I need advice. my housemate wants to get a cat.

[lukewride]

I've got 4 Bantams running free range around my garden and the field surrounding and other than the odd fox and a neighbours cat they havent really had any problems. ones a young silver laced bantam cockerel (about 10 weeks) and he's already starting to toughen up and take charge of the others.

My housemate is looking into saving a rescue cat from a local home and understandably i'm quite concerned about the welfare of the chickens.

My question is, If he does get a cat when my cockerels fully grown is it likely that the cat will hunt my chickens?

My uncle says that a small cat is more likely to be chased off my the cockerel, especially if he turns out to be a fiesty little bugger and he once had a cat that got in the coop and ended up being beaten up and he had to infact save the cat from the angry cock. However, theres conflicting stories all over the internet so basically i just want a little advice from you more experianced chicken, and maybe cat keepers.

cheers!

 

[sherrydeanne]

My cats are outdoor hunting cats and they don't bother my chickens. When I first introduced them, the chicks were about 8 weeks old (standards) and I had to yell at the cats a few times but when they saw me picking up the chickens, they figured out that the chicks weren't food. I trust them now with my little 6 weekers.

So, I guess it depends on the cat and on the introduction.

 

[lukewride]

thanks for your reply.. i think once my cockerels fully grown we'll get the cat and i'll supervise them for the 1st few days and hopefully it'll all be dandy..

 

[sred98]

My cat (who was supposed to be an inside cat!

) will hunt and kill full-grown rabbits, squirrels, other cats, etc. He leaves the chickens, guineas, and geese alone. When they were little babies, we had to watch him, but once he saw that they turned into the big ones, he backed off. I have no idea why, because anything he considers prey (snakes, tarantulas, etc) that are brought into the house are "fair game". So, it's not a boundary thing. I think he's actually scared of them.

I think it will be fine. Especially if you get a cat that has been indoors. None of my roos are grown, yet, either.

Shelly

 

[sunshineinsc]

My cat ignores the chickens. When I go to feed the chickens she'll sit by the door and wait on me. Even when they are out in my yard she'll lay next to them. She's never tried to go after them and she hunts everything else.

 

[Akane]

Most cats don't bother the chickens. Even those that are used to hunting for food. There are exceptions though. We had a large feral kill 2 chickens and harass them horribly before we got rid of it. However we have plenty of barn cats, another feral, and 2 mostly indoor cats that don't even look at the chickens except for very young chicks. The bantams under 8 weeks or so old are at risk but that's about it. Unless you get something like my giant mutant feral that I watched kill a young raccoon (yes seriously) odds are they will be fine. You'll just have to protect any really young chicks unless they have a hen to protect them.

 

[Boondachs]

hummm without trying to tick anyone off, I believe it is irresponsable to have an outdoor cat. Now, with that said, I ALSO believe that "barn" cats are fine, when used to controll pest around the farm. My neighbors cats are ALWAYS getting in my trash and killing the rabbits in my yard. I have rehomed a few of these "strays" to get rid of the problem. Also If I see one around the coop, it probably wont have the chance to be rehomed. I don't want to be a horses rear, but why have a "pet" that you cut loose to only see every now and then and have it kill the bunny in the front yard, or the Robin babbies in the nest? Just my 2 cents - I apologize in advance if this offends anyone.

 

[farrier!]

I do not have any real helpful information to give you.
We now have 8 cats and 4 dogs in the house (friend moved in with hers).
The cats have all ignored the chicks so far. I have wire tops on the brooders but we often play with the little ones.
A bird flew into the house one day when my daughter opened the door. There was 2 dogs and 4 cats and one child all over the house trying to get it. The cats won.

 

[flakey chick]

Try to find out a bit more about the cat and its personality. Was it an indoor cat? Did it try to hunt?

 

[moonflowers]

Sorry for the long post, I couldn't resist telling my story, my animals make me so happy

When I first got my baby chicks I was worried to death about my cat trying to eat them. As I was taking them out of the box he came over and I let him sniff one while I held it. As they were little bitty babies he would sit by the brooder cage and watch them but never tried to attck. when they graduated to a bigger cage (still in my living room) my cat went up to the cage just to sniff and watch. One of the chicks came over and pecked his little pink nose and he backed off and looked emotionally distraught that his new "friends" were so rude. He afterwards was scared of them and gave the cage a wide berth as he walked through the living room (think climbing on the back of the couch on the other sid eof the room instead of walking across the floor. I never worried about him hurting them again. If he somehow got out of the house 9he is a complete indoor cat though he loves sitting on the screened in back porch) I would be MUCH more worried about him than I would be worried about my chickens. LOL.

But again, he is a domesticated house cat. you get a wild little kitty who has been on the brink of starvation (which some rescue cats have been) and it could be a very different bloody story.