Just caught the neighbors cat trying to get into my chicken pen..... Now what?!

[Duckstail]

I think you're tripping about the cat going after your chickens. There's 18 cats on about a 7 acre property they don't couch the chicks or chickens.

Not even a bit interested, and these cats are ferrel!!

 

[Mraya]

I don't think you have to worry about a cat and full grown chickens. My cats don't even bother my chicks. They go after the mice. My cats sit in front of the brooder and watch what I call Chick TV. That being said my cats are well feed. You have already started feeding them. Is it possible you might want to adopt them, get them fixed they make great mousers. This could be a win win.

 

[Bobby Basham]

Snarling dogs in your own driveway? Time to break out the .22 and put their damn carcasses on the owners' front porches.

 

[Conan]

Trap it. Take it to the nearest humane society/shelter.
My cousins and I rented a house once in a little neighborhood and our neighbor was awful. They let their cats run wild. They never spayed/neutered. They never fed them. They had dogs in cages in the middle of their yard with no access to water. We called animal services several times. They would just get new dogs. For what purpose, I don't know. On to the cats. We love kitties. We fed them. We caught them and got them spayed/neutered. We ended up with a couple pregnant girls, one that had kittens in our bathroom. We found them homes. We did what we could, but some people are just useless as human beings and the cycle of cats was neverending. There's only so much one can do.
That being said, I don't think that you should have to tolerate cats tearing up your trash, getting into your house and stalking your birds. I don't think that one can really compare the behaviors of a well fed family pet to a starving animal. They don't act the same at all. You could definitely do as others have recommended and spray them with the hose or mace them or whatever, but really your best bet is removal. Or treat them like you would any other nuisance animal.
Best of luck.

 

[nminusyplusm]

My property was overrun with feral cats and although they didn't bother the chickens they caused a problem by fighting and spraying my indoor cat's outdoor screened porch enclosure.

I started to feed and made friends with the youngest male, then I trapped him, got him neutered and turned him loose on my property again. Now he's my outdoor lap cat, coop protector, rodent killer and chases all the other cats out of my yard. He also stopped spraying. It was a win win for both him and me.

 

[Kasilofchrisn]

Domestic cats are the number one killer of small game in the world!!!
If you think a cat can't kill a chicken you need to think again.
Well I have not seen this I have No Doubt a large domestic cat could kill an adult chicken in the right circumstances.
At the very least they may cause your chickens injury.
If these cats are truly starving who knows what they will do. Domestic cats kill Grouse rabbits and other wild animals all the time.
You certainly can't release them somewhere else in the wild. Personally I don't put up with Stray Cats and I would eliminate the cats.
Live trapping them then taking them to a local animal shelter might be a good option.
Feeding them was a mistake! I think you just attracted them even more to your property.
Since your neighbors are not responsible pet owners then you need to be and deal with the cats on your own whether that means killing the cats or finding someplace else for them is up to you.
If you adopt the cats will that cause problems with the neighbors? I think it could cause confusion with who owns the cats and/or who is responsible for them.
Are they up to date on their shots Etc.? Or is that a vet bill you would have to pay if you adopted them?

 

[Bobby Basham]

My property was overrun with feral cats and although they didn't bother the chickens they caused a problem by fighting and spraying my indoor cat's outdoor screened porch enclosure.

I started to feed and made friends with the youngest male, then I trapped him, got him neutered and turned him loose on my property again. Now he's my outdoor lap cat, coop protector, rodent killer and chases all the other cats out of my yard. He also stopped spraying. It was a win win for both him and me.

Yeah, but where do his buddies hang out when not in the yard? I don't see this as a win win situation.

Some folks want to bless the beasts and the children and hug trees. Duh, if you have potential predators and/or pests on the property, then eliminate them without draining your wallet feeding, spaying and neutering every critter you find. Take off those rose-colored glasses. If you've got the money, then that's your business. Wasted money could easily be applied elsewhere for more feed and supplies, etc.

Unwanted/uninvited guests have no rights to my feed, water and shelter. They aren't providing any benefit to me and need to be eliminated.

 

[nminusyplusm]

Yeah, but where do his buddies hang out when not in the yard? I don't see this as a win win situation.

These ferals (who were not friends with each other) are not in my yard anymore. That's a definite win for me and the one lucky feral who gets to stay.

Some folks want to bless the beasts and the children and hug trees. Duh, if you have potential predators and/or pests on the property, then eliminate them without draining your wallet feeding, spaying and neutering every critter you find. Take off those rose-colored glasses. If you've got the money, then that's your business. Wasted money could easily be applied elsewhere for more feed and supplies, etc.

A local cat rescue gave me a coupon that paid for his neutering and now I don't have my yard overrun with spraying cats. I'm very happy with this solution.

Unwanted/uninvited guests have no rights to my feed, water and shelter. They aren't providing any benefit to me and need to be eliminated.

Well, I've invited this feral to stay and he's been earning his keep.

 

[Mraya]

Yeah, but where do his buddies hang out when not in the yard? I don't see this as a win win situation.

Some folks want to bless the beasts and the children and hug trees. Duh, if you have potential predators and/or pests on the property, then eliminate them without draining your wallet feeding, spaying and neutering every critter you find. Take off those rose-colored glasses. If you've got the money, then that's your business. Wasted money could easily be applied elsewhere for more feed and supplies, etc.

Unwanted/uninvited guests have no rights to my feed, water and shelter. They aren't providing any benefit to me and need to be eliminated.

The point is- the cat will see this as his territory and chase any other cat away.
Yes this is a win win

 

[Kat C]

We were given two cats once. One took up living in the chicken yard. Great mouser, never bothered a chicken or a chick. Later when both of those were gone we got a kitten to be a mouser. She was great. We have an electric netting fence around our chicken yard so we thought she would just stay out. Once chicks were born she became determined to get in and used the wood pole at the gate to do so. All my efforts to stop that failed because she was a very determined cat. She would even let herself get shocked in order to get in. I had to have her re-homed. Cats are different. No one individual experience with cats or dogs can be the rule for all cats or dogs. While it seems unlikely a cat will kill a grown chicken I wouldn't rule it out. Any cat that is a small animal hunter will likely kill chicks. Grown hens and roosters will probably not be able to stop that.
I asked an old timer once what to do about a dog that killed chickens. The only advice he offered was to kill the dog. Once upon a time when people were dependent on their livestock for food they wouldn't think twice about killing any predator that threatened their livestock. But now that people are not dependent on their flock and keep them as pets as much as for food, it becomes harder for people to make that choice. I am sure in most rural areas however it is still OK to kill any dog or cat on your property that is killing your livestock. Our electric netting fence mostly eliminates the danger and thus the need to make that choice. However a small determined cat could get through at the bottom and a large determined dog could just rumble over. And the electric netting is pretty pricey. We got ours after two dogs went on a rampage and killed 30 of our chickens. While it is not a guarantee it does provide us with a lot more protection.