Did my cat kill my chicken?

[patricewith6]

The other day we found our cat eating one of our chickens under a pine tree. A little later another of our cats joined her. I finally got a hole dug and buried the remains - I didn't want them getting use to chicken! Both of these cats are outdoor cats and the kind that will eat just about anything. What I'm wondering is, did they kill her or did something else kill her and they were just enjoying the feast? We live on 20 acres with lots of acreage around us so I'm sure there must be other predators around. In fact, we lost another chicken about a month ago - she just disappeared. We found no sign of remains or anything else so we have no idea what happened to her. I would hate to keep our chickens locked up all day long.

Thanks for any insights you all might have.

 

[Judy]

Most likely, something else killed the chicken and the cats were just eating. Most people on here say their cats don't bother their chickens, and this has been my experience. However, when it does happen, it's usually a feral cat.

 

[CluckyCharms]

Most likely, something else killed the chicken and the cats were just eating. Most people on here say their cats don't bother their chickens, and this has been my experience. However, when it does happen, it's usually a feral cat.

x2

 

[patricewith6]

Thank you for your replies. It will be a big relief to my children, who do not want us to get rid of the cats! Of course, they also don't want to lose any more chickens - they love them as well. Every girl has a name - from a Beatle song So far we've lost Martha and Sadie.

 

[featherz]

Especially if it was your cat and well fed, I am betting it was something else. My outdoor barn cats run away from chickens. Others have sworn they have seen cats kill chickens, but it's usually a starving feral - a fat and happy cat is really unlikely to try it. If something else killed it, however, it's certainly fair game to eat it!

Were there a LOT of feathers around? Remember, cats like to play with their food so I am guessing if your cat DID do it, you'd have a giant mess. I still think it's something else and kitty took advantage of free grub.

 

[patricewith6]

featherz,

Our cats are very well fed - fat and happy! Although there seemed to be quite a few feathers, they were all right in the one spot where the chicken lay dead. I've never seen any of our cats go after our chickens. In fact, at first they were afraid of them - with the exception of the 5 month old kitten who wants to play and bounce with everyone and everything. I suppose she could have done it, but I doubt it. Funny thing is... the chicken that was killed was the one we always had the hardest time catching!

I guess the trick now is to figure out what did do it. I think I can rule out coons since it was done in the daytime.

 

[featherz]

My daytime killers are foxes and hawks. =(

 

[cafarmgirl]

I highly doubt your cats did it. The bird who just disappeared a while back probably got taken by a fox or coyote. Who knows what got the one the cats were eating. Could have been left by a hawk and they found it. Unfortunately free ranging is going to equal losses now and then, no two ways about it.

I've had cats there were interested in chicks of course, but never full grown chickens. In fact they were always afraid of them and stayed out of their way, even my big male cat who is an avid hunter.