Cat - Chicken Predators - How To Protect Your Chickens From Cats

Cats

General Information and Description

Next to dogs, cats are one of the most popular house pets in the world. They are often preferred for their easy companionship. However, this can be deceiving. Cats are carnivores belonging to the Felids or Felidae family, which also includes tigers, lions, jaguars, leopards and cheetahs. This kinship with wild cats easily shows itself when you see cats stalking and pouncing on birds, mice, and smaller animals. This lovable and gentle creature has instinctive predatory skills that have killed many chickens.

Cats love to hunt their prey at night. However, this doesn’t mean that they are exclusively night hunters. Because they have visual acuity combined with a heightened sense of smell and hearing, cats make excellent day and night hunters for rodents and other animals that make high pitched noises that humans can’t hear.

Range

While cats are commonly attracted to fish for their diet, both domesticated and feral cats love to prey and feed on rodents and birds.  Even well-fed pet cats enjoy the instinctive thrill of a hunt.  Cats and their feline cousins are also known to be highly territorial, often using their own scents or familiar surroundings to define the extent of their abode and will fight off fellow feline predators trespassing into their territory.  Cats also love to perch and lie on elevated structures so they can stealthily pounce on their prey.

Methods of Kill

Cats' main predatory arsenal is their sharp retractable claws, which they use to pin their prey down. With their canine teeth that are biologically suited for tearing flesh, cats often attack their prey’s neck, delivering a lethal bite that immobilizes the prey and severs the spine to cause irreversible paralysis and eventual death.

However, cats are known to size up their prey. In fact, most cats often spare whole chickens, especially roosters and large hens who are known to fend for their lives with their own sharp pecking beaks and claws. Chicks and smaller hens, on the other hand, are easy pickings.

Prevention and Treatment

Just like many dog breeds that can be trained to herd and guard your fowl, a pet cat who has been trained to recognize chickens as fellow pets can ward off predatory stray cats.

Make sure to erect proper fences and secure your chicken coops. If you are concerned about your neighbors’ pets, keep in mind that you can legally sue them if they lose control of them and damage your property.

If you want your chickens to have a wider space to roam, use barb wired picket fences. But even tall hedges with thick lower growth can do the job.  At night, you will want to herd your hens to enter their coop that should be well-protected with metal meshing. Aside from making sure your fence is secure, you may also use “Cat Away” products that will cover a large range. More suggestions on dealing with cat predators are posted here.

BACK to Predators