CATS CATS CATS WHAT IS A PERSON TO DO?????

[ginbart]

I always thought it was funny when people would say, I can tell the difference in my chickens, how they talk. Well I now understand. I let my chickens free range and they were by the house.

Last week I lost one chicken and today the rooster was making a noise that was different. So momma went outside to see what was going on. There next to the field was a beautiful black and white cat. In I come to get the gun. I was so nerviest I couldn’t find the clip, couldn’t get it in, when I went outside it was still glaring at my chickens so what can a momma do, shoot it.

WELL I missed. Now I’m so mad because I missed and I had to put the chickens back in.

What can someone do with cats that run wild?

I told my husband I was going to put an ad in the paper stating, any cats found on my land, chasing my chickens will be consider wild animals and shot on the spot. Now all I need to do is hit them. I fell bad but I would bet it was the cat that got the last one and I'm not going to loose another one. It's going to be a nice day I guess I will be sitting outside today waiting. Wish me luck in my hunt.

Sorry for the long post.

 

[jjthink]

Odds are the cats are not after your chickens, tho I wouldn't trust them with little chicks. There are exceptions of course - there are some cats who will seek out an adult chicken. In contrast, every feral I have ever encountered has adored my chickens, and meant them no harm.

My answer to "What is a person to do" always is to humanely trap, spay/neuter, get medical care for and find good homes for all homeless cats I find. I would not/could not harm them. There are organizations that will also help with this sort of thing if you wish to pursue this.
JJ

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
Gin, I would skip the newspaper add and just apply the 3 S rule... Shoot, Shovel, Shut up.

Steve in NC

 

[Shared Acres]

Call up animal control and see if they can trap them or lend you some traps for them.

 

[asher]

Quote:
I agree. I don't even trust my own cats with chicks. Actually, even the almost grown ones that are still peeping, the cats take a major interest in. That noise intrigues them (and not in a good way) for some reason.

However, all of my cats will go in the barn and run (they sneek in any chance they get) and just seem to enjoy being with them (the adults). One of my cats "keeps guard" by laying on top of the covered run.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

It's pretty rare to lose adult chickens to a cat. I'm not sure I've ever heard of it happening to a flock with a rooster. It's possible that's your problem, but it's also quite possible that you have a different predator taking your chickens and you just happened to see that cat.

I'd keep my eye out for other daytime predators, like coyotes, fox and hawks. Dogs carry off chickens, also. If you didn't see any evidence of an attack, it probably wasn't a hawk. All the others are capable of taking off with a chicken and leaving no sign. Sometimes they leave plenty of signs of an attack, but not always.

Did your other chicken just go missing or did you find her?

 

[ginbart]

I just called my FIL to see if he has a trap but I know the neighbor has at least 15 cats, I was told. They all run wild and are not fixed.

Edited to add, my other chicken just went missing.

 

[ginbart]

Quote:
I think I will see if I can get some help. There are too many of them around here. I don't see any rabbits,
squirrels, or other smaill animals around and I think the cats get them.

 

[asher]

Quote:
Crap!

Were they put up still or...?

We have foxes run acrossed our yard sometimes in the daylight, too. There are quite a few *possible* predators, unfortunately. I imagine a very hungry stray feral could indeed do damage to a full grown chicken. I've never had that experience, though. (And two of our cats are adopted ferals.)

 

[ginbart]

Quote:
Crap!

Were they put up still or...?

asher

Sorry, what do you mean?