moving a robin red breast nesting in a bird box

[Louloute]

our cat is after a bird box which is perched on a tree in our garden. The bird box is about 1.5 m-2 m high sitting on a V between 2 branches, and contain a robin nest with chicks in it at the moment!
Our cat managed to make the bird box fall off on the ground, and we just about managed to rescue the chicks which were on the ground, and put the box where it was, all this under strict supervision of the parents robin who were pretty close from the heart attack at this stage!
Anyway, the question is can we move the box a little bit higher without taking the risk that the parents will abandon their chicks?
PS: we locked the cat indoor for the night.....

[KARL]

Unless any move is over a very short distance indeed (virtually nil) there is a serious risk of the parent birds being put off. If at all possible, it would be better to erect cat-proof protection for the box or bar the cat from the area in some way. One possibility would be high netting erected like a fence or suspended under the box in such a way that the cat can't get onto it. Obviously the birds must at all times see any change as not hindering them. Why not tether the cat for two weeks - no doubt neighbours with gardens would encourage you to do so permanently.

[Louloute]

thank you for this answer. We actually had the same ideas. First thing this morning, we've stuck very thorny branches around the base of the tree and around the bird box to avoid the cat trying to jump near it, instead of moving the box. The parents are still around and going in an out. does this mean, the chicks are still alive or are they just doing this for a while before leaving? We've visually checked the inside of the box this morning, but we can't see any movement at all....

[Dom Tuk]

Bell that cat....

[Louloute]

The cat already has a bell, a big, noisy one. But as I already read it, bells are not really frighting birds anyway, and it seems that I can confirm this. Some news from the birds: unfortunately, the chicks didn't survive the ordeal... and the parents disapeared after a day.
Next year, we fix this box onto the wall of the house, way out of reach of the cat.
Thanks for your help anyway!