Can A Kitten Grow Up & Not Hunt Chickens?

[jerseygirl1]

Feed the cat or find it a home, truthfully. It won't touch your chickens, I have four cats and they have never harmed a chick or a chicken.

A well adjusted and cared for cat will not go after a full grown hen. A feral uncared for cat will

 

[teach1rusl]

Highly unlikely (never say never, because a hungry, feral cat may do what's necessary to eat) that a cat will go after full grown chickens, at least LF. Chicks may be another story, since they are small and "birdlike."
My three (two of which are hunters) are out and about with my girls all the time. With a kitten that grows up around chickens, even less likely. Now that's not to say that the kitten, even as it grows, won't act "kittenish" and play stalk your chickens from time to time. Both of my younger cats have, but they've never attacked. Once the hens make eye contact, the game for the cat is over...lol. So if that's you biggest concern with taking on another animal (and THANK YOU for mentioning spay/neuter), then win that kitten over. And even if you can't keep it, then if possible trap it and take it to a shelter.

 

[HoustonChicks]

Wow, a 100% "yes" to letting this little kitten stay; I'm amazed. Today at roost time, it settled down next to the roost house and went to sleep. I walked past it several times & it didn't run away, but it watches me. Since we can't let the dog run the yard any more (since she killed so many young chickens), there's nothing to go after the rats, which are in abundance. I DID get it in a picture of the flock without realizing it was there. Thanks so much to everybody for your input.
I guess we'll abandon any thought of not latching down the roost door when chicks are big. Today, I found a possum in a bucket, with FIVE babies! It had thin wire wrapped all around it from getting tangled near our koi pond, couldn't get away, so it took refuge in a tub at daylight. Poor mama possum had struggled so much, the wire was cutting into its middle. We scooped them all into the trustworthy pet carrier, & I was able to snip the wire into pieces, staying away from those needle teeth. We took them all to a deeply wooded area AWAY from our house and let them go. Our chicks would be on the dollar menu with 6 possums in the yard at night! Baby possums are as cute as can be; we even raised 2 orphans, but never again. Possum relocation was the day's excitement today!

 

[Bizzybirdy]

I have 7 outside grown cats and they have never touched a grown chicken...now they will "look" at baby chicks but these should be put up anyway. In fact, my hens rule the yard and it is not unusual to see an irate hen chasing one of the poor cats around the house or staring one down. Poor kitten is probably very lonely.

I had a cat that used to sleep in the chicken coop...was a great mice catcher! Now that she is gone I had to buy a rat zapper to kill all the field mice running around.

 

[WriterofWords]

Sure it can, especially if you feed it with them and make sure it's eating well. I have guard cats that take care of my chickens very well.

 

[hunterjumper999]

yes, feed the kitty...

I have one 'yard cat' who is wonderful with my birds...

oddly, we had a rough winter and had quite a few losses due to shipping stress, bad management ( the room the brooder was in took a while to figure out too hot/cold) ect. and I fed him and his littermates almost exclusively from that. so he knows what a chick tastes like and still leaves them alone.

there he is checking on his chickens .....

 

[ozark hen]

I just got a mama cat and her four kittens. Mice were over-running the coop. I no longer have an overabundance of mice. Mother cat and the kittens respect the chickens. Have a wonderful large roo from Speckled Hen who tends to the flock and won't allow any foolishness from other chickens nor cats/kittens. All live in harmony. Mama cat goes into the coop during the daytime and sits and waits for mice. I love it

 

[Jeeper1540]

my cat was 6 when we got chickens, and we have a silent agreement that she leaves my chickens alone, and she get to LIVE in my house! lol