Deterring Feral Cats

[Randydeuce]

Yesterday I went out to check on my ladies. I was allowing them to roam our yard during the day. I figured as much as my dogs are in and out, that the cats wouldn't be an issue during the day. Well, three of our girls were in the pen, and our RIR, the lead lady, was not. A quick scan of their normal hangouts revealed a brown mound where there shouldn't have been.... It was Frenchie... And to add to the ordeal, my wife was standing beside me when I found her. She was still warm, so I figure Id only been minutes late. AND I know it was a feral cat. I catch them standing on the fence Watching my girls. I'm sure she fought back and/or struggled. It was a mess. Now one bird down, and mad as all get out, I'm trying to deter them from my babies. Since I cant kill them. Which would make me most at ease.
I have started spreading orange peels around the perimeter. I am going to attach string above the top of my fence. I've read that it works. Maybe apple cider vinegar on the posts. IDK. I hate the flippin nasty evil creatures. Id love for them to find a more appealing yard to occupy.

Any other ideas? Suggestions? I'll pretty much try anything.
Thanks for reading!

 

[Bullitt]

Yesterday I went out to check on my ladies. I was allowing them to roam our yard during the day. I figured as much as my dogs are in and out, that the cats wouldn't be an issue during the day. Well, three of our girls were in the pen, and our RIR, the lead lady, was not. A quick scan of their normal hangouts revealed a brown mound where there shouldn't have been.... It was Frenchie... And to add to the ordeal, my wife was standing beside me when I found her. She was still warm, so I figure Id only been minutes late. AND I know it was a feral cat. I catch them standing on the fence Watching my girls. I'm sure she fought back and/or struggled. It was a mess. Now one bird down, and mad as all get out, I'm trying to deter them from my babies. Since I cant kill them. Which would make me most at ease.
I have started spreading orange peels around the perimeter. I am going to attach string above the top of my fence. I've read that it works. Maybe apple cider vinegar on the posts. IDK. I hate the flippin nasty evil creatures. Id love for them to find a more appealing yard to occupy.

Any other ideas? Suggestions? I'll pretty much try anything.
Thanks for reading!

Do your dogs just allow the cats to hang around? Maybe you can try training your dogs to chase the cats away.

You can use a live trap to catch cats. Then you can turn them over to animal control.

If it were me, I would use a .22 rifle. You can use subsonic rounds that are quiet.

 

[ShinShien]

I agree with Bullitt. Kill them. We use a combination of live traps and BB guns here. This place is crawling with wormy feral cats. Can chickens get worms from cats? Can't keep the darn things out of our yard.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: Most cats won't attack a grown chicken, and none of the "remedies" you listed will make any difference.at all

If you want to solve the problem, buy a live trap to catch and dispose of them

 

[yogifink]

If you live in a neighborhood go with a .22 cal pellet gun like the benjamin trail NP. Quite and effective.

 

[War Chicken]

Best deterrent is death. I haven't had one come back after being killed yet. Though I sometimes get surprised when I see a lookalike.

I use a combination of foothold traps, trail cameras, Harbor Freight driveway alerts, and air rifles.

They often use the same routes which you can identify with the trail camera and looking for footprints, fur, etc.

Set the foothold traps or driveway alerts accordingly. The driveway alerts will wake you up when something needs shooting. No need to stay awake the whole time.

 

[Northie]

depending on where you live you maybe able to rent a live trap from the local spca/humane society and turn any cats you catch over to them to be dealt with.

 

[yogifink]

Quote:
LOL, no gost cats back to haunt you yet huh? A cat in a foot trap is not everyones cup of tea.

 

[Randydeuce]

My dogs despise cats. They have been taught to chase off unwanted cats from day 1. I would say I'm surprised that the cats even come around with my dogs being so adamant however, I know how sly and patient cats are. I had the unfortunate pleasure of growing up with them...

 

[Randydeuce]

And shooting them would have to be my last resort. However much I want to, I'd rather not deal with the legal repercussions if one of my law abiding neighbours happened to notice my methods. I suppose trapping them. I will look into that.