domestic cats the best pest protectors?

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Keep the ravens; they will chase off the hawks.

 

[jerseygirl1]

I have five cats, all well vetted, indoor/outdoor cats

I have never, ever had a problem with them and any chicks, hens, roos, etc. They have never attempted to go near them, ever

However, they have brought home dead rabbits, mice, chipmunks, squirrels and weasels.

They are doing their job, and doing it very well

 

[Catstar68]

Quote:
I have to disagree. So that cat in the video - if it caught and killed the fox it would have eaten it?

No, my cat does both - he hunts the little varmints but he does protect his territory just like a dog. He's not quite protecting the chickens but he does view them IMHO as part of his property. I suspect that is what the majority of dogs not bred and exclusively trained as livestock protectors do - just protect their little piece of territory.
I've seen my cat chase full grown deer out of the yard. He sure the heck wasn't 'hunting' them.
But if he ever took the notion, I'd build him a little tree stand and get him a rifle.

 

[Jasmine1998]

All 4 of my barn cats love my chickens. The hang out with them all day like they are one of their own. The one calico will even want to sleep in the coop with them at night & during the day there is always at least one cat hanging out with the chickens. They have done this since the chicks were about 5 weeks old. The hawks don't even bother with the chickens with the cats around.

 

[Catstar68]

Your kitty is a pretty girl, Jasmine1998.

 

[GreenAcres_Lesa]

I have 3 outside tom cats and they don't pay any attention to our chickens or ducks but was wondering if they will turn and try to kill the chickens at some point. Sould i be very careful??
What about a cat that is declawed?? can they catch and kill a chicken as well? Reason I ask this question is we rescue animals both domestic and farm and we rescued a cat that is declawed front and back she shouldn't be outside at all we have been working with her to keep her inside but she usually goes crazy and we have to let her out but now have her where she will stay inside at nite and part of the day so making some progress with her but still wondering about the tomcats and her.

Thanks to anyone who can answer this question for me because I am new to all farm animals have only had chickens for about a year now and have had the cats for about 4 months...

Thanks

 

[Drk_Wlf]

We have a bunch of ferals around her that my neighbor takes care of (they are all fixed and utd on rabies shots) but we still have issues with foxes, raccoons and the ocational fisher and coyote. The only thing that stopped them from going after the chicks was putting my coop off the side of our shed in our backyard where our large mutt live, she barks at anything that gets close and the whole backyard I would imagine smells of dogs because we have a few other dogs that live in the house but use the backyard. We have not even seen the fox sence we moved the coop. My inside cats won't even hunt mice! They just sit and watch as one runs accros our kitchen counter.

and I have caught the ferals trying to get into the coop before, but I guess if the cat is raised with chickens might protect them.

 

[Drk_Wlf]

Quote:
I would keep and eye on the toms its hard to say what they will do.

If they are well fed they are less likely to go after your chickens, but cats will still kill things just for the fun of it (they are sadistic little creatures) I have seen a group of cats sitting in a circle batting a live mouse back and forth. As far as your declawed cat YES she could still kill a chicken if she wanted to, she might just have a hard time holding onto it. One my previous cats was declawed and he would still hunt and kill mice when he snuck outside.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Illegal in most States ,if you let your cat kill rabbits, squirrels,and etc.

The issue of cats—in particular, cats that roam outdoors—is one of the things that separates true environmentalists from many cat lovers and animal rights advocates. There’s just no getting around the fact that in the US alone, house cats kill half a billion wild birds annually.
Don’t Wild Birds Have A Right To Life?
First off, that bell your Aunt Judy puts around her pet’s neck, while it may ease her conscience about letting her cat wander outdoors, probably has not saved the life of a single bird. That’s because unlike some noises—the cracking of a branch, for instance, or the alarmed screech of another bird—the tinkle of a bell just does not say danger to a bird.

And, unless you’re in North Africa, where domestic felines evolved, cats are not “just another animal doing what animals are supposed to do, out there in the ecosystem.” They’re not a natural part of the ecosystem because they didn’t evolve in the ecosystem, and the creatures that are part of the ecosystem—birds in particular—don’t have sufficient natural defenses to protect themselves and their young against them. As a result, according to American Bird Conservancy estimates, in the US alone 150 million outdoor cats slaughter an estimated half a billion to one billion birds a year. It goes almost without saying that many bird species face daunting environmental challenges even without the serious threat of an invasive and very efficient alien predator.

What are the solutions? One of them is to keep pet cats indoors. Another is to spay or neuter them so that they do not continue to reproduce beyond control.

Unfortunately, not all cats have owners who can keep them under control. In fact, many of the most environmentally destructive cats are feral. My good friend, Ted Williams, in his most recent Incite column for Audubon Magazine, has a lot of excellent information on the problem of domestic

 

[nelgkel]

OP...your cat is beautiful! I have a maine coon kitty and he has chased the neighbors dog away from the coop and run...the dog found a hole in the fence and came through.. our cat, when we let him outside will NOT leave our backyard..he stays in the fence! and he LOVES to chase the squirrels away from the run too! We call our cat our guard cat...when we let the chickens out to eat grass he just watches them...has never chased them. he is 17 lbs!