Cat issue and how to "eliminate" it

[JimVoul]

Hello fellow chicken "flockherds"

Firstly i would like to say few necessary things. I had read every answer to this post "https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/best-way-to-kill-cats-yeah-i-think-the-cats-could-have-done-it.821047/" and to be honest i would like to inform you that i am not living in America. Laws in my country are very strict about killing such predator-pests, in some cases it s preferable to kill a human being for some reason.... casue killing a stray cat/dog would codemn you not only with quite enough years in prison but also, sometimes, even several dozens of thousands euro, money that you really need to work very hard for years to obtain it (minus the basic daily expenses, that means clear profit in order to pay the fine). I love cats, i even eat stray cats and please dont reply again for the animal rights etc, i feel you like all of us do. I am just trying to save you from some bother for such posts, for anyone that is intrested to do so.

So, in my case, i have a bobcat which not only have slayed several other stray cats (it s nature i know), but also several of my little chickens (about a dozen of them) and it s not the first time he tries that. Every couple of months, when i d get 20-30 of those precious featherballs for me and my family, i d lose some and i d put mouse traps arround etc, since i know from other places that i had been that mice and rats are chasing them as hell. Of course in this area, i knew for sure that we didnt have such issue, but ...anyway, long story short, i caught him few weeks earlier when i was passing by the coop, and he was running away full in blood and chickens actually slaughtered arround... the place was similar like the last times. Note that i am the only arround here with coop, free range chickens and the closer person with such coop is away enough, which btw i also asked for similar events and he denied it. I guess it s not near the bobcat's territory or place of interest in that matter.

After that event, i tried to get him - another note is that in my country there aren't that special agencies that you may call and TNR through ur problem,etc - with the cat cage-traps, well, with no sucess since i got other silly stray cats and he saw the trick... After few more failed attempts i started taking this to serious level, hence, i tried various way that are supposed to get rid of a cat, like broken glass, anti-freeze, rat mouse. All failed. In the first case, he ate wet food with glass for several days, where i heard that is the most effecient way to get rid of them.. .well i got tired after a few dinners and several broken glasses... so i tried anti-freeze. Well i can say he drank the served milk with a nice appetite... Also tried that for several days... Now this time i am trying with rat poison (red seeds). Again mixed with wet food. Rat poison is supposed to be 2ond generation poison that means that the "victim" doesnt have to get a lethal dose by one single meal like 1st generation rat poison, but it s supposed to get him at least several posioned in 2ond degree. I barely put 10gr in each time, which i know it s not that much , barely enough for a mouse or rat not that big, so given he is supposed to be several kilos and he gets at least 1 and a half to 2 teaspoons of the poison... So my question is this. Is he eventually going to get something from it? Or i am just spending more time/money? :/ Rat poison is defiathialone 0.0025%. Guys no joke, but after anti-freeze and sometimes after the rat poison, he gets horny after a couple of minutes where i am watching to make sure he got the bait, starting calling out for female cats...For christ's sake. I have tried everything but paraketamol. I wonder if it s gonna turn to be another myth with him. I guess i could hold a very much dose of it in wet food if i try it since it must be tasteless, right? But will it really that work for him? Human's medicine are supposed to be toxic with animals but he seems to be a special occasion. Also i know that mouses/rats can be resistant after a while in poison if they do not manage to die... So i wonder if it s gonna happen the same for him....

Once again, by killing him, i would do not only good for my property, but also the other stray cats which everyday i saw them in a bloodbath, faces scratched covered in blood, bitten ears and loads of abscesses, which already i was watching in front of me he was doing them (he has no fighting marks on him btw) but i never really cared about it, till he decided that bullying and killing other cats wasnt enough for him and he tried my chickens. Like i said, he was previously doing so, but only recently i saw it happened. So far i thought it was mice (in the past, in another location, i had a few pigeons that got raid from mices and only skeletons were found the very next day :/).

In the previous thread i read about antifreeze, rat poison and paraketamol solutions... So i wonder if there is anything else to try. Once again, please do not reply as there could be some other way and humane way since owing guns is forbidable method for me. I know some of u will think that taking him out will probably lead to another A-male bully, but trust me that wont be the case. And even if it would be, i would act the same as long as he d slaughter my precious chickens. Thanks a lot for your bother to read my essay and your answer.

 

[azygous]

I have a bobcat problem here in the wild Rocky Mountains in Colorado, USA. Stray domestic cats get eaten by larger ferocious predators such as lions and bears, so they aren't a problem. But if they were, my ultimate method of predator control would solve it.

Here, bobcats are very smart and tenacious. They decide they want my chickens, and they will keep coming back trying to discover a vulnerability in my setup to exploit. In the past, I've managed to shoot them with my 12 gauge shotgun loaded with harmless, but painful rubber loads, but the most recent encounter called for a more efficient method than waiting for the bobcat to present itself as a target.

I have long had electric hot wire with a solar charger that produces a 10,000 volt shock to discourage bears. I've baited the wired with peanut butter since it's easy and bears are suckers for it. Bobcats, however, aren't tempted by peanut butter, so I came up with an irresistible bait - mackerel.

I took a whole fish from a can and sandwiched it in a small scrap of chicken wire, then attached that to the hot wire with a bit of baling wire. Unlike several times being able to see the results of my labors with bears, I didn't see the bobcat when it returned and sampled the 10,000 volt snack I left. But the fact that I never saw this persistent cat again testifies that my fish bait was a success.

No animals are harmed when they come into contact with the hot wire, even me and my chickens. But if an animal samples electrified bait, the shock to their tongue and wet mouth is a permanent deterrent.

 

[azygous]

Your command of English is far better than many native English speakers.

I'm getting impossibly curious as to what your native country is. I'm going to guess south Asia somewhere. The command of English is excellent there.

 

[Chickassan]

Maybe borrow a hungry dog? That sounds terrible but it sounds like a dog would get in less trouble than you would.

 

[JimVoul]

Unfortunately, even if i could get permission for that (i am kinda "renting" this little field (1/8 acre more or less) from an old lady which i provide with fresh eggs or couple of vegetables here and then) and decide to pay such cost to make an electric fence (which btw would require another outter fence to warn for the inner electrical fence,lol), which would require a lot of money and time compare to the gain (it s just a cat, and there are no other predators mentioned) to a place that i am living for a while now but i could never know if i am going to leave after a couple of years. Assuming that is rather illegal - in my country - being arround other houses with children and other pets (which both never troubled me at all, but once something weird happens they ll sue my butt off). 95% it must be forbidden tο such residential area. Said all that, i am not willing to take the risk. I am not a big farmer with several acres of land so i couldnt definetely take permission from state for such project either. Never heard of or seen a electircal fence before in the league i am playing to. I would have to search for the relative laws first, which will be a lot of search and still, anything goes wrong - despite i know it ll be on "safe" voltage - but people here would claim they got hit just to sue you. Yea, even if they got in ur own property for any reason. Easily. It would be like butter for their bread. Unfortunately, in my country, property doesnt come first like urs. This is one of the main reasons why God bless America. I really envy you guys for that sweet laws u have there. This is why i need to solve this "quiet" and i have all the indications away of me, since i feed all the other stray cats arround - whoever is not scared enough yet and survives day by day from that bob-bully-cat. Therefore, he needs to "sleep" through stomach.

EDIT : sorry but i am keep editing my posts after seeing some major english bad grammar. English is not my first language, so forgive me and if u dont understand something please feel free to ask me.

 

[123RedBeard]

Euro = European Union currency ... so Original Poster (OP) is in Europe somewhere ...

Question to OP ... when you say "bobcat" do you mean a wild cat like - https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/bobcat ... or a domestic cat with a short/stub tail?

While domestic cats can "go wild" ... we call them "feral" ... they are different than their true wild cousins ...

 

[CCUK]

@Thomas Lamprogiorgos is also from Greece. Maybe he has some better advice for you.

 

[roosterhavoc]

I’m sure if you look hard enough you can get a trap shipped to you. End of cat.
I wish more people would understand how ridiculous the laws are elsewhere and quit rolling over and allowing similar laws to be passed here.
Good luck with the cat.

 

[CCUK]

I guess that your not in UK either. I'm not sure if this would apply across the EU but if you were to get caught trying to poison cats or bobcats with anti freeze you WILL end up in Court facing charges. I think that the best solution would be to either fortify your run or enclosure and use a electric fence. I know people that have had similar problems and one belt from the fence normally solves it. Also if you can get something called bone oil and put traces around your property that will help deter them as well.

 

[JimVoul]

Your command of English is far better than many native English speakers.

I'm getting impossibly curious as to what your native country is. I'm going to guess south Asia somewhere. The command of English is excellent there.

Thanks for your kind and unbelievable words! I really appreciate that. And i am from Greece. Yea kinda ashamed of it but... if anyone knows anything about my country, what i said about the property comming first, couldnt be applied better than what i said. Literally, if a burglar gets in your house and you do not prove he moved to attack you, you cannot harm him anyhow. Not to mention killing him. You are getting instant prison. Even if you harm yourself in the procedure (intentionally to prove you are right, or really cause u defended urself) biocracy and laws will punish you either way. You really need to surrender and report the event if he doesnt touch you and just ask you "politely" or not to give him anythihng he wants. It s not a joke, or some sort of metaphor. I forgot to mention that the burglar has all the right to sue you for any harm on him of course. You are really screwed off. Another guy got 30k euro penalty and several months of prison (which i assume he didnt serve cause his clean record - maybe), cause a stray dog was eating repetetively his chickens and he put him on sleep. Witnesses (greeks should get stiches if you know what i mean) report him to police, so.... You understand that laws exist here to serve ... nonsense??? That s why i said it s better to kill a person (in some cases, when u have very good excuses) than an animal here (no matter your excuses)... Of course, police will try anything to figure out a murder than killing an animal.... Figure out...

Euro = European Union currency ... so Original Poster (OP) is in Europe somewhere ...

Question to OP ... when you say "bobcat" do you mean a wild cat like - https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/bobcat ... or a domestic cat with a short/stub tail?

While domestic cats can "go wild" ... we call them "feral" ... they are different than their true wild cousins ...

I am really sorry. Yea i meant feral. Of course there are no bobcats here. It was my intentional mistake just to point out how different he is (in both size and character matter) from the mass of stray male cats i have seen in my life. I would never believe, a feral cat here doing such thing. Incredible. But you guys there appear to have way bigger races and such, so it s rather common, and i really wanted to save words like these by saying bobcat. Also i checked your link... Man, this feline is so awesomely beautiful...so perfect.. i wonder if someone could ever tam such a creature... Dang it! I would give so much to own one of those

Maybe borrow a hungry dog? That sounds terrible but it sounds like a dog would get in less trouble than you would.

A hungry dog would bother pretty much everything moving...dont u think? I dont want to add more problems to the unique and only one i ve got already Also, what makes you think that dogs are really picking cats? I mean i read such stories here, but other than here and cartoons i doubt a dog , at least in my country has ever gotten a cat (ok they have, but i ve heard that only in towns/cities where actually a cat can be surprised attack out of a corner or get into a dead end or something) Still, the chances letting a hungry and angry dog loose is that the results most likely wont be the expected... Even if he was capable to do so, he d probably exterminate all the other stray cats which i love them and protect them as much as i can from that bastard, plus chickens and attack kids or adult people.