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

[rickerra]

Wow... sorry to hear about your troubles. Very sad.

My neighbor feeds these 4 outdoor cats. I call them feral... they don't go anywhere near people and are very skittish.

This threads got me wondering if I need to rethink my new coop plans. I was thinking movable tractor but perhaps a more secure permanent coop would be the safest.

Hope you can resolve your situation.

 

[g&h farm]

Animal control should provide you with a humane trap. Unfortunatly there are so many unwanted cats out there and hes probably hungry so you really would actually be doing him a favor. Good Luck, there really is no easy solution

 

[Stacykins]

For being a feral, he looks in good condition. His weight is great and his fur is well kept. Even successful strays kinda get that unkempt look if they are having to hunt for all of their food with tooth and claw. Below is a picture of a former stray, Sophie. Yes, that is me petting her, because this cat was a pet once. Once she learned to trust me, you'd think she was rolled in sugar she was so sweet (she found a great home). Don't let her fluff fool you since she was a long hair, she was skin and bones, and pregnant too. Her fur has barely any gloss, and that picture was taken after I combed out all her tangles and cut out the matted in burrs.

If you were able to get close to him, my suggestion would be to pop a collar on him with a note attached. In the note should be your name and phone number, asking them to call. If he is an outdoor or indoor/outdoor cat who goes home, he'd bring the note to his owner. But from his skiddish behavior, I don't think that is a viable option. Perhaps bring his picture to some neighbors, asking if they know who he belongs to? A long shot, but it could work.

 

[pride&joy]

Quote:
SSS

 

[Teresaann24]

its very stressful now thinking he may not be the killer. Then I am at a lost I thought for sure I had the killer picked He is the only thing that has been around only tracks in the snow. Since I had added hardware cloth I have not lost any chickens. However I do not let my chickens free range in the winter.

whatever it was attacked at night one night while going to bed my gray rooster was killed this night it was summer after a big rain but the rain had stopped the kitchen window was open I could hear sqwaking I ran to the back window and yelled out but never could see anything. The next morning all I found was feathers. I put up solar lights and nothing ever came back lost no chickens even had a hen who hide and was broody and she never was attacked as soon as I see the cat again that same night two were killed thats just why I have thought it was him. I am 100% sure its a boy he gets on our window seal and you can see his Ummm boy parts. We have no close neighbors. the closest we have is about a mile from us and they all have chickens who run lose. On the other side another house about a mile away they all have dogs.

 

[Grim]

i slim possibility is that you have an owl. not sure if it's a possibility. owls can have babes at odd times in the year. it would explain the amount of missing meat. mamma owl kills eats all she can hold goes back regurgitates to feed her young then comes back for seconds, and thirds. she could come back until all the babes were full then she gets full. it's just a thought. i doubt it's an owl though if they were behind wire.

 

[Stacykins]

An unaltered tom cat can have a very far range, so a neighbor a mile away may still be a probable owner.

 

[treeman52]

Why is the discussion focused on what killed the birds. The discussion should be how do you make the coop more secure , the killer could be any number of things, so fix the problem, the poor security is the problem. Right?

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
Good point. I think (and I believe you know) your security needs to be tightened. I do feel fairly confident the cat is not the killer and a better, truly wild predator is at work. Get that place secure as whatever it is will be back.

A side note, its not uncommon for folks to dump cats far out thinking they can survive on their own. That cat is growling more likely because he is scared and not used to hunting for his meals which is why you find him around the remains and none are left--he's getting the last of the pickings.

 

[Catstar68]

If he's looking in the window then he's interested in you. Growling is just because he's nervous....maybe indecisive because he wants to be your friend, be warm, fed and secure again but has had bad experiences. I don't think he is wild, just a stray or wanderer.
When I found opossum in my coop this Fall (walked through the open run door, he was eating chicken food) I never had seen one around before but I know we had them because of the roadkill here...along with foxes, raccoons and hawk and owls. Sometime you never see a trace of them, they are very good at avoiding humans. You need to Ft. Knox your coop.
Sophie is cute.

I did the collar with a note on that black stray that showed up and after a few weeks I decided she was free to rehome. One of the nicest cats once she got over her traumatic stray experiences.
A cat sniffing around the coop can mean a lot of things. Cats investigate their environment by their sense of smell. Think of everything else that might be walking around the coop stinking up the place. A cat might also be looking for mice or voles. You have chicken feed, you probably have a field mouse or two around. I think many people lose a chicken, see a stray cat that shows up because it smells a fresh kill and think they have the offending party. It's an easy mistake to make when you are in shock over losing one of your flock to a killer. I guess I'm just not a 'kill them all, let God sort them out' kind of gal and I won't punish an innocent animal for the crimes of another.
I'm not saying cats can't and won't kill chickens, I'm just saying make sure you take aim at the true source of your loses. And secure that coop!