Cats and Chickens

[gritsar]

Quote:
Exactly. My adult brahmas (BIG chickens) are afraid of our cat because she's the only cat they've ever had exposure to. Kitty for her part, still having the feral instincts she was born with, is a chicken killer. Size means nothing to her. She will try to take down an adult chicken in a heartbeat. She may not be able to kill it, but the wounds she can inflict might as well be a death sentence. Thus, Kitty lives in the house now.

Never say never.

On the other hand, we had a bobcat hybrid around the first year we had chickens. He never went anywhere near the chickens. I'm sure he could see them in the distance, but never showed any real interest in them.

 

[dogdollar]

I have one cat out of four that even notices the chickens, and he likes to sneak up on them and scare them by popping out of the bushes...but he's never touched one.
DD

 

[write2caroline]

I have several out door cats that I feed and get fixed that showed up in my yard one at a time. They bothered the chicks when they were little and I curbed their behavior with a close eye and a spray gun with water. Now that the chickens are older they leave them alone - however, my indoor cat Odysseus has been bent on getting out and has on occasion. Yesterday, he went after a full grown chicken and nearly had her until my husband saw the action and distracted little Ody. Ody has been at the window ever since making that funny bird noise and watching the chickens. I don't think I can trust him. I thought he was making that noise at the little cardinals that come and go not the chickens.
Caroline

 

[pgpoultry]

My semi-feral cat is interested in chicks, but soon gives them a wide berth when they start to grow. I keep the chicks under wire until 6-8 weeks old before allowing them to free range.

Sandie

 

[MakNugget]

I think its an unnecessary risk. YMMV... People have cats and dogs that are fine with chickens but that doesn't mean all cats and dogs are ok.

We have several feral cats that like to frequent the yard and stop by the run when the ladies are out. They look at the girls, and the girls look at them, and they flat out ignore the cats. Cats look confused... They feel like they should act some way differently but they just kind of sit there. That's until they see the Chukar. Then their eyes get big and serious. It's easily 1/3 the size of the chickens which apparently makes it eligible for a snack, never mind it's on the other side of the fence.

 

[chooniecat]

Any cat(feral/domestic,same critter) that would try to take an adult chicken(banty or otherwise) is probably starved and thats another issue(which makes me ill) but you have to realize when they're(chix) 5-6 wks. old they are simalar in size to big wild birds and its possible a starved cat would try to take them. you just have to realize that and wait til they're 8 wks. old or so to not worry so much about them(plus I would question all of the poor ferals running loose,they need to be neutered,fed)my dogs and cats rarely notice chickens unless they're getting stompled by them(the dogs and cats get stompled).

 

[silky ma]

depends upon the cat.. or other animal...Ours are fine with chicks and adult silkies. Our dogs are all okay too. Both cats were adopted with signs that said ...vicious do not touch!!!... One pup our german -aussie- jack russel terrier mix adopted from a aussie rescue. AS a puppy dumped in nevada in 4 feet of snow. Other pup from a keeshond breeder. I feel if you treat your animals with love and respect they will amaze you!!! Spookey , our first "vicious" adoption actually stands guard when chicks are around. She loves them.

As for my silkies they know their cats... if another comes into our yard they sound the alarm...

 

[Catz1611]

Quote:
I agree with that.

I have a BIG Grey cat who goes out and hangs around the yard when the chickens are out free ranging. But, He doesn't mess with them...

And just for good measure, the other day, one of my RIR Roo's let Smoke know what was up... Smokey was out laying down, minding his own business, when my Roo snuck up on him, jumped on his back and gave him a peck!! Smokey jumped a foot in the Air like he'd been electrocuted then ran off....Hee hee heeee!!

Yeah.. Our cat, does not mess with the Chickens.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Hmmmm, I don't think Kitty has gone a single hour without food in her bowl since I brought her home as a feral orphan at 3 weeks old. Both of my cats, Kitty and KiKi the siamese I adopted, are very well fed. Food has nothing to do with it as far as Kitty is concerned. She loves the hunt and loves the kill.
Once when Kitty was young (less than a year old) and still outside part-time she disappeared for 11 days. I posted about it here on BYC back then. We were afraid a coyote got her, weren't sure. Found her after eleven days, fine and healthy, if a bit thirsty. She'd accidently been locked in a rarely used outbuilding. The rat that lived in that outbuilding for a long time - easily the size of a chihuahua - is no longer on this earth. Kitty weighed less than two pounds at the time.
Some, maybe most cats won't, but never say never.

 

[Frza]

Quote:
The imagine of the cat in the nesting box makes me giggle! so cute!