Opinions and Experiences with keeping cats in coop

[My8chickens]

No her tail is pretty average length, just a funny angle. Awe Cali is lovely, she has a sweet looking face. Is it just mine or do calicos have an attitude problem LOL. Did you know that they are a genetic mutation? Fascinating animals http://www.bio.miami.edu/dana/dox/calico.html ! I love colorful animals too (as a kid I wanted a calico cow) that's why Jubilee Orps are on my must have list! My youngest thought your Pete was our Fire!!!! Pete looks to be a big boy.

I was a vet tech for many years, and, yes, calico tend to have an attitude problem! THey are always at their worst at the vet's office, and will take every opportunity to swipe, scratch or bite! But, there was always few calicos that were sweet. And tuxedos tend to be the sweetest.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

When you brought your 3 boys home to live in the coop, did you just put them out there and hope they saw that as their new home? I, too, am having a rodent problem in my coop. I recently lost my kitty unexpectedly, and I'm not ready for a "house cat" yet, but I think we would benefit from a coop cat. What was your experience bringing them home to your coop

My boys were about 8 maybe 9 weeks when we got them. I brought them home in a large wire crate and sat it in the coop for a couple of days. I covered half of it with a tarp and tucked it in the corner (I have a big coop that is partially divided, they went under a shelving area). After a couple of days of them getting used to me and birds I let them out just in the coop. By the first evening I felt fine leaving the coop door open and letting them roam a bit. For the first several weeks they stayed in the coop overnight. Now they never spend the night in the coop they have full roam of the property and surrounding area. They are still young enough that they are sticking fairly close and they know where food is.

I was a vet tech for many years, and, yes, calico tend to have an attitude problem! THey are always at their worst at the vet's office, and will take every opportunity to swipe, scratch or bite! But, there was always few calicos that were sweet. And tuxedos tend to be the sweetest.

I knew it!!! I have had lots of kittys over the years and my calicos are solitary and moody. As a youngster, Lunatic (her name fit her well) would attack my feet in the dark, and literly was know to climb the walls! I knew that if she survived (if I didn't strangle her) would be a great adult. She is going on 14 and has been my constant compainion for 13 years.

 

[My8chickens]

Thank you for the advice on bringing them home! Like I said, I'm not ready for a house cat, and wasn't sure how to make the little guy an outdoor only kitty. I think I finally have my husband convinced that we need a coop cat and will be getting a kitten from the neighbor in the next day or so. Our coop is quite large, too, and I have room for a kennel to put him in for a couple days. It'll be interesting to see how the chickens react to him. Our roo is still young (not sure of his age, as they were "rescue chickens"), and we'll see how many pecks the kitten gets!

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Good luck. Our guys didn't take long to adjust to the chickens. Now they play and sleep right in their midst! I would just keep an eye to make sure that your roo doesn't get too overzelous with protectig the girls. I am very glad we got our boys, we love watching them play in the yard and frolic through the middle of the flock LOL! I'm sure you will enjoy having a coop cat!

 

[Trish44]

Tara you saw several of my mousers when you were here, but I have quite a few more that weren't around at the time. My males tend to come & go, they do wander a lot more than the females we have, all but one who had a broken shoulder last year from a tube gate falling on him. He is all healed now, but is a big baby after spending weeks in the garage in a crate recovering. He is a very sweet guy though. We have two female calico cats in the house, one of which is the oldest & the grouchy one. The other is nicer but a little ornery. I brought a third female kitten in the house recently & she is still young yet. None of these house cats go outside at all, they have a cat door that goes into the utility room where their litter boxes are. None of the outside mousers come in the house either. My adult hens actually will peck the cats on the head if they come into the run or coop. Buddy the little yellow male who had his leg broken seems to like to go in there but he mostly gets chased out. I've never had a mouse problem in my coops, I guess I have too many cats around to keep the mice under control.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

I thought I would update.
The kittens are nearing a year and are starting to roam a bit. I am considering getting at least one (my best mouser is the orange one) neutered.

They are doing a fantastic job of taking care of the mice.
They are much friendlier than we had expected, my three boys carry them around and play with them a lot. Unfortunately they have taken the back porch as their hang out.
I would prefer them more in the coop but they have bonded with us and want to be close to food! They are fairly good about staying out of the house at least!


Hanging in the back portch window giving massages (black & white is Crybaby). Can you tell that Fire (orange tabby) is in charge?

They are good at disposing of unwanted predators too. I killed the snake, they did the rest! They clean up at butcher time as well, and have not bothered the adult chickens. The babies are kept in an enclosed broder or with a broody hen.

Thus far this has been a good decision for us. I am sure we will continue to keep these three and future cats along side our chickens.

 

[My8chickens]

Glad your kitties are doing well, and seem to be doing a great job at keeping the mice away! I brought home a kitten in November, with every intention of him being an outdoor cat. He was about 8 weeks old at the time. I set him up in the coop with a dog house, dog play pen, etc., and he must have climbed out. He was gone, or so I thought! I found him under our camper in fine condition. Needless to say, he has yet to spend any time outside. I know, I'm a sucker! He is definitely curious about the outdoors, and has ventured out onto the front porch, but that's about it! So, in due time, he will be taken outside, and will spend more time outdoors. We are getting 25 chicks this weekend, and their brooder will be indoors, as we have close to a foot of snow and freezing temps, so I'm hoping the cat will learn to get along with the babies. Don't worry, the brooder has a lid on it So, I guess I completely failed at having an outdoor kitty, but we haven't had any mice in the house!

 

[LavrisChica]

This thread caught my eye! What a great idea!!

We have several out buildings that were overrun with mice and rats, and our yard littered with moles, voles, and gophers. We had one adult cat doing what she could and loving it (plump as can be off the vast food supply - lol). Yet too many rodents for her to keep up with. So, I decided to bring in more cats, but I did not want 100+ kittens running around; therefore, I went on a search for adult fixed cats with attitude. LOL! My first few attempts at adapting "city slickers" to the "mouser" life quickly didn't work too well, as I chose to keep them strictly outdoors and either they ran off or became morsels for the coyotes.

So, I changed my strategy a bit, and went for indoor/outdoor to acclimate them to my husband and I first, before set free to roam. This worked very well. At first, they'd follow me like puppies and stick extremely close as they sniffed out the new outdoor surroundings. So, they'd "help" me with my chicken/duck chores.

I'll never forget the first time the ladies decided to teach one of them a lesson. I was inside and I heard this all-too-sinister chanting taking place. A sort of cross between low-throated clucking and somewhat of a higher-pitched gurgle - very odd, I tell ya, and C R E E P Y. I stopped what I was doing and went to investigate. As I peeked out the door, the ladies had perfectly circled one of the cats, and were slowly advancing while simultaneously chanting. It was like something out of a horror flick, truly! Kitty, dumbfounded and frightened, sat there, frozen to the spot, eyes wide and glazed. Shaking my head, I felt pity for him and disrupted their trance-like advance, shooing them off. He darted for the porch and never looked back. It was several days before he ventured outside again. LOL

This same thing happens with each new cat. I have come to expect it now. SMH. Too funny!

We now have 6 cats (3 male: Oscar, Bronson, and Esse Binky; 3 female: Moofassa, Emma, and Angel). The rodent population diminishing by the masses every day, to currently almost nonexistent.

The chickens and the cats have a love-hate relationship, and two of the cats have officially become my chicken-herders. All 6 freely come in and out of the coops and runs, and more than once I've found them eating chick starter alongside the birds. A couple of the cats made advances towards the babies a few times, and all it took was a loud AHEM from me and a hen-squawking-rampage to stop their mouths from watering.

Today, three of the cats nonchalantly lie around in the middle of the flock. The other three show utter indifference. One, however, literally gets a hair up his bottom end and with great pleasure, charges them, snickering as he watches them scatter. This has, on occasion, resulted him with a sorely pecked head a few times. he he he

Thing is, I HAVE noticed mice droppings and some fleeing tiny feet inside the one older more-holey coop. Less, yet, still there. I toy with the idea of keeping ONE cat in the coop overnight - maybe alternating? IDK. My flock of cluckers and quackers sits at 56 right now (various ages and sizes), so surely they'd keep one cat in check in such close quarters.

I'm hesitant.

Bringing in a kitten, or two, would mean I'd need to fix them eventually (an expense I don't want). AND then there's my husband: quote: "You say you want a few more cats, but let's hold off for now, crazy 'C' lady!" ("c" lady - aka - crazy chicken and cat lady). HA!

Thoughts???

 

[aart]

I think it's a good idea to try to confine one or more cats(same times or rotationally) in that coop...instead of getting more cat(s).
Not sure if they would put up with it...lots of variables, but worth trying out to efficiently use(and train?) the cats.
Maybe one or two of your cats would be more amenable to this than others?

Disclaimer: I haven't had cats for years precisely because they are 'untrainable', unlike dogs.
Tho have often wished for an outdoor cat...an idea repeatedly shelved for multiple reasons.


ETA: I really enjoyed your story telling!

 

[HeritageGoose13]

Generally speaking I'm against outdoor cats because they go feral, but it seems to have worked for this person, and it's much better way of dealing with rodents than poison.

Bringing in a kitten, or two, would mean I'd need to fix them eventually (an expense I don't want). AND then there's my husband: quote: "You say you want a few more cats, but let's hold off for now, crazy 'C' lady!" ("c" lady - aka - crazy chicken and cat lady). HA!

Where I live there are barn cat programs where they'll give away altered cats for free. See if you have one where you live.

Disclaimer: I haven't had cats for years precisely because they are 'untrainable', unlike dogs.
Tho have often wished for an outdoor cat...an idea repeatedly shelved for multiple reasons.

What did you want an outdoor cat for? If its for rodent control, remember there is an entire group of dogs for that purpose, the terriers.