? For Those with Cats...please

[hermitgirl]

I've been thinking about raising chickens but I'm foreseeing a problem with raising baby chicks with two hunt oriented cats in the house. It will be too cold to keep them anywhere outside. I have a spare room I can close them up in but one of the cats is particularly tenacious and I'm afraid the chirping will drive her crazy. What do those of you with cats do? Thanks in advance

 

[Lesa]

It so depends on the cat! I have had a cat that didn't even look in the brooder, and another that was way too curious! Better to cover the brooder, to be on the safe side. A room you can keep the cats out of, is perfect....I doubt the chirping will be a problem. Good luck!

 

[teach1rusl]

Two of my three cats are excellent mousers. They had no problems with the chicks I raised in the house. Now don't get me wrong, it's not like the chicks free-ranged around my house...they were either in the brooder or in/around my lap area while they were tiny. My hunter male would even get up on top of the brooder and nap (I think because it was so warm due to the heatlamp...lol). For the most part, your animals can easily learn what is YOURS/part of the family, and what isn't. My dogs will chase (for sport - not to hurt) others cats, but pay no attention to my cats when they're outside.

Edited to add: Always make sure your brooder is covered!!!

 

[madimorg]

I have three indoor cats and when I had my baby chicks indoors for the six weeks I made sure that my brooder (tote) had a lid on it. I used the largest tote I could find and cut the middle portion of the lid out and replaced with hardware cloth stapled to it. This worked perfect. I also kept this brooder in a spare room and kept the door closed as much as possible as a means to keep the cats out and also the dust contained to one room as much as possible. When I'd be visiting the baby chicks or cleaning the brooder the cats would come in and look around but never showed any sign of being aggressive and the chicks never seemed to mind them either. Now my chickens are fully grown and moved outdoors of course and are now with my two outdoor cats.... still no issues at all and they all get along great.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

I have an indoor cat and keep chicks indoors. I've never had an issue between the two--my cat ignores the chicks altogether. That said, I do keep my chicks in a room that I can close the door on when I'm not home, and in a secure brooder that the cat couldn't get into anyway. It's better safe than sorry, but I definitely think having indoor cats and chicks inside is fairly simple to accomplish. You can always punish with a squirt-bottle or something to teach the cats to leave the chicks along if it comes down to it.

 

[jettgirl24]

I also made my brooder out of a rubbermaid container that has handles on the side that latch over the top and hold it securely on. I just cut out the center of the top, drilled holes through the plastic around the edge of the hole and attached hardware cloth to it using small nuts and bolts. It was super easy and very secure to keep the babies safe from our cats.

I should add that my cat didn't seem too interested in the chicks but better safe than sorry. She hangs out with my adult chickens in the yard and there have been no problems... Other than my roo chasing the cat around

Once you get out of the chick stage most cats seem to leave the adult birds alone for the most part. I caught a feral cat in my yard one day and even that cat, a notorious neighborhood bird hunter, wasn't messing with them.

 

[FarmGirl01]

I have a Bengal cat. He's huge and a good mouser. He has brought home rabbits, moles, golphers, etc.. He has never offered to kill any chicks. Maybe he just knows not to mess with them. Its really up to the cat. Each one is different. Good luck.

 

[L*A*G*]

i have 5 cats with each one having a different personality, so when i get chicks i introduce them... or let the cats c them

my cats have never been a problem but i do keep the brooder covered just in case of anything.

 

[cozycritters]

We have two cats, Jade and Harold.

I brooded some chicks in the garage with a heat lamp in a kiddie pool. Despite me being very careful, my DH let Jade into the garage and she was in with the chicks all night.

The chicks in the kiddie pool were fine, she would watch them but do nothing, but two got out of the brooder and she 'informed' me that that made them fair game. She ate them.

Jade is unusually intelligent, she knows the chickens are ours. I've seen her leap six feet into the air to bring down a dove next to one of my bantams. I also have caught her 'feeding' mice to the hens. (She catches them, then walks to the hens and drops it for them to eat).

Harold is much more 'normal'. He stares and STARES at the chicks, but runs away if I notice.

That being said, I keep my chicks in one of those bigger covered pet rabbit cages from Petsmart and the worst the chicks get is little furry faces watching through the bars

.

ETA: spelling

 

[tinychicky]

i find that when by the time th chicks are old enough to go outside, they're also old enough to peck an intruding cat squarely on the nose, so i wouldn't worry about the safety of the chicks too much... my cat's scared of them!