? For Those with Cats...please

[Cass]

I raised 5 ducklings in the house last summer. I introduced them to my cat and told her that the ducks were my pets and she was to leave them alone. She did. She looked at them; even tried to smell them several times, but I had no top on my brooder so she could have jumped in with them. She didn't. Don't get me wrong she was never in the porch with them alone, but she left them alone. She is a GREAT hunter...brings me far more "gifts" than I could ever use. When I released my ducks in the pond/outdoor enclosed area my cat slept next to the wire of the enclosure every night for a week. When they would quack loudly she would look toward the pond to see if they were OK...not sure what she would have done if they weren't ok since she hates wet feet and they were in a POND...LOL

Like everyone has said it depends on the cat. Secure the brooder well, but don't assume the cat is going to harm them just because he/she likes to hunt.

 

[chicken-owner-31]

Like everyone else, I brooded in the house with cats. Both are VERY good mousers, but my female didn't even bat an eyeball at the chicks. My male, however, was VERY curious and would pounce on the side of the brooder from time to time. I used a baby playpen at first, and covered it with a baby gate, which was bunjee corded down. Eventually they outgrew that, and we moved up to a HUGE box that had a lid. I converted it to a brooder by using hardware cloth so the cat couldn't get in. If he had the chance, he would have had chicken for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

I just made sure he could not get to the babies. Never had a problem.

 

[ARose4Heaven]

I will not permit cats in the garage where my brooder is...unless I am right there watching. They often sleep in the hen house with the big girls, and have learned that a chicken beak is to be avoided. As long as a hen is alive, my mousers will not bother them...BUT...if a chicken dies on its own...that is different. Once the bird is dead, those cats attack like tigers!

 

[greekbioguy]

i have 4 cats that are excellent hunters and are able to come in and out of the house whenever they like through a cat flap. i have raised baby pheasants in the house before and the cats did not seem interested in them ,i guess they see me interested in the chicks so they believe these little things are pray that belongs to me and they leave it alone or maybe they loose their hunting mood when they enter the house (the house is like a hotel for them they eat and sleep in the house and do all the rest in the yard). cats understand to a certain degree what they are allowed to hurt and what not to. keep your birds safe in a cage or coop until u r sure about their intentions

 

[hermitgirl]

Wow! Thanks for all the advice...and stories! I feel alot better about having them in the house.
BooBear...your cats sound alot like mine...even in name! Of the two sisters I'm most concerned about Boo, she loves any thing that moves and if it has feathers...
Phooka on the other hand is more mellow but she loves her plastic, only she just licks it!(yeah I know, weird huh?)

 

[catdaddy66]

I also have two indoor cats, one of which is a great mouser! They are both pretty whiny about shut doors...always wanting to see the other side. We brooded 42 babies in a spare bedroom last winter and spring and we were very diligent about making sure the cats were kept out. It wasn't always easy and I needed help a lot of times as my hands were full of food/water/etc. If others can pitch in as needed it will be easier, but it will be WORK to do so. Prepare for it and soon, this too will pass.

If it makes it any easier the predator and pests forum list cats WAYYY down the list as to worst of the worst chicken threats. Dogs are close to the top and in my opinion should be #1! I lost 30 ten week olds to dogs!!

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

I have 8 cats. I hatched three batches of chicks and kept them in the bathroom brooder,with a lid, untill they were old enough to go to the barn brooder. Four of the cats are under a year old and though they were curious and liked to watch the chicks any lay on top or the brooder for the warmth. Outside I have free range chickens and a roo and all the cats are scared of them. All cats are different so you have to take precausions when the chicks are little.

 

[desertdarlene]

The best thing to do is make sure the chicks are in a secure container. I've had cats that were good at opening doors and even one that could open cages, too. My brother used to have gerbils and when the cat killed one, they had to strap down the lid, tight. He still let it run around the room when he was there, but kept the lid secure when he was gone.

 

[PippyChicken]

I have 5 cats. They have tried to get to the little ones but if I let them in there to see them they just stare

 

[Catstar68]

I've had 2 rounds of brooding chicks in the house with my 2 cats. Both are indoor/outdoor and hunt although the female is better at it than the male. Each batch I kept in the spare bedroom with the door closed. This did not please Prissy and Moe, who spent hours staring at the door. I did allow them to look into the big box I had set up for the chicks and they seemed mesmerized. I brought a few out and let them sniff and them pulled them back and told then 'no'. After that they seemed content to just look but I never left them unsupervised... except for one time......

I didn't think Moe was in so I left the bedroom door open while I was noodling about the kitchen. I walked back to the brooder box and found my big, fat Moe-cat sitting INSIDE the box! Just sitting there surrounded by chicks, with a huge cat-smile on his face, looking quite pleased with himself. The chicks were fine and unperturbed by this. My screech sent Moe flying out of the box, scattering chicks as he went. There were no other incidents after that.
Everyone just looks at each other now and goes about their business.