WHAT DO THE CUSTOMERS SAY ABOUT BIRDSBESAFE?

FEEDBACK, JULY 2010

From a customer in Massachusetts:
Our cat Ollie for some reason not known to me is a very successful hunter of birds and yet seemed to really like his collar. It did significantly reduce the number of disgusting moments--although not completely.
--The note then went on encouragingly about how to build up Birdsbesafe business! Thanks!

Another order from Jorgina’s owner (see below, 2009):
(Background: Jorgina’s owner, whom I don’t know, helped me test different buckle styles last year. His cat is an avid bird hunter, but while wearing the collar, the hunting nearly ends. Jorgina just lost the collar that the cat had been wearing since last fall.)

How are you doing this summer? I hope your business is thriving.
To make sure that I got replacement collars she brought me a hummingbird tonight.
HELP
Would you be so kind as to send a couple collars for her?

--Help is on the way!

FEEDBACK, EARLY MAY 2010

From a customer, SF, in San Diego, CA:
Our 6 month old female, Catriona, was bringing in a morning bird or lizard each day.  We had tried belled collars which drove her crazy (she pulled these off after a couple of hours). 
 
We put a Birdbesafe collar on her about three weeks ago. So far, no dead birdies!!  Yesterday, I found a large wood rat outside my bedroom door and we still get a lizard every couple of days.  But at least No Birds!!


From a customer, JB in the United Kingdom:
Marvellous-- a stroke of ingenuity. I would suggest getting the cat used to an ordinary collar first and then switching to the birdsbesafe one. So glad that I found the website. I was really upset to see birds being hunted. These collars really do work. SAVE WILDLIFE--make these collars a legal requirement for outdoor cats.  

From a customer, KD, who is a wildlife rehabilitator in California:
I believe indoor cats are best for the environment, but, I ended up with this abandoned cat who I have to leave outside in the day.  She has tolerated the collar well from the very beginning.  I remove it at night because she's locked up then.  So far she has not caught a single bird with the collar on. I've been using it for about a month now. 
Good work!

FEEDBACK, WINTER 2010

Customer #1: The collar never really bothered him, he's just a young rambunctious, nuetered, tom cat (that someone dumped off when he was a kitten). He slips through wooden fences, goes to old barns, and climbs trees. The collar did keep him from killing birds and it kept me from sending him to the animal shelter.

Customer #2: Nancy, We have had no incidents with birds since we used birds be safe. Our cat only goes out 1-2 hours a day, and we always use her birds be safe collar and many bells. So far so good. Thanks.

Customer #3: I think the collars did help keep the birds safer from my two. Since they managed to lose them, I have found myself rescuing live birds from the house again and unfortunately the occasional dead ones too. So hopefully with the new collars it'll cut the number of birds caught down again.

FEEDBACK from 2009 CUSTOMERS:

Asking them: How do you feel about Birdsbesafe Cat Collar?

"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." --TN, Huntington, Vermont

"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!) (LS's cat also wears Birdsbesafe and has caught no birds since.)

"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



MORE DETAILED FEEDBACK

(NOTE: In the spring of 2010, Birdsbesafe finally found a GREAT breakaway inner collar to pair our Birdsbesafe design with. The new inner collar stays on when it should and will eliminate most of the problems early customers had with cats losing collars. Breakaway collars come off for safety, but the new one will stay on well, too.)

LUNA and PACO, Sept. 2009, Waterbury VT
A customer, LS, and I got together in Sept. so I could meet her and her two pets. Luna, her golden-doodle, (a former bird-catcher) and her cat Paco ( a former bird-hunter) both used to hunt near a feeder in her enclosed backyard. Since wearing the Birdsbesafe Cat Collar and “Birdsbesafe Dog Collar” (a special order), both animals have been unable to capture birds.

LS’ animals have worn the collars for about two months every time they go outside and the birds are safe! Luna, the dog, used to bolt from the house and catch the birds mid-flight! Not any more. The birds fly away as they see him coming. The cat, stalking, is now ineffective.

I’m so glad that LS has solved her bird predation problems with Birdsbesafe products!

See Luna on YouTube with customer testimonial.

From Portland OR, Sept. 2009: The Customer says:
“I love my birds but rescued a kitten in the road last year and she is is very small and quite the birder.  I found you online while searching about how to save a bird and ordered a collar. 

It truly works.  I wish I had ordered two because when it came off, she caught another bird.  It really makes a difference and as others advise, she really doesn't seem to mind it. 
 
I've just placed another order because I am "spreading the word" to anyone who cares.  I want to give one to our local petstore who seems to have a good following.  Thanks for coming up with a solution for those of us who love our birds and our cat....”

[Note, April 2010: Birdsbesafe now uses “Coastal Pet Products brand ‘Safe Cat’ collar, a better interior collar that will stay on very well, unless it needs to come off. A snug but comfortable fit will help the collar stay on your cat well, too.]

Jorgina from Huntington VT, August-Sept 2009
Answering survey questions from Birdsbesafe, TN reported that before using BIrdsbesafe Cat Collar, his cat Jorgina usually killed 1-3 birds a week, but sometimes 2-3 in one day.

He says--of the cat’s hunting BEFORE Birdsbesafe:

“The cat harms quite a variety of species including but not limited to: Blue jays. catbirds, warblers, at least one hummingbird, Robins, Grossbeaks, & more that I don't remember or didn't identify.”

“[In the] nearly 3 weeks [wearing Birdsbesafe Cat Collar] for this survey: 1 bird killed that I know of, not sure of the species.
There was a marked reduction in her bird kill rate, so much so that the one kill was quite a surprise.
I have noticed no other changes in her behavior. she doesn't seem to mind the collar at all.”

[How does he feel about the product?]
“Great.  I always felt guilty about the stress on the bird population but couldn't stand to keep my cat indoors.
The collar doesn't seem to have reduced her rodent kill at all but the birds are faring much better.”

[Briefly, Jorgina was without a Birdsbesafe Cat Collar.]
"I forgot to mention the 2 birds Jorgina killed during her 3  or 4 days when she was without her BBS collar." -- TN, Huntington, VT

TN reported later on that with the new buckle, the collar was staying on the birds continued to fare much better than before Birdsbesafe.

Birdsbesafe Inspiration, George, Duxbury VT, August 2009

My cat George wore the Birdsbesafe Cat Collar for 16 months. After a life of avid bird hunting, I invented the Birdsbesafe Cat Collar and it worked on him!

His bird killing and captures plummeted to none in 12 months. Wearing Birdsbesafe he caught only two or three birds in months 12-16.

He formerly caught many many woodland birds--thrushes, a grouse, a woodcock, robins, an Eastern Phoebe and more. The only birds he caught while wearing Birdsbesafe cat collar were ground-nesting phoebes very close to the house. He hid in the bushes.

Not all hunting will be avoided but most of it will! Best of all, George gave up most of his dawn hunting patrols after becoming an ineffective hunter. He spent more time indoors and seemed just as happy. And we were much happier with him after the birds-in-the-bathtub-for-slaughter days ended!

Sadly, George became prey to wildlife himself in the woods near the house in August 2009. RIP, George, knowing you helped start Birdsbesafe to save birds from cats.

All the best (signed)


Other Feedback
• After seeing the Birdsbesafe Cat Collar at International Migratory Bird Day, a wildlife rehabilitator, who also works in a pet store, facilitated getting the collar into the pet store for sale. She called the product a terrific one for protecting birds.

• A naturalist at the North Branch Nature Center in Vermont tests out the Birdsbesafe Cat Collar on his two cats and remarks: “We haven’t had any bird incidents yet!” after nearly two months of testing in late spring/early summer.

• The nature center staffer also pointed out: “On an anecdotal note, we had someone drop off an injured Red-eyed Vireo that had been attacked by her cat. Unfortunately we couldn't get it to a rahabber before it died. To add to the sadness, chicks may have been orphaned. We did refer the person who dropped off the bird to your product, but it's just another example of why it is needed. Thanks for taking the initiative to make these collars!”

• Two cat owners in Wisconsin reported that their cats (two) have had no birds harmed while wearing the cat collars from May until August (now).