Why Can't We Have Ordinances to Control Cats? Please?

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i have finally calmed down from chasing our neighbor's cat, not only out of our yard, but out of one of my pens. Heard the chickens going crazy. Went out to find the cat inside the back pen. She apparently fell through the top where i need to repair a panel and only had plastic sheeting strapped (my fault, i know). i opened the door, screamed at her and she ran, along with several of the chickens (little flighty bantams). Got everyone back in, secured the top, checked everyone over. It must have just happened, so no harm to the birds, just a frightened cat and terrified birds. Went to my neighbor's house (as i have many many times). The young girl came to the door, tired, lackadaisical. She did ask if any birds were harmed, i said no. She said she would keep the cat in for the day. So today i get to spend my Sunday reinforcing my pens so they are Fort Knox, all because of irresponsible neighbors.

i do realize the burden falls on us, as chicken owners, to make sure our pets are safe. i've spent countless hours and thousands of dollars on chain link pens and panels, hardware cloth, cable ties, roofing panels, secure coops and locks. If we found a predator like a raccoon or possum, we would trap or shoot, depending on the urgency of the situation. i suppose it would be the same for a cat, but i really don't want to be put in that position. Animal Control deems cats as "free roaming" which means it isn't against any law for a strange cat to be in your yard. It also allows cat owners to let their animals out to cause any kind of mischief without consequences. i realize cats can go over fences and dogs can not, and that Animal Control probably doesn't want to open the can of worms to try to regulate the situation.

i'm just very frustrated right now. i think cat owners really need to be held responsible for their cats. i am with mine, they all stay inside where they bother no one (well, except for us). i wonder if there is any way to get an ordinance in place?

 

[al6517]

Probably not a very good chance of it happening JMO to many cat fanatics out there who will raise cain. If it's between chickens and cats the cat folks will always win.

 

[captwalker]

I think some people might say that you wouldnt keep your chickens in their coop all day long, the same for cats. They need to get out and have sunshine and fresh air as well. and usually cats do not cause the same type of damage a loose dog would. Plus its impossible to train a cat to stay in the yard the way you would a dog. I have cats ,chickens, and a very large dog, you just have to make sure that you coop and run are secure and eventually the cats get used to the fact that they cant get at the birds.

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Quote:
I think the point that the OP was trying to make is that while she knows that she needs to keep her coop extra secure for wild predators, there is a lack of "fairness" with the fact that she has to "fort knox" it because a pet owner is irresponsible and doesn't keep their pet contained. Cats can and do cause damage like dogs, and I don't really care if a cat "needs sunshine and fresh air". If it threatens my birds, it will be one dead kitty.

 

[bertman]

As a chicken owner, cat owner, and dog owner, I am still in favor of regulations for free-roaming cats and dogs. DISCLAIMER: my cats roam free whenever they want to. My DW and I are their loyal slaves who open doors, provide food, water, and ear scratches on demand. (The bonus is NO cat litter boxes.) We have an electric underground fence for our dog so we might be able to use the same for the cats; although, I've never heard of anyone doing that. It does seem possible and would probably deter all but the most free-spirited feline.

Our municipality has a spay-neuter ordinance but it is rarely enforced. I realize that anything that happens to my cat while he/she is roaming is on me. Killed by a neighbors' dog? Too bad. Run over by a car? Should have learned from the possum. Eaten by a coyote? Life is hard. Killing or harassing my neighbor's chickens? Unacceptable and I would have to come up with a method of dealing with it.

Fortunately, our area is teeming with wildlife and there are very few feral cats, only pets and not too many of them are free-roamers. Aside from killing and eating the occasional bunny or squirrel, our cats' damage to the local wildlife is limited mostly to moles, voles, and field mice with an occasional songbird thrown in. (My DW, the wildlife rehabber, supplies our cats with 'Cat bibs', a flexible rubber bib that attaches to the cat's collar and hangs down in front of its feet. It does not keep the cat from being a cat except that it does slow the cat down by a split second, giving its prey a better chance of escaping.)

Our cats are scared of our pullets. When they were biddies, the cats were never allowed around them for fear of the consequences. Once they got bigger and were free ranging in the yard, the birds were big enough to give the cats second thoughts about an attack.

I'm sorry about your birds being harassed by the cat. Very good that none were hurt.

Just my $.02 worth.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i will fix that pen today so the cat won't accidentally or deliberately get back in. But even so, this neighbor's cats are in my yard all the time, and it frightens my chickens (and ducks) to have cats roaming around their pens. This neighbor and i did put up poles and netting between our yards, but the cats get around it or break through it. When i went to put my ducks in last night, this same cat was in the duck pen, drinking out of the duck pond. i had to herd my terrified ducks out of the way while i shooed her out of the yard. She has not hurt any of my animals as yet, but she terrifies them. i don't want my birds terrified all the time.

When i went to talk to this neighbor this morning, she did comment that her other cat was being kept inside as he was injured. But she will let him out in a day or so, probably to be injured again. We hear cat fights all night long.

One friend has a cat with feline aids. They put up a chain link kennel beside their house, with a pathway going out the window. Their cats can go out, eat grass, feel the sunshine on their fur, and still be safe.

i just don't know what the answer is for us. i got geese to chase the cats out of the yard, but saw this same cat waltz by them the other day while the geese just looked on.

 

[captwalker]

BigDaddy'sGurl :

Quote:
I think the point that the OP was trying to make is that while she knows that she needs to keep her coop extra secure for wild predators, there is a lack of "fairness" with the fact that she has to "fort knox" it because a pet owner is irresponsible and doesn't keep their pet contained. Cats can and do cause damage like dogs, and I don't really care if a cat "needs sunshine and fresh air". If it threatens my birds, it will be one dead kitty.

Yes pet owners need to be resposible, that includes making sure nothing can get to your birds, if a cat can get at them, then any number of predators can.​

 

[Nicole01]

I think all animals should be contained to the owners property. That is what we do. I supervise all free ranging and don't let my chickens go in the neighbors yard, even along the border. People need to keep their dogs on their own property as well, but they don't care. It's frustrating and I see dogs in our yard all the time. I don't want dead chickens. We don't let our dogs roam either, but I do have them with me outside free ranging. My Aussie will chase out any dog that enters.

 

[LisaAnnW]

I believe your chickens have the right to relax in their own pen without being menaced by your neighbor's cats! My gentle old female cat was being beaten up right on my back porch by a neighbor's un-neutered male, so I bought an air pistol from Wal-Mart, and shot at it every time it came to pick a fight. It's not easy to hit a moving target, but I made contact enough times that he finally decided to stay away. Air pistols shoot little rubber pellets, so they don't kill, only sting, and the gun doesn't make noise, so the neighborhood doesn't have to know what you're doing. Good luck!

 

[Kaitie09]

I have 9 cats that go in and out as they please, and my neighbors are pretty happy for the lack of mice in their basements and garages. You probably will never be able to keep the cat out, but there is an upside. My chickens and ducks are no longer afraid of the cats. The cats can't get into the pen at all unless I let them, and even then they just lay down while the chickens walk around them. They will just lay there outside the pen and watch them. If the chickens or ducks feel like they have had enough of being watched, they will walk over and peck at them.

If the cat comes over enough times, your birds will eventually just get accustomed to them, and not freak out.