Live trap it is.

[4Hchickenproject]

I worked with animal control through the local humane society for several years. When someone calls about a neighbor's dog/cat/rabbit/bird/etc. getting into their yard, the neighbors have invariably denied it could possibly be *their* pet guilty of the crime. We recommend the individual use a humane trap to trap it, then politely contact the neighbor to say, "I'm having a problem with predators killing my chickens at night, so I set a trap. Well, last night, somehow, your sweet cat managed to become trapped. Would you please come over to retrieve him? Thank you." They usually only have to come after their "innocent" pet one time to stop it. If that doesn't stop it, 2nd time it's caught, contact AC and have it picked up, or follow another locally accepted method of removal (trap/neuter/relocate or something similar, perhaps).

Additionally, for the safety of *your* critters, for which you are solely responsible, do check the containment system and make it as secure as possible. Because I'm not a handy carpenter kind of gal, and have no one who will help me, and I'm trying not to invest too much $$$ in my hens, I located a coop someone else had built and modified it only slightly to suit my needs. It's off the ground and can be completely closed. Three sides have wire covered windows that allow fresh air when open, yet the solid flaps can be closed at nighttime and during rain and cold. The floor is wire, the top is shingled, and the back - with the door - is solid, with a hinged door. It's relatively tall, allowing three levels for the hens to roost and nest. They go in every night, I open it early every day. It is closed up very tight. Perhaps something of that size within your pen would suffice for nighttime protection so you can sleep easy.

I have never found any odor to reliably keep any pest away. Neither garlic nor mothballs are very expensive, so you should be able to at least give it a try, but be aware that you may lose more chickens while you're trying it out.

Just my opinion, and it's probably worth exactly what you paid for it

 

[Rammy]

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[mediazeal]

There are many ways to solve this problem. They all include making the coop secure.
If you can't get up early enough and you want to leave the coop door open, then you have to make the run secure as well; or you can hardwire in the coop and it's door area, like a screen door if you want to have more air in there.
or You can get an automatic chicken door

Otherwise you are just offering your chickens up for bait and as unfair as it is to have anything kill them, it can be prevented with care on your part.

I have a large coop/run combo. It's got 3 sides on one end, a roof on all and open hardware cloth wire on the other ends on 3 sides. So no matter what they can be ok if I am gone or whatever

It's awful to loose chickens to predators. I"m sorry it's happening to you.
If you secure your coop the cat will stop coming into your yard and yoru birds will be safe from this cat and all other cats to come.

good luck

 

[Moochie]

Well the loss ratio isn't bad, the cat has been roaming around my house/yard for a couple months, only now it actually goes into the coop. I gotta be thankful for that..
I closed the wire door, I just wanna see how far this cat will get... Rest assured if I sprayed anything it would be on the outer backyard fence. The cat gets in by hopping the wooden fence, which is shared with a house nextdoor, which is empty. I KNOW it's the cat so I don't really need a camera...

 

[dewey]

Living in the the Sonoran Desert myself I can say without a doubt that our sister, the Mojave, shares pretty much the same wiildlife, including raccoons, skunks, cougars, coyotes...and the list goes on.

It's my belief that people should keep their animals on their own property and any that aren't and harm livestock are at the risk of removal. I've no issue with solutions to predators of any kind, including cats & dogs (and I love both).

I have utilized various methods for every type of predator, but keep in mind that if a cat can access the chickens then so can any number of other predators.

We fence livestock in to keep preds out. We've found that that works best for the safety of the animals. Any number of our desert preds can easily climb, fly, reach through, or dig into an open run. Sometimes it takes quite a while for desert predators to locate a feeding site, and after they do they will continue to return. There's many wild cats around here (truely wild) and my birds are fenced top and bottom for their safety, so the wild cats around actually work in my favor.

Maybe there's a way to securely enclose a small area to lock them into at night, but preds I know of are very adaptable and have no issue feeding in the day hours if that's when the food is available.

 

[Firefighter Chick]

I'm sorry you are going through this, it must be frustrating for you. Depending on how much/little money you want to pay, there have been some great options laid out by previous posters. I would really consider a game cam to see what is making it's way in and secure your coop so next time and next pred have a more difficult chance to get it. I have used supermarket cat repellent to keep my cats off of things in my house but they have to be reapplied often and if it rains you just wasted money. Also, if a cat is determined, which a lot are, they will get what they want. A dog may help but that's a lot of money and training in the long run. The water spray is a really cool idea and just may work but it may not work on all predators. I hope everything works out for you and good luck.

 

[thekid]

a .22 is quiet enough and you might be able to find a better pellet gun on this website I got my S&W .177 air pistol that could take out a cat with no problem pyramidair.com

 

[Moochie]

Btw, I'm not returning the pellet gun. It looks cool and real! So if a burglar came maybe I could scare em' off lol.

 

[SoFluffy]

If you don't want to be harsh, ensure that there are absolutely no holes big enough for the cat to come in.
If you do want to be harsh, set up a trap with fish in it.

P.S I have two cats to deal with.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

My best guess, since the coop is not fully roofed is either hawk or owl.

Hire a handyman to modify your coop if you cannot do so yourself. Welded wire (1x2, or even 1/2 x 1) walls will keep you birds secure and cool as long as they are also shaded and have access to water.

It sounds like you are actually in a residential neighborhood, so any shooting may be illegal; I strongly suggest that you read local and state laws regarding guns and projectile weapons. A pellet gun would be a horrible thing to draw on a human intruder--you would be the one likely to be injured or killed. If you point a gun at someone, you need to be ready to kill them. Period.