such good natural camouflage the birds are not seeing her. Between grass, mulch, tree bark and bushes, she just becomes invisible. I was skeptical about this item, but at this juncture, I was desperate. I had a breakaway collar on her already (with the useless bells). I slid this one figuring she would have it off in two minutes. Instead, she seems to like it. It doesn't bother her. She eats, sleeps, scratches and grooms the same as she always did. She just has a costume on now...lol. She looks adorable. And immediately, I saw the difference in the birds. For a change they saw her, and would move to higher limbs. ...so far it's been the first real chance to slow her down. She still goes on the mighty hunter routine, but the birds are able to stay far out of reach now."
"While this is not a scientific study, it is important. I have two killer cats. I bought one collar initially to conduct my own test about whether this product works. The cat wearing the collar has caught one bird in the last three months-down from 3-4 a week. The cat without the collar has continued her horrific success rate without change. Needless to say, now both cats will forever wear your collars. Thank you!"
"We grounded our outdoor cat after a particularly bad couple of days when she brought home a sparrow, a robin and a chipmunk. I searched the internet for solutions and sent off my order to you for a collar, expecting nothing but wanting to try something. Well, there has not been one bird brought home in the month since she's been wearing it. She doesn't even mind us putting it on every morning. Thanks, and fingers crossed it keeps Ottawa birds safe for a long time to come!"
“Thank you for this information – it’s heartening to know although personally I can see a huge difference with my cat Horatio. If he gets a bird its usually around once every two to three months and even that is starting to slow down. So simple yet so effective, well done.” (From New Zealand.)
"I just want you to know you saved my rescued black outdoor cat from finding another home. I love him, but I feed birds and this was my first cat that killed them. He was bringing in a bird a day into the house and playing with them. I thought he was beyond hope. Your collar was a lifesaver all around-the birds, the cat and me. Not one bird since the collar and I just ordered another one for him. I take it off at night so I can scratch his neck. He's fine with it all other times. I will end with a sincere thank you from Spooky and me."
"In the spring of this year (2015), I bought a Birdsbesafe collar for my cats. It has been an unparalleled success. My female cat used to catch an average of about a bird a week. This year, she has not caught a single bird. My male cat worked off his collar as he usually does, so unfortunately, the birds are no longer protected from him. Luckily, he has nothing of her agility, so on the whole, the bird kill rate around here has plummeted. Thank you on behalf of the local bird population of Toronto East."
"Thanks so much for your wonderful product, it's helped reduce the birds my cat brings in. I pass the word along wherever I can, including to my vet and the local wildlife rehab center. Hopefully this catches on more!"
"Dear Nancy, Thought you might like this photo of Cleo gazingly longingly at the birds she can't catch!! By the way, her "coon tail" with the distinctive rings is inherited from her Scottish Wildcat ancestors! Best, J (From a long-time customer in the U.K., and by the way, her cat was indoors for the photo, but is rendered unsuccessful outdoors as well.)"
"I can report that our bird casualties are down by some 98%. Not a 100%, alas, our cats are just too good hunters, but it is absolutely no comparison to previous years. I think we had 3 dead birds throughout the entire year, which for 3 outdoor cats really isn't bad. I mean, it's bad enough for those 3 birds, but it used to be close to 3 birds a week; so compared to that we feel extremely lucky having found BBS and put a stop to the killing." -- from a Vermonter
"Tubz... is/was an expert bird hunter who managed to catch birds when I thought she was dozing next to me. After the collar [Birdsbesafe], her kill rate is down exponentially (just 1 or 2 so far)." -NL
About Birdsbesafe, another customer wrote: "1) They are pretty. Everyone thinks our cats look really sweet and funny. 2) they work. Instead of killing 2 or 3 birds/week, our cats now only manage to catch 2 or 3 every year, as long as they're wearing their collars. Take the collars off, and sure enough, dead birds appear." --CA
"Thank-you. My all-black cat "Little Bear" only needed one 15-minute session in the house to get used to his collar...much praise from us about how handsome he looked seemed to actually help out. Watching him from inside as he pranced around outdoors, guess he was feeling like a dapper boy. He apparently took a trip into the woods last week and came out collarless... However it is SO worth it for us to invest in more collars. NO dead birds presented to us for all the time he had the collar. [Note: Birdsbesafe was purchased a month before this email came.] Actually he used to present us with live birds that he had incapicitated slightly so he would have a live "toy". THe [Birdsbesafe] collar is saving us a two-hour round trip to the wildlife center to patch up his catches...Thanks for this wonderful product." --MM
"Three of my eight cats are prolific bird killers. I found it so distressing to see them bring me back dead birds. ... whenever they wear their collars [ie, Birdsbesafe], they never bring back a bird. The collars do work and I am telling all my cat owner friends about them." She continued: "Knowing that a flightless fledgling can not be protected by Birdsbesafe," this cat owner also wrote: "I shall have to keep the cats in soon as fledglings do not flee from cats and are easy pickings. However, once the fledgling season is over, I shall be putting their collars on and letting them out. I can relax when they have their collars on." -- EC in the UK
"We love birds. We also love cats. For years we have endeavored to make our garden as bird-safe as possible, with the understanding that it is ultimately cat territory. We took many precautions, but no matter how much we did, it usually ended with our cat Henry, slaughtering birds. Before discovering Birdsbesafe collars, we were at our wits' end. It was heartbreaking to watch Henry bring home between 1-4 birds a week (on average). With our very first Birdsbesafe collar, we noticed a dramatic decrease in the amount of birds Hnery would catch. The striped pattern works the best! We would not recommend a red colored collar for those who live in areas populated by hummingbirds. Not only does Henry's Birdsbesafe collar save our feathered friends, but ... everyone seems to love his little jester outfit!" (Slightly edited for length.) -ML
"I love them because they look fabulous! But I really got them because my Boudin is a ferocious birder–the first cat I've had with this problem–and I am also a serious bird lover. This cat needs to be outside so I began to seek a solution and I found your website last year. Boudin would bring us birds every other day. Since we have them, which he wears without fail, he only gets about one or two per month. ... Really they are such a smart and creative idea, and they look really beautiful....Your [business] card is at my vet's and I suggest Birdsbesafe to anyone with outdoor cats because it works." -- JT in Canada
[Our Note: JT also mentioned also that a young new cat in her home wears Birdsbesafe too, but this young cat has never really learned to hunt birds well or often, and she surmises that Birdsbesafe made it hard for him to learn to succeed at it. Cool!]
"Great. I always felt guilty about the stress on the bird population but couldn't stand to keep my cat indoors... the birds are faring much better." --Tom, Huntington, Vermont (See his video and later comments above.)
"Thanks for coming up with a solution for those of us who love our birds and our cat..."--BG, in Portland OR
"Thanks for taking the initiative to make these collars"--LC, Montpelier, VT
"Luna hasn't caught any birds while wearing the Birdsbesafe Collar! She used to catch them mid-flight, but now they take off sooner!" --LS, Waterbury VT (Luna is a leaping Golden Doodle.)
"Your bird business really resonates. One of my pet peeves is the view that most cat owners are willfully ignorant about the impact of their sweeties." --SP, Princeton NJ, ecologist
