Do chickens and cats mix?

[Benelli]

A stray kitten appeared Friday. I tried to ignore it hoping it would go away. I woke up yesterday morning to find it rubbing up against the fence with my baby goat who seems to have taken a liking to her. Then this morning, my 90 lb American bulldog allowed her to go in and out of his legs rubbing against him. All he's done all weekend has been to try and chase her. Go figure why he changed his mind this morning except he listened when I told him to "leave it". I really don't want or need another mouth to feed. My hubby is in Afghanistan and it's just me tending to everyone including having a very stressful job. I've got feeders out hoping to find her a good home but nobody has responded. I don't want her killing my chickens and peahens, but she hasn't messed with them yet. She's not very big. I broke down and fed her last night because I didn't want the "girls" to look good to her. My neighbor/best friend is extremely allergic to cats and we spend a great deal of time together too. Has anyone had good or bad experiences with mixing birds with cats?

 

[andbab]

My cat is a really good hunter and she doesn't bother my chickens. I made sure to keep her away from them when they were chicks but now she isn't interested.

 

[Imp]

My stray, feral, and pet cats are afraid of the chickens. I have to protect the cats, and feed them in the dark when the chickens are in the coop.

Imp- In the winter sometimes the cats will sleep in the coop where it's warm.

 

[horsejody]

My barn cats never bother the chickens. I even used to have a tiny bantam hen that they never touched.

 

[hen-thusiast]

We have all kinds of cats around here and they haven't bothered the ladies once. They might go after a chick though. Who knows, maybe the kitten will take care of mice? It kind of seems like she's just made herself at home if the 90 pound dog and the goat have accepted her. Good luck finding her a home or whatever you choose.

 

[Skyesrocket]

Barn cats that are raised around chickens can be pretty trustworthy. Chicks can be tempting to them, but if a hen is raising them the cats seem to respect her authority. I have barn cats and free range chickens and haven't had any problems. I do keep incubator chicks protected from them in the barn until the chicks are a little older.
You might want to rethink placing the kitten in a new home. The best barn cats seem to be the ones that find you and are smart enough to buddy up with your pets. The kitten sounds very smart and can be a good addition to your farm.

 

[Benelli]

I don't remember posting softie or sucker on "my page"!!!!. I have a hard time saying no to strays. I'm glad to see I've gotten only positive responses thus far. Thanks!!!

 

[hen-thusiast]

Quote:
I think strays can sense I'm a sucker and really do follow me home. It must be a pheromone I emit or something.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
I think strays can sense I'm a sucker and really do follow me home. It must be a pheromone I emit or something.

That's why I have 7.

Benelli,
Others have posted seeing cats attack their chickens, but it seems rare and yours sounds like a lover.

Imp- thanks for feeding it.

 

[tropicalchicken]

We started having a horrible time with mice and rats here due to the chicken feed. We managed for almost two years with using just traps on the rats, but several months ago the mice were so bad, and daring, every time we went out to feed the chickens the not so stupid mice would be in the pens eating the food. We tried everything to get rid of them. I finally caved in and went to the pound and brought home two neutered male cats that are about a year old. It took a bit , but we are finally mice free.

I never would have brought in more cats before, as we have indoor cats that never go outside, and I did not want any issues coming up between them, but so far it is working out ok. The outside cats stay outside, inside casts stay inside.

The outside cats do catch the small wild birds, but have not touched my chickens. I did notice the other day that one of the cats was slinking around trying to be sneaky on one of the hens, and she just about bit his head off, so they now keep a good distance from the chickens.

They do seem to be good cats and are doing the job I brought them home for.