Do domestic cats kill chickens?

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:

awww!

 

[bobbi-j]

My outdoor cats (all hunters) leave my adult chickens alone. All bets are off for chicks. They'd take one in a heartbeat. I agree with others who have said that the cat just took advantage of the meal it found.

 

[Ivywoods]

I agree with Katy. Some cats will and some cats won't. Fed or not. It kind of depends on the nature of the cat. Some cats won't even kill a mouse. Other cats are "Like a chicken on a june bug" when it comes to mice.

I've seen barn cats take on a full grown rooster. These cats are fed. Are they hunters? Definitely. Overfed? No

It all depends on the cat, the chicken and the situation.

 

[jodyb]

Well, my adult "Cheetoh" male cat just chased our Astrolorp down our mountian side. We walked down and couldn't find her. She was squaking all the way down the mountain and suddenly all noise stopped. I am praying she will return by nightfall. She has only been here 3 days but seems to enjoy all the attention we have given her.

Sad new chicken owner.

Jodyb

 

[2468Guess]

I agree, some do and some don't. I think it's the cat's natural instinct to hunt so maybe that's why kill it. Generally no but I'd like to think yes; cats (domestic) are able to kill a chicken.

 

[cary 1973]

When it comes to something like this I go with rule of thumb when in doubt err on side of caution and just assume its cat and do what you can to stop it

 

[Knittycat]

Yes. Just lost one today to a cat. Not a happy camper.

 

[chickenkingjosh]

i went out to my chicken coop around 10 p.m. to make sure my chickens had feed and water , but when i walked out there a cat had just hopped in the coop. and tried to catch the baby chicks. I ran out there and the cat ran away. Well then i collected all the chickens and put them in my garage for the night. then i came back out and the cat was back in the coop looking for them. I was wondering if anybody knew a way to keep the cats AWAY from my chickens. They are isa brown chickens if that helps any.

 

[Thebazilly]

I have two semi-feral cats that decided to adopt the family when we moved into our new house. They're both hunters, although they're spending more and more time inside lately and getting plenty of food.

Both of them have taken an interest in my chickens, but I haven't let them near the birds. They're not quite full-grown yet, otherwise I think at least one of the cats would be scared of them! (She came running inside with her tail all puffed up when some wild turkeys wandered through the yard once.) I threw a rock at the other one when he tried to get under the porch where the chickens were and he hasn't gone near them since.

 

[childressj]

The size of the cat may matter. I have a twenty pound neutered male American Bobtail who is well fed but thinks there is nothing more interesting than trying to catch adult cottontails while I understand more typically sized cats do not often go for adult rabbits even though rabbits are about as defenseless as a chicken. A house cat may need to be hungary to go for an animal his own size but I wouldn't trust a well fed 20 pound cat with even a large chicken.