Neighbours cats freaking out secure chickens

[Laver2k]

Hello!
We just got our first chickens today. We have a nice coop, with a run with mesh on all sides (inc top and bottom).
We are also going to put up an electric fence in the next few days (we had a fox visitor the day after we built the coop, with nothing inside!).

Here's the problem:
We have 2 bantams and our neighbour has 3 cats. They always come into our garden and I never really minded. The bantams seem more than big enough to fend for themselves. However, as soon as the first cat came into the garden the chickens made a ton of noise and wouldn't stop until I got rid of the cat. They tend to venture back in every hour or so,
I'm not always going to be around to chase them away and I don't want the noise to upset all of my neighbours. I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

I hope that they are just on edge in their new home and the cats wont bother them after a couple of days. But if they make a ton of noise when I'm out of the house, it wont take long until I'll be forced to get rid of them .

Any ideas or suggestions? The cats have a lot of ways to get into the garden. I really would appreciate some help!

 

[Island Roo]

http://www.amazon.com/Contech-CRO10...UTF8&qid=1368373808&sr=8-1&keywords=scarecrow

Motion activated sprinkler. It works on cats, dogs, birds, humans - LOL
Once the cats get sprayed a few times they'll stay clear. I wouldn't want them in my garden anyway.

 

[199787]

I second that. Thats totally what I would do. Spray the cats with the hose every time thecome into the yard. Use the motion sprinkler when yout not there.

 

[Mattemma]

Get rid of the cats. Or tell your neighbor they should build a cat enclosure to provide a safe and fun outdoor experience for the cats in addition to being good neighbor. Me, I trap roamers. Not going to waste money keeping peoples pets out of my yard,or arguing with people to be good pet owners.

 

[Mrwinchester]

we have bylaws here people can't have outside cats, check into the bylaws.

 

[graciesmum]

My cats and chickens don't bother with each other, my cats Sun bathe with my chickens lol, it only took 24 hours for the chickens to realise my cats weren't a threat

 

[Laver2k]

Thanks so much for the fast replies!
Hopefully they will get used to them in a couple of days.

I cant hold anything against the cat owners. They have always been nice to us and they were here with their cats long before we moved in.

That doesn't mean that I wont declare sprinkler warfare on them though .

 

[ashcons]

Hmmm....motion activated sprinkler, a lawn chair, beer, and stray cats sounds like a recipe for cheap entertainment.