Feral cat in my coop. What to do.

[Ken H]

I opened my nesting box door and much to my surprise found a cat curled up and lounging. The cat ran out the chicken door and was gone. It neither harmed the chickens or ate the eggs. Since it is causing no overt harm to my hens I am reluctant to 'cull' it. What are your suggestions. I am conserned about worms or other diseases. A big ol cat could be a plus in the coop if if offers no threat to my hens. It had a large head so it must be a tom. Does the threat of disease equal the protection a mean ol tom could provide?

 

[suburbanminifarm]

Lucky!! He can control your rats and mice and hawks etc etc... I am jealous!

 

[mypicklebird]

In general (there are always exceptions), cats don't attack or eat adult chickens. Mine don't, but do look at the chicks with interest. I can't think of any cat to chicken communicable diseases. He was probably in there for shelter/warmth. He may also help keep rats/mice/gophers out of your coop/pen. I don't try to keep my cats out of my chicken area, and encourage them to come in- we have mice and gophers. If you have banties or chicks- I might worry more. I have heard of other people with problem feral cats- but they are much fewer than the ones with cats & chickens mixed together in a farm situation. I assume this was day time? If not- anyplace a kitty can get it, a raccoon/fox ect can get in....lock up at night!

 

[Catstar68]

Get the old boy neutered and start feeding him!

You got yourself a chicken coop security kitty.

 

[horsejody]

Yup, keep him. Put out a live trap. Get him neutered and as tame as you can. Put out a little food nearby for him because a well fed kitty hunts for sport and kills a lot, and a starving kitty kills just enough to survive. Almost every night I put a barn cat in the coop before I close it up to help keep the mice in check. However, if you have chicks, that's a whole different story.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yep, fix it and keep it. I have ferals that are all fixed and catch rats darn near daily. One pretty much lives just out side the chicken coop and will grab rats so big their tails drag on the ground as she walks up to the house with her prize held as high as she can hold it. Granted, she is a pretty small cat.

 

[HenPen]

Your lucky,neuter,worm and vaccinate him.....you may even be able to find a program to pay for it or discount the cost because he is a stray/ferral cat.

 

[Svarthona]

Seconding to keep him

I have two cats. With a wooden house and two wooden barn-type houses and having the woods start directly in the back yard, they are essential to keep the mice from eating our buildings and everything else we have

(they ate the handles of my bike before we got the cats *grr*). Both of them are extremely good hunters (mice, rats, snakes, semisized birds

and even squirrels

nature sometimes is cruel) and the male one is huge enough to need two people to have him on ones lap. We regularly have chicks and clucking hens walking around free (not chicks without hens though). There never happened something. Not saying that the cats didn´t try in the beginning

, but they quickly learned that chickens and roosters are mean mean evil and possibly cat-eating creatures

after they got hunted by an angry chicken. Now the cats gracefully walk away when they see the flock comeing near them

.

 

[Boyd]

Svarthöna :

Seconding to keep him

I have two cats. With a wooden house and two wooden barn-type houses and having the woods start directly in the back yard, they are essential to keep the mice from eating our buildings and everything else we have

(they ate the handles of my bike before we got the cats *grr*). Both of them are extremely good hunters (mice, rats, snakes, semisized birds

and even squirrels

nature sometimes is cruel) and the male one is huge enough to need two people to have him on ones lap. We regularly have chicks and clucking hens walking around free (not chicks without hens though). There never happened something. Not saying that the cats didn´t try in the beginning

, but they quickly learned that chickens and roosters are mean mean evil and possibly cat-eating creatures

after they got hunted by an angry chicken. Now the cats gracefully walk away when they see the flock comeing near them

.

X3

I have barn cats for this also. They get too curious bout the chickens, the chickens attack and chase the cats around. Pretty funny.​

 

[PortageGirl]

I'm agreeing with everyone else, as long as he leaves your hens alone, he's an asset. Granted, if he goes after one you may not know it till it's too late, but from what you described, it doesn't sound likely.

let him know he's welcome by feeding him a someplace where the chickens can't get to the food, cause they'll love cat food if they can reach it! After he's established, catch him up and get him to the vet.

No worries about diseases or anything.