Will cats kill Chickens?

[wsmoak]

Quote:
I had a stray tabby show up and do this. That rubbing isn't 'love' though -- it's cat spit.

They have glands at the corners of their mouths and they're marking stuff by rubbing their scent on it.

So, what, he's trying to mark the *chickens* ?? He never tried to hurt them though, he just followed them around -- the worst he did was try to steal an egg. After which I finally gave up and started feeding him, so now he lives here. (The chickens wanted nothing to do with him so now he's attached himself to the dog...)



101112_4259 by wsmoak, on Flickr

-Wendy

 

[Randy]

Yes. I accidently shut up one of our female cats in the chicken pen one time. I guess she got hungry because the next morning she had killed a hen and ate a lot of it's breast meat.

 

[caral07]

YES YES YES YES YES cats will kill chickens. My neighbors cat killed 7 of my hens. But my neighbors got rid of his. But the other cats they have dont but it is possible.

 

[austinandkara]

Quote:
Same here. We have 5 barn cats and only two of our cats will go down by the chicken coop. They just stare at the chickens longingly. One of our cats will hide in the grass looking at the baby chicks but he never actually goes for it.

 

[fishman65]

cats and dogs are all the SAME!!!!!!!! Some are very nice and loving and would never hurt a chicken and then their are the OTHER ONES. You know the ones that we hate and wish were dead. Cats and dogs will always have that wild gene that has a chance of coming out at any time. I have had chickens killed by both dogs and cats. I have recently adopted a ZERO TOLERANCE to predators around the coop. It sucks but has to be done.

 

[madibhai]

Cat's will absolutely kill chickens.

I lost all 5 of my chickens.

1 is missing
1 is half eaten and 3 are just dead.

I have to go and bury them now.

I spoke to the town and the said that cats are one of the few animals in the area. I live in a suburban environment that kill for the sport of it. That's why the cat killed all of them. If it was a raccoon or a possum it would have killed and eaten it. It wouldn't have just killed all of them. Three of my chickens look like they are sleeping, they are so peaceful but otherwise not a mark on them.

The feral cat got in through a loose piece of chicken wire that wasn't joined properly.

Costly and heartbreaking mistake on my part.

 

[natemoore1986]

I lost one of my barred rock hens last night. Chicken feathers everywhere. Dead chicken with one of the breasts and most of the innards consumed. We got complacent about cats because I've only seen my neighbor's two house cats and they seemed uninterested, so we quit sliding down the door that locks them in the coop and locks the predators out. We'll have to start doing that at the end of the day again.

I've got two game cameras, and I'm going to see what the culprit was. Probably a feral cat.

 

[Scrambled8]

No. I think cats are more intimidated by grown chickens than the chickens are of them

 

[shmccarthy]

I wouldn't put it past a large feral tom to kill a good sized chicken, but it seems pretty uncommon. I have heard stories of cats killing full grown chickens, but it seems more common for them to kill younger birds(pullets and cockerels) and chicks. I would never let my cat alone in the same room as the brooder, even with her suspicious lack of interest. She's an excellent hunter too. I've watched her take down fox squirrels and full grown rabbits. She's a Maine coon, so she's fairly large too. She has been out with me when my flock is free ranging and I've watched her behavior. She went to "stalk" a pullet and before I could even do anything, the rest of the pullets saw her and ran over to her. I think it weirded her out because she immediately stopped and started to try and leave the yard. The pullets ended up following her everywhere she went and she kept looking over her shoulder, trying to get away quicker and quicker. They kept up pretty well too. I think they were just curious and now she just completely stays away from them. I don't think my cat is a problem with my chickens, but I know she would absolutely go after a chick or small bantam if she got the chance.

 

[natemoore1986]

This cat killed one of my BR's.