Chicken Lady Vs Cat Lady

I've come a long way from having my girls free range to now having them locked in their coops due to my next door neighbor leaving cat food out for feral cats.

I live in a suburban area - on a VERY busy street and the cars deter most humans and animals from accessing my yard. I have a 6 ft fence, a wildlife camera set up, and a very solid chicken coop with an automatic opening door.

The car noise detered so many animals my girls used to free range, coop open and all for over a year....until my neighbor decided she wanted feral cats. Other cats started showing up, and then started having the Ultimate Feral Cat Championship in her yard and often on our fence line.

Raccoons damaged my home, killed my chickens and she still continues to put food out for the feral cats. After my favorite girl died, I had a talk with her. I offered to buy her a new kitten, so that she did not have to leave food out on her porch for feral cats.

These chickens feed my family, they are not just pets but directly connected to my health and well-being. She wouldn't take me up on my offer for a new cat.

I've read the cat forums to try to get an understanding of why exactly people continue to feed feral cats, since I'm biased, I'm having a hard time trying to relate. They are obviously having issues with raccoons being present.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/164120/keep-racoons-away-from-ferals-food


I would totally build a coop and buy my neighbor chicks in a heartbeat. I give them eggs and always bring them coffee from the countries we travel to. We had a really great relationship until my my favorite chicken was killed before I could make it back from night class. She's elderly, and I suppose that is just her "way" about her.


My chickens are so domestic, they come to me when I call them. They follow me everywhere. They never peck me or anyone, and they have more manners than my neighbors feral cat that clawed through her screen porch at the mere thought of feline domestication. (She tried to make kitty her indoor cat but it had different ideas)


I get that death is part of life and chickens are low on the food chain...but whyyyyyyy cat ladies whyyyyyy? Chickens are the light and they bring you food! Really killing two birds with one stone here.


Get this, she is leaving town calls me to ask if I can feed her cat and also advises me on another raccoon that she saw in her porch. Nothing came up on my wildlife camera that are over the coop, so they are obviously interested in the food she is leaving out.

I have trapped cats, raccoons, opossums.

I really wish it could end. But it doesn't.

...she just asked me to feed her cat while she is away...

You're preaching to the choir with me.
I don't think you will ever be able to educate the feral cat caretakers. Cats are invasive species in most of the world and do much more harm than good.
I like cats. I think they're very cool animals. I also believe they don't belong outdoors. That's why they're called housecats.
A friend of mine lives in a city neighborhood where people feed the feral cat colony. She can't let her bantam chickens out since there's usually a couple cats in her yard. I told her to sit on her balcony with a pellet gun and eliminate the problem.

While she is away is the perfect time for you to trap as many of the cats as possible and turn them over to animal control. I would not want to live next door to a colony of ferel cats, with racoons mixed in the mess. Sounds like the perfect place for a rabies out break.

Seriously, I would call animal control and ask what can be done.

Is the cat she wants you to care for in the house?

A Gamo Whisper is pretty quite and will take care of feral cats.

Animal control is an option if they care about such activities.

Could always try a dog.

Put out as many traps as possible- Many shelters will let you borrow up to 7 in my area to trap feral cats, raccoons etc. and i agree with Enola, TRAP as many as you can.

I would for sure put out traps and also call animal control! Wouldn't hurt, and while she's gone would be the perfect time to do all that! It's a jungle out there!
Lots of luck!

Anne

Ask Animal Control. Sadly, some Animal Controls and shelters actually support feeding feral cats. The ones in my area do.

But put traps out, and call ahead to any shelter. Don't say they're feral and being fed, just say they're strays wandering. Just trap as many as you can and bring them to a pound or some shelter. The poor cats have a terrible life in the wild, so you'd be doing them a favor to take them out of that situation. Really, it's only a matter of time before the cats end up getting killed by raccoons as they fight over food and territory. That's a long painful death since raccoons rarely "finish the job" themselves.

I'd take a nice fluffy TAME chicken over a skinny, bony, loud, FERAL cat. Just my personal opinion. And how long will she be gone?