A cat issue?

[GeneralSV]

Over the past 2 weeks, we've come outside to dead chickens, some without their head and neck, some with only half of their body eaten, others dried up, and some with just the structure of the wings and feathers left. I've done many research as to who the predator could be, since we fence our coop with dog fences and sealed the top with plastic fence, but somehow there were still dead chickens so we assume the predator must be coming from under the ground so we locked the chickens up. From my research, I thought it might be a raccoon since all the post say cats and dogs could take the whole body of the chicken, but the trap that we set up finally caught a cat, could it have been the cat that did this? If so, what should we do with the cat? We live in Minnesota and I don't know the laws regarding animals killing your stock. If the cat does have an owner, I don't want to give it back to them because their pet has killed many of our chickens, and killing the cat, I just don't have the heart to do. Could it have been the cat or something else? If yes, what should I do with the cat?

 

[mowin]

I wouldn't think A house cat is going to dig under a fence. I'm thinking weasel.
Pic of your run might be helpful.

 

[Araucana Nest]

My guess would be raccoon or opossum. The cat was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

[Folly's place]

Any member of the weasel family, foxes, who knows? It's not that cat!
Pictures of your coop and run will help here, and set up a game camera to show who's visiting.
Mary

 

[black_cat]

I agree that the cat is not doing that to your chickens, it's just minding it's own business and managed to get its self trapped.

 

[SplatterhouseCorrupt]

Everybody has such great guesses right? I have encountered a very similar problem. I finally caught what I thought would be a raccoon or a maybe a small coyote getting at my chickens but I caught my neighbors cat. Everything considered (especially that a cat was heard by my roommate during one attack where a rooster and a hen were killed in a 3 chicken enclosure) make me think it has to be this cat. Your post is from a while back and I wanted to know what your verdict was? Did you determine it was a cat that was killing your chickens? I have had similar attacks on my flock and would really appreciate your response and if it really was a cat. People don't realize that a hungry cat is completely capable of killing a rooster or hen or whatever.

 

[SplatterhouseCorrupt]

It was a stray cat. I caught it twice, the second time relocated it. No problems since. Don't let anyone tell you a regular house cat gone Will Feral can't take chickens. This one broke into a cage with 2 hens and a rooster, ate the head off 1 hen, and took the rooster.