Rant: Cat killed my free-range chickens

[easybeart]

Today my neighbor's cat killed my sweet little Pumpkin. I heard my girls making a ruckus outside so I went to go check, and all I saw was the cat munching on poor Pumpkin's body.

Why are cats allowed to freely roam and enter other people's property, kill my girls, poop all over my garden, and kill other small local birds/animals??? Like, I don't let my girls fly over the fence and poop all over my neighbor's property? It is unfair that my girls can't safely free-range in my backyard because these dumb cats are allowed to roam. We don't even have other natural threats like raccoons or foxes to worry about! And I have plenty of aerial coverage so no problems with hawks either! Just these dumb cats!!!

I raise smaller breeds like bantams and silkies so they can't protect themselves as well as other larger breeds. No roosters allowed in my neighborhood either. Now I am considering enclosing my girls in a run, which is going to cost me some money.

Sorry for the rant. I am just so upset my Pumpkin is gone...

 

[Ruby Rogue]

Sorry for your loss

 

[Sequel]

I’m so sorry! Predators are always a problem with chickens. Where I live you can’t let chickens or cats wander because of the coyotes. Cats are hard on songbird populations too!

 

[Ruby Rogue]

I'm terrified to let my cat outside. She shows zero interest in my brooding chicks, luckily.

 

[agoobertuesday]

Oh no! So sorry for the loss of Pumpkin! Would a good dog be a viable option?

 

[Big Doggie]

Today my neighbor's cat killed my sweet little Pumpkin. I heard my girls making a ruckus outside so I went to go check, and all I saw was the damn cat munching on poor Pumpkin's body.

Why are cats allowed to freely roam and enter other people's property, kill my girls, shit all over my garden, and kill other small local birds/animals??? Like, I don't let my girls fly over the fence and shit all over my neighbor's property? It is unfair that my girls can't safely free-range in my backyard because these dumb cats are allowed to roam. We don't even have other natural threats like raccoons or foxes to worry about! And I have plenty of aerial coverage so no problems with hawks either! Just these dumb cats!!!

I raise smaller breeds like bantams and silkies so they can't protect themselves as well as other larger breeds. No roosters allowed in my neighborhood either. Now I am considering enclosing my girls in a run, which is going to cost me some money.

Sorry for the rant. I am just so upset my Pumpkin is gone...

Yeah I have 2 cats that come in my yard and lay next to the run. Don’t know where they belong but they’re not mine. I don’t dare free range.

 

[USMC chicken mommy]

May want to invest in a gun, unfortunately.

 

[MarkJr]

Luckily my cat doesn’t harbor any interest in the females.

He had it in for my old RIR rooster. Every chance he got he tackled that damn rooster.

My cat is 16 lbs.

 

[jeepgrrl]

I’m really sorry for your loss. We have a ton of strays around here, most folks don’t spay/neuter their barn cats. We ended up adopting three of them (on separate occasions). All three were in dire need of help. They now reside on our porch. Two of them often hang out in the back pasture where the girls free range, one in particular; the third one is FIV+ and doesn't venture far from the porch. Two of my hens went after the cats, one got beat up by my Cuckoo Marans, and now they leave the hens alone. The one cat will come with me when I’m cleaning the coop, totally ignoring the hens and he’ll nap under the willow tree stump when the girls are there (its nice and cool under there). I’m not saying the hens like the cats, but they seem to tolerate them. I have since acquired a Guinea cock that someone dumped on our property, so he’ll alarm the girls if he sees the cats. My cats‘ primary interest are rodents, including chipmunks, mice, shrews and moles. We don’t have many rabbits due to the coyotes. My neighbor has bird feeders and every once in a while she’ll see Otis on her property but she said he doesnt seem interested in the birds, just their never ending supply of chipmunks. My neighbors all know which cats are mine and I have asked them to let me know if they become a problem but if they absolutely have to shoot them on their property, then they gotta do what they gotta do. I would contact your neighbor and give them a stern warning, and show them Pumpkin’s remains, and if they are aholes and fail to do something about their cat on your property, then by all means shoot if you must. You might suggest spaying/neutering their cat if they haven’t done so already, as I have found this can reduce their prey drive. My primary predators are hawks, and it is illegal to shoot them (not that I would). Allowing my hens to free range on 1.5 acres, part of which is surrounded by woodlands, is a risky gamble that I have chosen to take, knowing that I will probably lose some every year to hawks, owls, foxes, raccoons, and even our dogs. I do have an enclosed run that I use during the hawk migration in September, but most every other time they are out from dawn to dusk. Unfortunately, building an enclosed run with monitored free ranging may be your only option but at least your girls would be safe. I really hope you find a solution to your dilemma.

 

[hayley3]

Today my neighbor's cat killed my sweet little Pumpkin. I heard my girls making a ruckus outside so I went to go check, and all I saw was the damn cat munching on poor Pumpkin's body.

Why are cats allowed to freely roam and enter other people's property, kill my girls, shit all over my garden, and kill other small local birds/animals??? Like, I don't let my girls fly over the fence and shit all over my neighbor's property? It is unfair that my girls can't safely free-range in my backyard because these dumb cats are allowed to roam. We don't even have other natural threats like raccoons or foxes to worry about! And I have plenty of aerial coverage so no problems with hawks either! Just these dumb cats!!!

I raise smaller breeds like bantams and silkies so they can't protect themselves as well as other larger breeds. No roosters allowed in my neighborhood either. Now I am considering enclosing my girls in a run, which is going to cost me some money.

Sorry for the rant. I am just so upset my Pumpkin is gone...

I called the police because my neighbor didn't contain his dogs. I lived in the Hoosier National Forest and the police came and gave the guy a warning. It helped because he knew I was serious. He actually called me and was mad that he had to keep his dogs penned.
If I were you, I'd catch the cats in a trap and take to animal shelter. I would then set up an electric perimeter.
It makes me mad that people think it's okay if their animals wander freely, saying the animals need their freedom to roam, (and don't care if they get killed and/or bother other people's property).