Cat Problems anybody?

[Miltonchix]

Quote:
The ONLY thing you'll teach a cat by shooting it with a BB gun is to NOT come around when you're there with a BB gun. Tried it. Cat just waited til I wasn't around. I finally mowed some shooting lanes in the back 40 that I could shoot from inside my house. Cats shows up in a mowed lane and.....POW!
As for wounding it with a BB gun. Highly unlikely unless your using a high power air rifle which, if you're lucky, will kill it. (unless you can't hit the broad side of a barn and wound it)

 

[savingdogs]

I've worked for three veterinarians in the state of Washington and all three have you sign something before they will perform euthanasia. The form states not only that you want the animal put down, but that you are the legal owner.
I doubt that would be the case in the circumstance you are referring to, so taking a cat to a veterinarian to be put down would involve lying and saying you are the owner, at least in my state. The only time I have seen vets waiver from this were times of extreme pain/suffering, etc., such as people bringing in dying animals who were just hit by cars, etc. Then they can attest that it was in the animals best interest. Maybe someone else could chime in with the repercussions of that type of lie, but I do think that if you killed certain people's cats, they would certainly come after you with whatever legal means they have. Not all cat owners, but some are really extremely attached fanatics.

I'm on the fence on this one, because I own cats that escape from the house, so are indoor-outdoor, but I do care for them very much although I'm not a fanatic. But my cats never ever bother poultry and in fact, catch mice and other small rodents that prey on their feed. The chickens even enjoy the dead mice bodies that the cat drags back to set on my porch. I thought the cat/chicken combination was working excellently at my house and understood why cats survived all these centuries, because their job was protecting the very important grains used to feed the chickens. My chickens even follow my best mouser around when they are free ranging, hoping he is going to provide them with another body (he only catches and kills them, doesn't eat them). If I were raising chicks I would build a protective enclosure for them because I realize the natural order of things is that a cat will only eat prey small enough (unless you kill it for them). It cracks me up when I see venison and beef made into cat food (I'm picturing 20-30 kitties in tandem, working to catch a deer!). I do wonder if my cat would consider quail prey, being smaller.

And even in the city, cats have natural territories. Better to train the local cat that your chickens are off limits than get rid of it/deter it/fence it out than have to train the next one that takes over its territory continually. I find a hose works really well in repelling cats from areas that I don't want them to be in. and I am more often watering as opposed to walking around with my BB gun. I do have one that we use to shoot at coyotes but again, I would rather scare off and train the current predator rather than dispose of this one and have a new tenderfoot move in and investigate the place all over again, although my husband does use the real gun re: the coyotes when he is home. I do understand where both sides of this issue are coming from however and worry about loose neighbor dogs even though I'm a dog lover myself. People just have to act responsibly and since they don't always, you need to build a good enclosure and/or keep a good eye on your own.

 

[hd_darcy]

I would never, in a millions years, shoot or harm a pet that was on my property. Why not contact the neighbors and warn them first? Give them a chance! If it happens again, then a little more understandable...

 

[Gerbil]

We had a stray cat break into our rabbit's house, he was a pet rabbit, it killed him.

Somehow it managed to make an opening in the roof and crawl down in. ( the roof was a board that slid on tightly with a weight on the top) We know it was a cat because it left bloody tracks all over the rabbit's house. Anyways, that cat is no more. We used a humane animal trap.

 

[heatherindeskies]

I find it interesting that my cats and chickens get along just fine. The chickens have top pecking order when it comes to the dry cat food too. I have four chicks fenced off, but the cats don't even look at them and all was fine when one escaped and was running around the barn one day....
I was sure my cats would be a problem for the flighty chicks at least!

 

[Aframechickens191]

If I had this problem, I would buy a live animal trap (racoon trap is best for cats) and set it with cat food or raw meat in it, wait til you catch the cat. You may catch some other predator as well, lol, but if you don't want to shoot the cat, trap it and relocate it somewhere at least 10-20 miles away. Believe me, cats are persistant and can make their way back to where they want to be if you only drive 5 miles before dumping them off beside a woods. Traps are usually expensive, so if you know someone with one, borrow it for a few days. Best of wishes!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Ive never had them bother my birds. I have 2 outdoor cats, they love the chickens. They will sit on top of the brooders and watch the chicks and ducklings. We also have a couple stray/feral cats and those never bother the chicks either.

 

[huntercf]

I had a problem with several neighbors cats tearing through my netting at night and getting into my quail pen. I finally put chicken wire on top and haven't had any problems. They have been in the chicken coop but I haven't lost any chickens, some of my chickens are pretty fiesty.
You might try and put some coyote urine around your property or they also have sprinkles or spray to repel cats and dogs. The only problem is that you have to keep applying the deterrents. You could also try and put some no-pick on your birds, that stuff is nasty, I accidently got some in my eye one time and it burned to high heaven.
As far as dispatching a cat, if it were someone's pet that they truly wanted then it wouldn't be out wandering. I find it interesting when people let their pets wander around causing havoc (i.e. peeing, pooping, killing other pets, etc.) and then they get upset when someone else kills it. If it has only happened once though I would give the owners the benefit of the doubt and let them know what their pet has done to your pets and that it costs you money. If they don't take care of it after that then they need to live with the consequences, at that point it was their decision and not yours.

 

[Oven Ready]

I find it interesting that my cats and chickens get along just fine

Ive never had them bother my birds. I have 2 outdoor cats, they love the chickens

Same here, OUR cats never bothered OUR chickens, they are smart little animals and they do learn not to come back when hit by a BB gun - sure if they die of an infection then that's a bad way to go, but it's the risk they take to get an easy meal. Chickens readily die from infection from an otherwise minor cat bite.

Cat troubles stem from someone elses cats (or more usually) strays that have been dumped or just moved into the area.

I know it's been suggested that one should fence ones chickens in better than one does to protect them from predators, however if you were to take this to the extreme, would you put your children in a fenced area of your garden so they could play safe while feral dogs roamed your yard at will? Or would you get something done about the dogs so your children could roam your yard at will?​

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
I'm not "aussie obsessed". The title reads, "Owned by an Aussie" 1 Aussie who stole my heart 12 years ago. Sorry but I'm one of those "responsible pet ower"s who keep their pets under control. 4 of my cats are indoor cats so that they don't go about killing birds and other defenseless small animals. The other is semi feral but never able to catch more than a grasshopper and a couple butterflies. My dog happens to be a trained certified Service Animal. Spook is under complete voice control and does not leave my side. Spook was kept on a leash from the day I found her until after she was a year old. We walked we play, we did everything while she was on leash so that she knew she was not to leave my side unless I told her too. Spook would not chase anything unless she was told to do so. You could set a plate of food on the floor, tell her to leave it and walk a way for an hour and not a single thing would be missing or touched. She would even warn the cats if they got too near the plate.

I had always told people that I loved Spook enough that I would put her down if she ever bit someone, or harmed another animal. That is what a responsible dog owner does.


FYI on Thursday evening I put that Aussie who Owned me to sleep with my own hands. Responsible dog owners don't allow their pets to suffer unneccessarily either.