1 cat won't stop chasing the chickens!!

[There A Chick]

What am I supposed to do? Its so frustrating. I have 4 barn cats and 1 dog. The dog is under constant vigilance, she is not out unattended, she's smart, she **GETS IT** that she is not allowed to chase the chickens so that's ok.

But of the 4 cats, all adults, there is one, Domino, that just WON'T quit pestering them. The other 3 could care less. I mean, I yell at her when I'm out there, but unlike the dog who is not outside if we are not home and out there with her, this cat has free rein. Domino is the main mouser too. This has been going on for quite some time now and my patience is really wearing thin. Do you sometimes just have to get rid of cats like this or do I just assume that she will never catch one? The chickens always seem to run away but I feel bad for them.

Here's the culprit:

 

[ivan3]

Down on the belly, slinking along like Sylvester after Tweety preparing to pounce? How old and what breed chooks do you have? Is the cat fixed?

Our outdoor cat did the `belly crawl' toward our penned little pullets just once (stitched the ground next to him with the .22 that was that) once the RSL cockerel was half way along to being a roo and the turkey hens got big enough to busybody him, he gave up on any lion king notions and has since avoided the flocks. However, I'm almost certain that if I were to release our indoor Manx into the backyard there would be a blood bath.

I've observed feral cats hunting in pairs like they were on a savanna seperating out zebra (were actually working their way up a draw from the road towards the chickens and were summarily dispatched).

If your cat is stalking full grown standards, or Bantams, I'd not take a chance with rehab. If your birds are still growing I'd probably move the cat indoors for a few months.

 

[There A Chick]

Yes, exactly, Sylvester and Tweety like. The peeps are, I'd say, pretty much full grown, a couple are just now starting to lay, they are 4 months old, Gold Star, an egg laying breed and I have to say they are pretty big. Bigger than I imaged they would get.

When the chicks were smaller, the cat was more timid actually. The birds could chase the cat off or at least scare her, but lately the cat seems more bound and determined that she's going to get one and has gotten more aggressive about it, like not backing down. And the chickens have now decided they are afraid and they run away now, so all the more reason to give chase, i.e. THEY RUN!

I'm prepared to home the cat if that is the answer.

 

[horsejody]

You need a good cat-intimidating rooster. If a cat tried that on a hen here, they would get pummeled. After the recent dog attack, I only have one roo left. He is a huge JG that could easily teach a cat.

 

[BeardedChick]

You could try a squirt gun or squirt bottle. Chicken chases cat = cat gets squirted.

 

[Wildsky]

You need a mom with chicks - she will FLOG that cat till the cows come home.

(I laugh because it happened to my pup - the pup in question now AVOIDS the chickens like the plague)

 

[cajunlizz]

WELL , all the more reason for them being in a prediator proof run and coop ..


Anything that disrupts the hens will " DISRUPT " the laying cycle .

 

[There A Chick]

Well I think I'm going to try and find a new home for the cat then. I do reprimand her when I'm there and she listens to me, but I'm not home all day and she's a barn cat, so she's outdoors all the time.

I do have a coop with a little run but I want to let them free range too.

 

[BeardedChick]

So let the chickens out and put the cat in the run.

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:

BRILLIANT