Chicken Killing cat.....Need advice. (WARNING GRAPHIC PICS)

[Teresaann24]

Are you allowed to do that? I know I couldn't do it I have never killed anything in my life other then some bugs.

 

[AZKat]

A adult feral cat is very difficult to tame, if its tamable at all. If the cat is a hungry stray, you might be able to catch it and find a home for it. If the cat is truly feral, your options are 1) Find someone who wants a outdoor cat for pest control 2) Give it to animal control, where it will almost certainly be put down 3) Put it down yourself.

 

[Teresaann24]

the only animal control we have in this small town is our shelter and I sent them a e-mail yesterday they told me they were not taking cats to feed him because it sounded like he was hungry. He is for sure 100% wild he gets in our window and growls. When you go outside he follows you and growls. He has to go........

 

[redhen]

Can you find a shelter further away? One that will take him...

 

[Diamond Wire Farms]

In reality, there is no shelter space for these kitties. Plus, if you can catch her, and if you can get a no-kill shelter to take her, then she lives the rest of her days being scared and ticked off in a cage. It seems much more humane to have someone shoot the cat. Yes, it is legal to protect your livestock on your property. The only other option is to have a friend lone you a pack of Jack Russels for a few days and hope the kitty moves on...

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Follows you and growls? That seems odd. Are you sure this is a domestic cat? Does the cat appear ill? In my experience, feral cats will run from humans, not follow them.

I am assuming from what you said, that it killed adult chickens, not chicks. Many cats will go after chicks, but leave adult birds alone. An experienced rooster who will go after the cat (to protect his flock) might be a partial answer.

 

[dewey]

Did someone witness the cat killing the chickens, because it'd be heartbreaking to lose more birds after thinking the predator problem was solved by removing the cat. If a cat can get to them so could almost every other predator

. That's a lot of chickens for a cat to kill in 1 night. Usually a hungry feral cat would leave quite a feather mess in the process and try to drag off the kill, or they'd eat a large part of the breast and try to cover it. The cat literally following you around and truly growling at you is not a good sign...any animal here suspected of rabies is tested by the state. I'd want it tested.
So sorry for your losses.

 

[FireTigeris]

A friend got some tranquilizers prescribed for that kind of animal- it was a single dose based on suspected weight. It was mixed in food (tuna) in a live trap- then the cat was tested for FIV and Fe-Lu. It came back positive for Fe-Lu and was euthinized before it ever woke all the way up.

I think they can do an antibody test for rabies now, but that may not have 100% accuracy- It would show if the cat has been vaccinated ever or is current on rabies booster... It was being tested two years ago at UF. (don't know what became of the test)

 

[stilldeb]

We have a cat hanging around our chickens, too. So far I have managed to scare it off, but when the weather gets better and the chickens are out in the yard more, I want it GONE. Not the first cat I have had trouble with. When we were having an A/C unit installed, the guy left our sliding door open and a stray got in and KILLED my 20 yr old cat that I had found in a ditch in a box when it was newborn/eyes not open yet and raised on a baby bottle so many years before. If I had ever seen that cat again I would have had no trouble killing it.

deb g
KY

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Contact your County Extension office and let them know you have great concerns about a possibly rabid or diseased feral cat near your house. There should be some agency that is in charge of taking care of animals like that.

You can try to trap it in a large live trap (like a Hav-a-hart). Use smelly canned cat food or canned sardines for bait. Put a big pile of catnip in the trap too, put it on the trip pan. You can also put a live chicken in a wire cage, cover the cage with brush, cardboard, or feed sacks, and set the live trap right next to it, so the only way the cat has to reach the bird is by going through the trap. Of course, make sure the wires of the cage & the trap are tight enough to keep the cat's paws from reaching through.

I lost a lot of adult birds, ducks & chickens, to a bobcat and a big feral cat this summer. They took the birds without leaving a trace.