Does keep a cat on one's property (like a fixed barn cat) help to keep away wandering ferals that are looking for new territory? Or would that completely backfire and just draw more in? I have no experience keeping cats and am finding a lot of conflicting and fuzzy info on whether cats attract or repel other cats, or if it's mostly just a matter of whether they're fixed or not like with dogs...or if it's an issue of how food is distributed to the cats, etc. Any cat I would keep would be rabies vaccinated, spayed/neutered, fed/sheltered properly, and given routine vet care, and not just left out to fend for itself. The feral cats in question are, of course, completely unvaccinated and often carrying other assortments of parasites/diseases, and this winter they have been very aggressive in trying to get my chickens out of desperation (my chickens don't generally free range; they are predator-secure as much as I can manage but the most recent problem cat snuck in and was trying to open coop doors even as I was basically right there going to/from the enclosure doing routine stuff!). Rabies and occasional rabid cats are also unfortunately a thing in this area.
My dog's presence has been extremely effective at pusing back other canids and many other animals away from my house and poultry areas, just from her scent alone. I never even see tracks from them even quite far out on the property. She does not repel cats though; they are the only thing that truly doesn't care about her at all unless she chases them - and they'e gotten pretty good at avoiding her while still being a problem. Most people here who have poultry or other farm animals in a serious way have both a dog and a cat, although I think most people keep the cats for rodents, which is not an issue for me since I control those in other ways.
If there are better cat-deterrence methods for a large property I am open to suggestions, but I'm not looking for info on trapping or other more drastic cat-removal methods. I already know what my options are in that domain. I would just really rather push unwanted cats away more naturally, similarly to how foxes/coyotes stay away with my dog's territory, if it's at all possible to do such a thing.
My dog's presence has been extremely effective at pusing back other canids and many other animals away from my house and poultry areas, just from her scent alone. I never even see tracks from them even quite far out on the property. She does not repel cats though; they are the only thing that truly doesn't care about her at all unless she chases them - and they'e gotten pretty good at avoiding her while still being a problem. Most people here who have poultry or other farm animals in a serious way have both a dog and a cat, although I think most people keep the cats for rodents, which is not an issue for me since I control those in other ways.
If there are better cat-deterrence methods for a large property I am open to suggestions, but I'm not looking for info on trapping or other more drastic cat-removal methods. I already know what my options are in that domain. I would just really rather push unwanted cats away more naturally, similarly to how foxes/coyotes stay away with my dog's territory, if it's at all possible to do such a thing.
