Killer Armadillos???

[Debbi]

Last night befoe I went to bed, I hear a few of my cats outside making a ruccus. Turned on the porch light, thinking it was the local Tom cat after my girls, but to my surprise, it was two armadillos running around the yard! They looked young, and like they were playing. When they would run near the cats, they all jumped and screamed, and ran. Went outside this morning, and there was a dead, 9 week old kitten laying on the ground where the dillos had been. No blood that I could see, but looked like his neck was broken. Did the armadillos kill him?? Do they go after chickens?? They are fairly new in my area, migrating north from Arkansas, and I had one that did a lot of damage to plants a few years back. That one evidently got hit by a car, so didn't have any more problems till now. I know they eat grubs and vegetation, but do they kill small animals? May just set up camp in the back of the pickup tonight with the 12 gauge, sure don't need any more predators than I have already, and my garden may also be their next target! Any ideas?? Thanks.

 

[StrawberryHouseMouse]

Armadillos are scavengers. They eat garbage and things like that. I have never heard of one killing anything bigger then a bug. Matter fact you can easily catch them in the wild as they are not typically aggressive. I visited Arkansas a few times with my ex years ago. They where on the road dead every few miles. One woke me up one night we was there, getting into the trash cans outside. His dad just picked it up by the tail and tossed it out into the woods. It was pretty funny.

 

[Godsgrl]

My ferret was missing some time ago, and I thought she might have gotten outside. I asked at our zoo if the armadillos could harm her, and they said no. So I don't think armadillos killed your kitten. It had to be something else, perhaps an opposum or raccoon. I wouldn't worry about armadillos around the chickens at all, other than them possibly digging under your coop.

 

[ekemily]

We have many armadillos and pretty much the only thing they do is tear up your yard. They like to dig little holes everywhere looking for bugs and grubs and such. They are harmless. They have terrible eyesight and often run into things. They also jump really high when surprised, so they are more likely to get hit by a car when going across the road. thanks for the laugh. I pictured a blind, bumbling armadillo with red eyes chasing a kitten. With that said, I'm sorry about your little kitten.

 

[Imp]

Toms will sometimes kill kittens. Maybe your poor kitten was too close to the action. Sorry that's sad.

Imp

 

[zazouse]

Never heard of them harming other animals but i do know they will raid a nest of eggs if they find them, i caught one in the act last month eating my guinea eggs that were in the brush pile.

 

[txchickie]

An armadillo shouldn't kill a kitten or chicken or anything......I wouldn't think anyway.

 

[Debbi]

Thanks guys. The two of them were running around like little maniacs. They are fast too! Wonder if they could've smacked into the kitten while chasing each other? Turning on the porch light didn't phase them, in fact, that's when they ran over towards the house. I thought of the Tom Cat theory, and that's very possible. There were two kittens, littermates, and they were never more than a foot away from each other. Guess the other one was far enough away. That's life, and it's not like I'm wanting for cats. I now have 10, and for not being a cat lover, that's too many. But I have to admit, since these cats have been here, I don't have any snakes, rats, or mice around! These cats even kill Copperheads, so that makes them ok by me! Glad to know the dillos won't hurt the chooks. They may just live to see old age, that is, until they attack my garden!

Debbi

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Armadillos eat insects. I've never known them to get into garbage, but I suppose it could happen. They won't attack anything unless something attacks it first.

 

[noodleroo]

Maybe the armadillos playing and the kittens making noise attracted another predator? Its possible. I do know that armadillos are carriers and the most common source of leprocy(sp)?. Don't be tempted to try to catch them!