Cat problem

[Judy]

A garden hose with one of those "high pressure" nozzles worked for me.

I agree, you could say to the neighbor in a friendly way,, if your cat seems to be throwing up more it's probably because....

 

[Patoot]

Thanks for the ideas. I will try adding some cayenne pepper since the girls won't mind. Are you sure they won't? And it won't burn their little throats and tummies?

I will tell the neighbor about it. They aren't the most helpful people, but I will let them know. I talked to them when I first got the chickens about trying to keep her out of the yard and they had the attitude that it was kinda my problem since she's a cat. I've had problems with her pooping in my garden, but that seems to have stopped in the last few months. She is hardly in the yard anymore where she used to come more frequently...at least I saw her more often before. The neighbor asked me to feed her the next three days while she goes out of town. When she comes to bring the key later, I will ask her about leaving food outside for her and letting her know that the cat is eating chicken food which could make her sick. Maybe that will make her do something.

The good thing is now I have seen all 4 of the girls eating the new pellets so I don't have to worry they aren't getting any.

Thanks for the ideas.

Bree

 

[jjthink]

Poor cat is probably hungry - chicken food would never be their feed of choice so she might be desperate. I love cats so I would feed the cat (cat food, that is!). I hope this works out for all.
JJ

 

[ultasol]

Birds can't taste the heat in capascin (what makes peppers hot) a good treat for parrots is dried hot peppers, and it makes a nice treat for chickens too- they love it.

 

[dandelionheart]

I love cats and if the neighbors don't care so much about it... maybe it is more of a stray that they occasionally put food out for or something. I'd find a place to put cat food out. The cat will keep the rodents away - and if she isn't hurting the hens, it sounds like a winning deal.

 

[Patoot]

I told them about it and asked if we could leave some food outside and they said that was okay. We'll see.

Bree

 

[debilorrah]

Strange but true that cats and chickens get along quite well. My cats like to sit by the brooder and watch them. Never once tried to get one.

 

[dianaross77]

Just be careful about leaving cat food outside. It might be an invitation for other critters that will hurt your chickens.

 

[madimorg]

Glad to have read this about the peppers not hurting the chickens... I've wondered why my girls seem to love my leftover pepper plants in my garden. Whenever I get home from work and let them freerange they'll pick the peppers off and eat them. They are our hot chili peppers. I dont have an issue with my cats eating the chicken feed, however I do have an issue of the chickens eating the cat food off of our deck. The other day I caught one of the cats and one of the hens eating side by side.. I wish I'd had my camera handy. It's amazing to me how well my two cats and 26 chickens get along... I would've never guessed. There are times that the youngest cat, who is six months old, will crouch like she's going to pounce a chicken but as soon as the chickens see her they'll chase after her... it's like a big game they play.

 

[cat1994]

I dont know about cats eating chicken food but my bunny loves to eat the chickens feed. He loves it even more than his own feed