do cats harm chickens??

[ILoveBabyChicks00994]

recently, a cat attacked my chickens, she killed one of them and injured a couple, Google has always said that cats are no danger to adult hens?? Yet, she attacked three! She was relatively large, too fat, but doesn't look pregnant, and I have always trusted Google so I kinda never tried driving her away me and the neighbours do give her.food from time to time so I don't think she's starving or so

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Some do and some dont. My two aren't dangerous to hens or youngsters but one is to chicks and we had a feral cat that managed to get a hen from the flock with the most protective rooster

 

[Katie386]

I think cats are a bit too afraid to attack a full grown chicken but if a cat is not afraid then there is no stopping it And you have a chicken killer.

 

[KarynVA]

I have 3 cats which are very predatory and often kill birds, chipmunks and other small animals. I kept my chicks out of their sight. But once my chickens were the same size as the cats, I allowed the cats to see them when they were safely behind hardware cloth. After some time of very curious observation, all 3 of my cats behave protectively toward the chickens (which, admittedly are now as large or even larger than the cats).

You never know. I agree with Katie, above, that if a cat (especially a random cat as opposed to family pet who is accustomed to the chickens) is not afraid, then it will mess with the chickens.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

recently, a cat attacked my chickens, she killed one of them and injured a couple, Google has always said that cats are no danger to adult hens?? Yet, she attacked three! She was relatively large, too fat, but doesn't look pregnant, and I have always trusted Google

Did you see the attack? I have a hard time buying it.. but sorry for your experience!

Never trust Google! No one polices internet misinformation.

You ALWAYS must use your own judgement.

IMO, Cats are NOT an issue for chickens.. I have feral barn cats and pet cats. Chicks are always too tempting to be unsupervised or unprotected in the presence of of predator.

 

[cmom]

I don't have cats myself but have seen them prowling around at night.
It was a foggy night. The cat touched the electric wires that go around the coops and pens.

 

[50-45-1]

I had a feral tom cat flush a mama hen off the nest and eat all 9 baby chicks right in the brooder box she was raising them in.
This happened way back before i had the secure coop i have now.
Shot the tom the next night when he came back for more.
I dont think they would be a danger to adult, full size birds but... it depends on the cat, and how hungry and determined he was.
at night chickens can not see and are very vunerable to anything that can get in there coop.
If a strange cat can get to your birds how do you know it was not a raccoon or something else?

 

[centrarchid]

Generally speaking domestic cats do not go after adult standard-sized chickens. Exceptional cats, especially those that are feral are more likely to try and take an adult chicken down. I have cats go after juvenile game chickens that were 3/4's grown. My daughters cat killed a pullet within seconds and mangled a stag with a similar amount of effort. Cat no longer targets chicken because is get thumped by a game hen protecting a brood of smaller chicks.

I think any adult cat is fully capable of taking down even the toughest chicken, they just do not have the mindset to do so.

 

[cmom]

Chicken is not a natural prey for cats. I think they are into rats, mice, wild birds, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. I think a feral cat is more likely to try for a chicken.

 

[ILoveBabyChicks00994]

Did you see the attack? I have a hard time buying it.. but sorry for your experience!

Never trust Google! No one polices internet misinformation.

You ALWAYS must use your own judgement.

IMO, Cats are NOT an issue for chickens.. I have feral barn cats and pet cats. Chicks are always too tempting to be unsupervised or unprotected in the presence of of predator.

Yes, I did see her jumping on a hen, but I was too slow to move her she wasn't scared of me at all, even when I was holding the broom it was kinda weird?? We don't have any predators here, Google always said that cats are no harm for chickens so I never really had to secure my hens since we don't have racoons or anything and I thought cats are fine when the chickens are grown up enough