One of my Catbird friends asked for help! [View all]

There is a pair who have made a nest in the shrub next to my lower deck. They are my buddies and will let me talk to them as they perch on the railings of the upper deck/porch.

I was sitting on the couch on the upper deck in a Zoom meeting and one kept loudly calling while the other was zooming around from tree to tree in the yard. The calls sounded different from their familiar vocalizations: very insistent and a different pitch. I took a quick photo of the one yelling in my direction and came down to the lower deck. A big fat grey and white cat was on the railing, inside their bush! It jumped down and ran away when I came down the steps.





This is their shrub, and the cat was lurking on the railing by the grill, inside the shrub. Didn't even see it till it jumped down.

Normally I am happy for cats to be in my yard, but I've never had bird friends before, so this year is different! Is there anything I can do to discourage this cat away from the shrub, something that won't scare the birds?