Found a Cat in the Yard with My Chickens!!

[Buxton Ducks]

I like the sick A-Hole that shot the cat..... nice dude. You could have trapped it and taken him to the shelter but you prefered to be a d-bag redneck. I would have been dead many times over if I got shot every time I ate chicken. We run a cat rescue out of our house and have never had any of them take on a full size chicken. The bantams are another story however, we lost an OEG hen to one of our cats last year. Cat bites are very dangerous for birds though, they have tons of bacteria in their saliva and one small bite would kill any chicken.

 

[Sunnysimplelife]

Didn't see the cat back today so maybe our dog has scared it off for now. Thanks for all the responses though and I promise I won't kill the cat. I have two of my own. They keep the rodent population in check.

 

[bobbi-j]

If I had a stray cat attacking my chickens, it would be a dead cat. The difference between killing a cat (or any other predator for that matter) that is killing chickens and humans eating chicken is: the cat is a predator - like any other animal, once it finds an easy meal, it will stick around or keep coming back until it has killed all your birds. Humans generally don't go into someone else's yard and kill their chickens without permission. The chickens they eat are ones that are purchased in the grocery store, or butchered themselves. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a cat hater. I have cats. That does not mean I would allow a stray to decimate my flock if it got started killing them. OP, I'm glad your dogs are keeping the stray away for now. But if it insists on coming back, and you know for sure it's attacking your birds, you do what you've gotta do. We don't have AC or shelters around here. Strays of any kind are dealt with as we see fit.

 

[Sunnysimplelife]

I haven't seen it in a few days so hopefully it learned to stay away. Just in the city your options are limited on killing a predator. I guess we could try to trap it and remove it that way but it might be someone's pet so for now no harm was done and I am hoping for the best. I am afraid if we started shooting things the police would be here in minutes. The limits of city living narrow my options and I respect everyone's advice and am thankful for it.

 

[RedDrgn]

It is a possibility, though it's usually on the rare end of the spectrum. Usually, an adult chicken can easily eye level with the average cat, so the cat will look for an easier target. There are always exceptions, though, and if your chickens are bantams or the cat is on the large side, it's a concern.

Our chickens roam our yard with some of the local neighborhood cats without issue, though. I've even seen one of the cats make half-@$$ed attempts at pouncing a chicken (never getting very close), but a loud BAGOK or flutter of wings, or my roo sees the kitty and kitty usually goes on its way.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

It sounds like you have found your solution. Sunnysimplelife. Each has a different situation requiring a different modus operandum. If you make your environment quite unattractive to the predator it goes elsewhere...usually. trapping a feral cat is about impossible, giving it to a shelter to euthanise doesn't make sense either. Calling people names is just uncalled for...and makes one sink to unattractive levels. Good luck with your situation.

 

[bobbi-j]

I haven't seen it in a few days so hopefully it learned to stay away. Just in the city your options are limited on killing a predator. I guess we could try to trap it and remove it that way but it might be someone's pet so for now no harm was done and I am hoping for the best. I am afraid if we started shooting things the police would be here in minutes. The limits of city living narrow my options and I respect everyone's advice and am thankful for it.

Yes, living in the city does limit one's options. And like I said, we don't shoot every stray that comes onto our place. Never have had a problem with cats killing my chickens (mainly because I keep them in a run until they're adult-sized since we do have wild barn cats that would take a chick in a heartbeat if they got close to them). I'm just saying that's how we'd deal with it if it were to become an issue. Glad things are working out for you.

 

[chickortreat]

I like the sick A-Hole that shot the cat..... nice dude. You could have trapped it and taken him to the shelter but you prefered to be a d-bag redneck. I would have been dead many times over if I got shot every time I ate chicken. We run a cat rescue out of our house and have never had any of them take on a full size chicken. The bantams are another story however, we lost an OEG hen to one of our cats last year. Cat bites are very dangerous for birds though, they have tons of bacteria in their saliva and one small bite would kill any chicken.

Might be a bit kinder with your name calling, eh? What's the sense in all that? If I see a cat bothering my chickens, I'll shoot it too. I'm not worried about the cat's welfare. I suppose you'd carry that logic over to home invasions? Why who'd dare to shoot a home invader? Capture him and send him to a rehab program! Yeah right. Send him to the morgue. I didn't invest in my chickens so cats, fox, skunks, coyotes or any other predator, two- or four-legged could kill them. And I'll take care of anything that threatens them. Call me names too, if it makes you feel better, I don't care.

 

[Oregon Blues]

............... I would have been dead many times over if I got shot every time I ate chicken.

The question is: are you eating your own chickens, or are you eating chickens you stole from your neighbors? If you are eating stolen chickens, then you really are risking getting shot for it.

If your cat eats your own chickens, nobody is going to shoot it. If your cat is killing the neighbor's chickens, then it risks getting shot. If you don't want your cat to be shot, keep it on your own property.

Cats are capable of killing adult chickens.. Some cats kill chickens and some cats don't. There is no yes/no answer about cats and poultry.

 

[DanEP]

I lost about 20 chickens this spring to cats. We have a cat of our own and he never bothers the chickens, bur feral cats will take a full grown chicken in a heart beat. The chickens I lost were full grown australorps and white rocks.

I don't hate cats and don't enjoy killing anything but we have a lot of feral cats in our area and they were killing a lot of chickens. I tried to run the last one off by yelling and throwing rocks at it but he didn't scare. The final straw was when he was stalking the girls with the dw and me standing there he wouldn't leave, he won't be back. If I can run a wild cat off and he stays gone I will, but I have an obligation to protect the girls in my care. If this upsets someone I'm sorry but I don't think a cat has any more right to live than my chickens do.