Let me start off by telling you all some history on our cats. We have 9; all of them were rescued from terrible situations. Most were dumped by the side of the road, left to hunt for their own food. They are all relentless animal-killing machines that I knew were going to be problems when my first ducklings arrived in may of 2011. That day I waited for my whole life came and at my door came 6 little ducklings. We had signed papers on our new house in the country but were still living in our apartment at the time. I had no idea how quickly ducklings grew and how messy they were either. But here we were, 5 dogs, 9 cats and a brooder in the living room with 6 little ducklings inside. The dogs were easy: "NO" bad dog and they left them alone. The cats were far more interested and sinister. They would hide and stare at them, obsess about them, and dive at the cage. When we went to bed, they were constantly attacking the cage.
I needed to fix this without making all the cats terrified of me. Cats are not like dogs, you cannot yell at them or scold them. If you do, they will just learn to do their bad behavior when you are not present. I began carrying a squirt bottle on me at ALL times. I couldn't let the cats know that it was me squirting them. They needed to think that this squirt was happening "magically" whenever they looked at the ducklings. If I could hear them at night while I slept, I would hiss like another cat causing them to run in panic without ever knowing it was me. I also spent many times with a toy that looked like a mouse and discouraged any playing with feathers. After a couple weeks I could let the ducklings out with cat in view and nobody cared.
This all went great until a year later: We had moved into our lovely home and I decided to add chickens to the mix. I picked up a flock of bantam chickens at my local feed store. The cats were infatuated all over again with these tiny, hyper chickens. The chickens were, of course, outside in their own coop. I started all my training again when the cats went outside and when I thought everything was fine I started letting the chickens out to free range. I observed the cats closely and they all seemed fine together. Well it turns out the chickens were fine but the cats had other plans. I let everybody out for the afternoon: Ducks, cats, dogs, chickens. I called everybody in when the sun started to go down and one of the bantams looked very weak. By morning, she had passed away and two more looked weak. I checked them all over and found little kitty cat puncture wounds all over them. For those who don't know, cat saliva is loaded with bacteria that is designed to kill its victims. Luckily a friend of mine is a vet and I got a quick antibiotic and they survived.
After everybody recovered, I watched each cat diligently around the chickens. It was with a quick flutter of the wings that Moxie the tortie-cat came flying from under the porch with intent on tackling the chicken. Luckily I had a garden hose in hand and Moxie got quite the surprise! I spent many times carrying Moxie into the coop with me. I gave her treats right next to the chickens and visa-versa. Now she could care less about birds and more about the mice that eat their food.
So it seems like a long journey but it is over now. Everybody here lives in harmony. Even when hens have little chicks, the cats stay away. They don't go after wild birds anymore either, just rodents. I love all my animals and I was determined to make it work! I hope this helps anybody with similar problems.
I needed to fix this without making all the cats terrified of me. Cats are not like dogs, you cannot yell at them or scold them. If you do, they will just learn to do their bad behavior when you are not present. I began carrying a squirt bottle on me at ALL times. I couldn't let the cats know that it was me squirting them. They needed to think that this squirt was happening "magically" whenever they looked at the ducklings. If I could hear them at night while I slept, I would hiss like another cat causing them to run in panic without ever knowing it was me. I also spent many times with a toy that looked like a mouse and discouraged any playing with feathers. After a couple weeks I could let the ducklings out with cat in view and nobody cared.
This all went great until a year later: We had moved into our lovely home and I decided to add chickens to the mix. I picked up a flock of bantam chickens at my local feed store. The cats were infatuated all over again with these tiny, hyper chickens. The chickens were, of course, outside in their own coop. I started all my training again when the cats went outside and when I thought everything was fine I started letting the chickens out to free range. I observed the cats closely and they all seemed fine together. Well it turns out the chickens were fine but the cats had other plans. I let everybody out for the afternoon: Ducks, cats, dogs, chickens. I called everybody in when the sun started to go down and one of the bantams looked very weak. By morning, she had passed away and two more looked weak. I checked them all over and found little kitty cat puncture wounds all over them. For those who don't know, cat saliva is loaded with bacteria that is designed to kill its victims. Luckily a friend of mine is a vet and I got a quick antibiotic and they survived.
After everybody recovered, I watched each cat diligently around the chickens. It was with a quick flutter of the wings that Moxie the tortie-cat came flying from under the porch with intent on tackling the chicken. Luckily I had a garden hose in hand and Moxie got quite the surprise! I spent many times carrying Moxie into the coop with me. I gave her treats right next to the chickens and visa-versa. Now she could care less about birds and more about the mice that eat their food.
So it seems like a long journey but it is over now. Everybody here lives in harmony. Even when hens have little chicks, the cats stay away. They don't go after wild birds anymore either, just rodents. I love all my animals and I was determined to make it work! I hope this helps anybody with similar problems.
