DUSTY THE SILKIE !ATTENTION!

[chickendreams24]

I'm glad to hear she is getting better quickly! Animal attacks are the absolute worst. My hens have also exhibited some uncharacteristic behaviors after we had an attack this summer. I'm not sure about the foot thing, but have you talked to your neighbor about that cat? If it is feral and attacking your birds, it could also be a danger to other pets in the neighborhood and possibly young children if you live in a community.

I'm really sorry you've had this experience and that your neighbor isn't stepping up. I have a lot of experience with feral cats and most of them won't hunt if they're not hungry. I would also say that so long as people show them kindness and respect they will never attack a human unless provoked.

We actually adopted a feral cat colony when living in town so that we could tame, fix, and adopt out the cats. We had a fenced in back yard(there were man made holes in the fence for the animals to come and go) and regularly had our ferals lounging on the deck (both the tame ones and not tame ones) surrounded by birds and squirrels with wild rabbits in the yard just off the deck.

The only time a cat ever stole a baby bunny from the yard it was the neighbors indoor outdoor cat not one of our over 15 ferals.

We have 5 housecats right now that were all ferals, and 4/5 of those were bottle babies.

Of course every situation is different but ferals aren't awful/vindictive it's just because people leave them outside that they become a "problem". I'm really really sorry that this happened and I'm glad Dusty is feeling better. I really hope your neighbor steps up and takes responsibility for the actions of the cat.

 

[chickens really]

Hang her a Mirror....Maybe she thinks of your feet as comfort?....

 

[MageofMist]

Poor baby, I am glad that she is getting better though! No idea about the foot thing, but I have a hen and cockerel who are bare-foot and sock aggressive, though they aren't triggered when I am wearing shoes. Luckily my baby boy Peep-Peep comes to my rescue when my feet are 'mauled.'

My town has a ton of pet cats, some of which I have caught circling my chickens and stalking them. Luckily I have a dog in a cat's body, my kitty Angel, who traumatizes any cat that dares step into her territory. She is a big ball of muscle, and I believe she may have some Wildcat in her bloodline.

She does hunt wild sparrows, starlings and other small birds when she gets the chance despite being fed well, but oddly she is scared of my chickens and quail. Then again, I don't think the wild birds glare her in the eyes and peck her on the nose when she sniffs their butts, and the wild birds for sure don't challenge her over food.

One time I was out on the yard with the chicks I was brooding, who are 8 months old now. I was feeding them some leftover sausage as a treat. Angel came over behind me mewing, so I gave her a bit and resumed treating the chicks... I didn't notice one had wandered off due to all the chaos when feeding and I heard this gut-wrenching squeaking behind me.

I looked and saw what looked my my cat Angel holding a chick by the head! But then I realized... It was clinging onto the piece of sausage in her mouth! It had jumped up to steal her food! Even Angel was dumbfounded by the nerve of the fluffy chick danging from the sausage in her mouth, making angry squeaks and kicking it's little legs, and so she clawlessly slapped the chick from her food in her mouth and ran off, and the chick ran to me acting all scared and innocent! I was like "Nope, you deserved that slap"

 

[chickens really]

Poor baby, I am glad that she is getting better though! No idea about the foot thing, but I have a hen and cockerel who are bare-foot and sock aggressive, though they aren't triggered when I am wearing shoes. Luckily my baby boy Peep-Peep comes to my rescue when my feet are 'mauled.'

My town has a ton of pet cats, some of which I have caught circling my chickens and stalking them. Luckily I have a dog in a cat's body, my kitty Angel, who traumatizes any cat that dares step into her territory. She is a big ball of muscle, and I believe she may have some Wildcat in her bloodline.

She does hunt wild sparrows, starlings and other small birds when she gets the chance despite being fed well, but oddly she is scared of my chickens and quail. Then again, I don't think the wild birds glare her in the eyes and peck her on the nose when she sniffs their butts, and the wild birds for sure don't challenge her over food.

One time I was out on the yard with the chicks I was brooding, who are 8 months old now. I was feeding them some leftover sausage as a treat. Angel came over behind me mewing, so I gave her a bit and resumed treating the chicks... I didn't notice one had wandered off due to all the chaos when feeding and I heard this gut-wrenching squeaking behind me.

I looked and saw what looked my my cat Angel holding a chick by the head! But then I realized... It was clinging onto the piece of sausage in her mouth! It had jumped up to steal her food! Even Angel was dumbfounded by the nerve of the fluffy chick danging from the sausage in her mouth, making angry squeaks and kicking it's little legs, and so she clawlessly slapped the chick from her food in her mouth and ran off, and the chick ran to me acting all scared and innocent! I was like "Nope, you deserved that slap"

Love that story....My Cat slaps us all...Dogs, Chickens, Ducks and my Horses..She slaps me if I'm late with her supper too....lol

 

[Laura.silkie]

Ohhhhh my I'm soooooo happy ,dusty laid her first egg today after all she's been threw. She's back outside in the day but we keep her in at night. She's had another infection but was easily treated with antibiotics. Heres a picture of dusty proud of her first egg. Bless her .