Introducing farm cat?

[Mavrik]

I was thinking of introducing an outdoor only cat for rodent, etc, control. But I have concerns since my crew free ranges (open acres) and have gotten upset with stray cats. What kind of time frame and training does this take for the chickens to accept a cat?

 

[paws4440]

I don't really know what you can do but I would get a kitten and itnterduc it slowly because when they are young they are still learning and if you got a big old tom cat he would probably kill them

 

[Folly's place]

Most cats won't tackle adult chickens, BUT small birds, and chicks, are fair game. Cats who live outside have a poor survival rate, especially when they are young. Depending on your physical setup, starting with two young kittens might be possible, or not. I like to adopt an adult outside cat, who hopefully already knows about cars, etc, to improve survival chances. Only once did I adopt a cat who took out one of my bantams, and she moved to an indoor only home elsewhere. Mary

 

[Mavrik]

I'm asking how to train co-existence and the time frame it takes to do this.

 

[azygous]

My cat died after living with me for almost 21 years. As well trained as he was to accept my quirky habits and not get on my nerves, I had no illusions whatsoever that I could ever train him to go against any natural instincts since cats are as close now as they were when humans first domesticated them to being perfectly wild.

That said, even though he was a good sized cat, he was very wary of my adult chickens. When they were chicks, I only let him near them when I was holding the chicks and he therefor knew they belonged to me and he couldn't have them. But he always acted very disgusted when he was near them. You know how cats can act disgusted - when they know they can't have something they want, they act as if they really didn't want it anyway.

So, training a cat to co-exist with chickens is a moot subject. There is no such training in the history of cats. But the good news is, cats will very rarely mess with adult chickens, and most cats consider chickens to be a little scary and would rather not risk an encounter they sense could turn against them in a flash.

 

[oldrooster]

I would say look at the advice on how to integrate an adult bird into an existing flock and apply some of the same procedures to this, isolation in separate cages and have them watch each other for a while. etc etc etc.... I would think much of the same logic applies so look at those threads and use common sense on what parts to use or not use and see how the birds/cat react when you go thru each step....

 

[lazy gardener]

Mavrik: I don't think there's any easy way to answer your question, as all flock dynamics and all cat personalities are different. Are you prepared to provide all of the care that a cat requires? Shots, food, medical care, shelter? While some folks do have "barn cats" who subsist on what ever food they are able to rustle up on their own, those cats live short brutal lives (IMO).

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Cats living outdoors is commonly accepted, but as people have pointed out, it's not really good for them. You can't really train or trust them, and even if they left your chickens alone, that's not to say they wouldn't be killing other desirable wildlife like insect-eating songbirds.

Personally, I think terriers are a much better option than a farm/barn cat. They are eager to please and trainable. Some are very stubborn, so it may be hard for you to teach them to stay away from chickens, but at least it's possible. They will kill rodents like rats, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, etc. but won't be plucking wild birds out of the air or climbing trees and knocking babies out of the nest. Plus I think a dog would attach itself more to you, and therefore be lest prone to wandering.

I've never owned a terrier or outdoor cat myself, this is all based on what I've read and what people have told me, and also what I know about dogs and cats in general. You really can't train cats. You can deter them from doing certain things, but you can't train them. Even litter boxes- humans don't train them to bury their waste. Cats do it on their own because they like to. Same thing with everything else.

In my opinion you should consider a small farm dog. You say you have a problem with stray cats. Well another cat may just attract them more and they will get into territorial spats. It may get injured or infected with FIV or another disease. On the other hand, a small, spunky dog would be more than happy to run them off for you. Cats will stand and fight with other cats, but when it comes to dogs (especially dogs they don't know) they almost always run.

 

[Mavrik]

I just found a feral cat with five kittens after I started this thread. It's not clear why the concern over a cat living in the "wild". They did this before we came along.

Why do people keep saying cats can't be trained. Here are a bunch of them that were trained to roll over on command.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Cat+rolling+over+on+command

Dogs tend to wonder off a property, which is illegal (I have no fences). No one cares if cats wonder off the property plus they can get into more areas that rodents are.

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Many, many people care if cats wander off property. I wouldn't want them on my property. You yourself just said:

Quote:
It is 100% illegal. Some local laws may not be enforced well, but that does not mean they do not exist.

Domesticated cats did not exist in the wild "before we came along". "We" humans created them from wild ancestors. These ancestors lived in egypt. Do you live in egypt? If not you are helping an invasive species.

The vast majority of cats cannot be trained. Those videos are so popular precisely because they are a rarity. It would take an exceptionally close bond and hours every day to get a cat to do a single trick like that. An outdoor cat could not do that.