Are cats a danger to chickens?

[Miltonchix]

ALL advice on this topic should be taken with a grain of salt.

I've lost 30 birds to cats. Almost, if not all of them to someones pet. (now deseased!)
You'll have the crowd that is adamant that cats won't kill chickens and then there's me. ALL CATS ARE EVIL!!

You decide for yourself.

 

[chicknjane]

I have three cats who were all once strays. They could care less about the chickens or the baby chicks. Two have shown curiousity, but nothing more than a passing glance or two. I live surrounded on three sides by farms. There are at least 10 stray cats that patrol the area. None of them have bothered my coops or the mama and babies that free ranged last summer.

That said, I have two dogs that are kept in a kennel when they are outside because they are chicken haters. The pee smell from the area around the dog kennel could be keeping the feral cats away.

I wouldn't worry about the big chickens, the little ones may be an enticing target for any cat.

Marcy

 

[oldbat]

When still living in MT, I had the honor of being the local dump ground for every unwanted cat in a 3 county area....or so it seemed. As long as they behaved themselves, they had winter shelter in my straw bedded horse trailer with my GP/Border Collie guard dog, and a daily ration of dry cat food. They pretty much ignored my chickens....Wyandottes, Cornish, Cornish X's, etc...and turkeys....Blue Slates, Bourbon Reds, Midget Whites, etc. But.....

I came around the corner of the coop one morning, up to my knees in snow and packing a bucket of water and a bucket of feed, just in time to see one of the uninvited transplants launch herself onto the back of a half grown Midget, clamp her teeth onto the back of its neck/head, and drop it in its tracks. It all happened so fast I could only stand with my mouth gaping open and stare. Then, I put down the buckets, turned and tromped back to the house to return with the Remington Wingmaster and a full load of #4 shot shells, and in turn, dropped her on top of the bird she was eating. Finished feeding, then did a tour of the building site, and ended up with 16 more bodies to be added to the burn pit.

That particular cat had been around the place for almost a year, and up until that day, as far as I knew, had been just fine. Cats are different. Just because they behave themselves one day doesn't mean they're going to tomorrow....or next week....or whenever.

Since moving to OK, I have a (rescue) guard dog that dislikes cats as much as I do, and they are no longer a problem. She keeps them moving on down the road very nicely.

So, watch those cats...they can forget their manners, and can take out a pretty big bird. et

 

[stuckinthecity]

oldbat, Got to get me one of those "cat" dogs.

 

[WOT]

I sold off the rest of me OEGB because a cat was picking them off one at a time, and the roosters tended to be ill toward children and guest, everyone but me. I finally picked off the giant orange tom, one morning i saw him crossing the yard and turned my boxer out to tree him while I could grab a rifle. I have had to remove several cats because stalking my flock. My two cats are no concern to me with chickens, but I worry about the kittens due any minute, having a broody hatching eight eggs today.(2/28/10)

 

[Davaroo]

Q. Are cats a danger to chickens?

A. Generally, no.
Tabby will be interested in the chickens and will likely sit for hours watching them. My cats always have. But, most house cats wont be tempted to tackle full grown chickens, preferring discretion to valor. The thing to do is ensure kitty has enough of it's own food to eat, so it's little tummy is full. Then chickens will remain a diversion and the cat wont be tempted to doing foolish things...

In other words dont take chances.

On the other hand, chicks are fair game for a cat and should be protected from marauding felines, if at all possible. Well, providing you want them to survive cat encounters, that is. Some folks prefer to just let Nature takes it's course... slow chicks get their just rewards, and so on.

The chickens, for their part, don't appreciate the attention cats may shower on them, and will remain hypertensive as long the cat is in view. This can have a minor affect on hen yard stability or, in extreme cases, may cause egg laying to be affected.

But in general, cats and chickens manage well enough, apart.

 

[oldbat]

Have to admit that it took me a while to decide to post my earlier addition to this thread. There are a lot of people in this world who think animals need to be treated like people....especially cats. It's been my experience (through 72 very "active" years) that animals march to their own drummer. And, it's not just cats; I like horses better than most people and have been on really good terms with most; that didn't stop a couple of them from poking my head in the ground to the point that I needed a total left hip replacement four years ago and spent one whole winter learning to walk again. Animals are animals; stop trying to make them capable of intelligent reasoning!!!

Don't like "getting tough" with anything, but this rescue dog I have now made me get tough;...(basically comparable to a giggly, borderline hysterical 16 year old incapable of focusing on anything I told her.)....finally took a corn broom to her behind until she peed herself....it was either that or get rid of her. Since that major confrontation, she's been almost flawless.....comes when I call, immediately stops whatever she's doing when I say "No", tells me when there's a hawk so she can be turned into the pasture, knows what I'm trying to do by my body language and position in the pasture; at this point, has been totally trustworthy with the chickens and turkeys at whatever age. But I still keep an eye on her.

I still have my GP/BC female, but Katie is pretty much worthless most of the time. Here is an earlier post concerning her "problems", which have not even slightly improved: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=260600 She watches for predators when we're outside together, but if there's a gunshot anywhere that she can hear it, the birds are on their own.

Sunday morning of this week, when I turned back to shut off a light in the kitchen before following her out the door, she was already gone when I got back there...apparently heard a gunshot somewhere within a 5 mile area. I could tell where she was by the ruckus raised by neighborhood dogs, and was quite frankly, mentally egging the other dogs on. After a few minutes, Katie reappeared and wanted in the house. Apparently the terrior down the street does not take kindly to big fluffy dogs running through his yard. I don't know what to do to help her other than a .357 bullet through the head. I've tried everything else. And, what has worked for other dogs does not necessarily work for a GP; they're a whole different ball game. Getting "tough" with Katie has absolutely no improvement with her behavior. When she hears a gunshot, she's still totally "out of it"......and gone.

Regardless what some idealogical people want us to believe, animals are not capable of reasoning. Cats are more manipulative than most. I've only had two inside "pet" cats....the first a "gift" of a neighbor....whose intentions I now question. It happened while I was still in MT: anytime I petted one of the "outside" cats while doing chores, and then went to work, when I returned, she'd peed on my bed, clothes, whatever she could get at. On serious questioning, the "gifter" finally admitted that the person she'd gotten the cat from had laughed about the poor thing spending the first year of its life under the bed because her kid had abused it on a daily basis.

The cat never left my house. I spent $40, plus gas, hauled her a 100 miles to a vet in Miles City, with full disclosure of her problems, who rehomed her to a place where she was the only cat in the equation. Don't know how that turned out. Don't want to know. It's the closest I've ever come to shooting an animal in my living room.

The second was originally discovered as a squalling barely-eyes-open kitten out behind the chicken coop after her dropped off mother had in turn abandoned her. Kept Crash for a year, (clumsiest cat I've ever seen) but after disposing of two litters of kittens when she'd been allowed outside, and since Social Security does not allow you to survive and also spend $75 for spaying, my daughter in Fargo found her another home with a legal secretary who was more able to provide such veterinary services.

I don't like cats; they're a big problem because they don't live by our rules and regulations. And they don't want to. We probably shouldn't expect them to; they are, after all, an animal.

As for my "cat dog"...I think she's a mix of Black Lab and maybe Doberman. She's about 100 pounds now, sometimes still a giddy teenager, but usually, a stern "Hey!" will drop her to her stomach, waiting for my next command.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can't trust ANY feline; they will all revert to their basic survival instincts .... including taking out any stray chicken that is dumb enough to traipse across their territory. If you think they won't, you're going to be weeping tears of remorse SOMEDAY. Just MHO.

Have a good day. et

 

[RedfogsFlock]

Quote:
Ok well we just got a cat for our mom, and she has never been outside. The FIRST thing she did was try to "catch" our chickens through our sliding door. Yes, cats are predators and the fact that they've never seen a chicken doesn't always deter them. I have lost chickens to peoples pet cats

My girls are all full grown and would not be a match for a full grown cat.

My advice is if you have cats around then free ranging your girls probably wouldn't be a great idea. Cats are hunters, and birds are prey, it's instinct. When a cat does get a chicken, it's leaves a horrible mess!

 

[krants]

Our cat is deathly afraid of our chicks. Even when they were here at 2-3 days old the cat came in and sniffed, seen one move and hasn't come into our bedroom since. Cats outside are a different story. Our crazy neighbor has like 6-7 cats that wander the neighborhood daily. I would not trust them. First sight of a cat in my yard and it's animal control.

 

[mgibbzzz]

I've been lucky with my cats. My female hunts and leaves me 'presents' that she will literally go into the woods to bring back for me. The chickens have chased her since she was small so she wants nothing to do with them. My male was raise in the storage portion of the coop, he he has also learned at a young age to stay clear. They don't even mess with the chicks.They do go into the coop and in their pen, but they usually go for the moving water in their waterers.