"cats" bad or good

[Tabbyhusky]

I'm sorry but this is not correct. Cats may or may not kill chickens of various ages, but it has little to nothing to do with being well fed. Some cats retain more of the hunter instinct than others, that is very true, but cats that kill, do so whether they are hungry or not. Well fed cats are responsible for the deaths of millions of small animals a year.

We will have to agree to disagree then. My personal experience and observation has been that a hungry cat -- whether they are an avid hunter or not -- is more apt to explore more new angles of "is this food or not?".

Yes, cats that are hunters because they have a higher drive/instinct will always kill whether they are hungry or not. But there are plenty of cats that don't fall into that category. I grew up with tons of barn cats on the farm, have been active in feral TNR my entire adult life, and keep cats with my chickens. I've known plenty of cats that would sit there and watch a mouse walk right on past.

What it comes down to is the individual cat. The OP's best bet is to gradually introduce her cat to adult chickens under careful supervision and see how the cats react.

 

[KatieRogers]

Like others have said it depends on the cat. I have a HUGE outdoor cat. He was my barn cat at our old house but now we don't have a real barn so he is a porch cat. He pushes 20 lbs in the winter and catches full grown rabbits and squirrels and eats them whole. However, he has never bothered any of my chicks or chickens or my own Netherland Dwarf rabbits. It's like he knows they belong here. I actually have pictures of him sharing his cat food with the chickens. He isn't ever actually happy about it but the most he has ever done is swat at them and that's only when the whole gang tried to push him away from his food, who can blame him. Never acted as though he would hurt them though. I do take precautions though and don't ever let him alone with chicks unsupervised as I would hate to have an accident due to my own misjudgment. My chicks move outside around 7-8 weeks but I don't usually let them free range until they are close to 4 months old and nearly full grown.

Katie

 

[dorothy12]

my cats R only a year old maybe less

 

[chixmaidservice]

When I let my adult flock free range, the outdoor cat food dish is the first place they run to. They will push the cats right out of their way! I have one fixed tom cat that hung out near the chickens last summer-never chased just stayed near. There was one "keystone cops" incident where one of my mousers came strutting proudly up w/ a mouse dangling from her mouth . My hens spotted "lunch" and the chase was on as 4 fat hens tried gamely to run down one highly confused cat w/ a mouse in her mouth!

 

[Kippies]

I have six cats. None of them so much as even looks as the chickens. It's true about chickens liking cat food, if they leave bits of breakfast for brunch later on, there will be none left lol.

 

[Dustieburk]

Just put the chickens/chicks in a cage and they should be fine . I have never had a prob with my cat more my dogs . Good Luck and WELCOME