I am in a dilemma!

I have almost the same problem except that I don't have a dog. A really pretty stray cat keeps hanging around. She caught squirrels last summer and I didn't care about that because we're overrun with them, but now she stalks the birds at the feeder. I don't know what to do. I like the cat but I like to watch the birds at the feeder, too. I hope someone comes up with a good solution!

Bell the cat and make sure it is fed.

I think you should allow the cat to be a friend to your dog as it sounds like it enjoys having the cat to play with.Its not the cats fault it's just fillowing its nature in hunting birds.If the Cat didn't come to your garden It would just try and hunt them somewhere else.At least if it's in your garden you can try and limit the number of birds that it can eat.Is it possible for you to move the bird bath to a place where the cat would be less likely to be able to get the birds.Hopefully with a carefully decided placement you can have the cat and the birds visiting your garden.

Your problem is..your cat is not there for your dog, it is there for the birds. So get another dog. There is a gadget available with different frequencies of sound. At a particular frequency rats, mice, cat, and even dogs would flee. You might want to install that at your gate. Its called pest control machine. Uses electro magnetic field whatever...gosh I wish I was intelligent..lol I have not tried it. Dad goes to these exhibitions. They have not mentioned the address on their pamphlet!!! It is wow shop...tel.nos.9000225566, 9000225577. Costs about Rs.600. I might add that I did try one such thing for lizards, it was not very effective but it cost me just a 100 bucks. So may be this one is the perfected version.

Here are a few sites that might have some helpful information http://voices.yahoo.com/homemade-remedies-keep-cats-out-flower-386764.html?cat=32 and www.care2.com/greenliving/keeping-cats-out-of-the-garden.html and www.thefrugallife.com/catsout.html They're mostly to keep cats out of a garden so I guess you could use it. It was easier to look for than keeping them away from a bird bath. I would rather do this than take away the dogs friend.

I think you should let the cat play with your dog, but that does not mean it should eat the birds. I wonder, can you make some sort of "protection" for the birds? Say, a more elevated place, some stuff to block the cat from reaching the birds or anything likely? That would make both parties happy, i suppose.