Raising a Kitten with Poultry

[cuckleberry]

Hello- it's been two years since I have last used this site. Happy to see it is still active.

I have been trying to gather some information on this and I thought this forum would be a good place to ask.

We want to eventually introduce a kitten into our family. We unfortunately no longer have our little button quail, but have recently receiving 2 mountain quail. As they continue to settle, we have brought up the idea of eventually bringing a kitten home. Our dog has done well with all kinds of small animals so his prey drive is non-existent to anything in our home; they are like his pack. If anything, he's more scared of them!
I understand a cat's prey drives are more complex, as it seems to be inevitable that any cat will chase anything small. I looked on Reddit and saw some people suggesting to adopt an 8 week old kitten, and have it grow up around birds / poultry. Barn cats seem to do exceptionally well when I see videos of them hanging out and resting with chickens / duck.

I don't plan on going out anytime soon to bring a new animal home, but I do want to do my research and hear people's experiences. It is also very plausible that the idea of them coexisting may not work. I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize the life of our quails.

Thank you in advance, and hopefully this isn't a silly question to ask.

 

[HKG]

Hello- it's been two years since I have last used this site. Happy to see it is still active.

I have been trying to gather some information on this and I thought this forum would be a good place to ask.

We want to eventually introduce a kitten into our family. We unfortunately no longer have our little button quail, but have recently receiving 2 mountain quail. As they continue to settle, we have brought up the idea of eventually bringing a kitten home. Our dog has done well with all kinds of small animals so his prey drive is non-existent to anything in our home; they are like his pack. If anything, he's more scared of them!
I understand a cat's prey drives are more complex, as it seems to be inevitable that any cat will chase anything small. I looked on Reddit and saw some people suggesting to adopt an 8 week old kitten, and have it grow up around birds / poultry. Barn cats seem to do exceptionally well when I see videos of them hanging out and resting with chickens / duck.

I don't plan on going out anytime soon to bring a new animal home, but I do want to do my research and hear people's experiences. It is also very plausible that the idea of them coexisting may not work. I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize the life of our quails.

Thank you in advance, and hopefully this isn't a silly question to ask.

I don't think it will go well. Cats are very different from dogs.

 

[Weeg]

I don't think it will go well. Cats are very different from dogs.

I disagree, we have 3 cats, now who kills weasels. We have ducks, and chickens, (I guess not as small as quail) and have had no problems. We have also has ducklings without issues, but if you are concerned about it, just predator proof your coop and make sure the cat can't get in. Then, you coop will also be safe from other predators.

 

[HKG]

I disagree, we have 3 cats, now who kills weasels. We have ducks, and chickens, (I guess not as small as quail) and have had no problems. We have also has ducklings without issues, but if you are concerned about it, just predator proof your coop and make sure the cat can't get in. Then, you coop will also be safe from other predators.

Good idea

 

[BGcoop]

I disagree, we have 3 cats, now who kills weasels. We have ducks, and chickens, (I guess not as small as quail) and have had no problems. We have also has ducklings without issues, but if you are concerned about it, just predator proof your coop and make sure the cat can't get in. Then, you coop will also be safe from other predators.

X3
my cat also can coexist with the chickens (again bigger than quail). I also agree that if the cat is brought in young you might have better success. (Think getting pecked at once or twice when they are similar size might be a deterrent to go after that particular animal again) Also, be sure the cat is well fed-it will be less likely(not impossible) to hunt them if it doesn’t have a need to do so.

disclaimer: my own cat has never killed anything larger than a grasshopper despite us catching some mice in the dog food once and releasing them right in front of his nose, AND him catching a chipmunk once and letting that go as well after carrying it around for ten minutes.

 

[Weeg]

my cat also can coexist with the chickens (again bigger than quail). I also agree that if the cat is brought in young you might have better success. (Think getting pecked at once or twice when they are similar size might be a deterrent to go after that particular animal again) Also, be sure the cat is well fed-it will be less likely(not impossible) to hunt them if it doesn’t have a need to do so.

Yes, this is a very good point.
I think breed also plays a huge role. Siamese, and other hunters are going to be more prone to hunting the quail. Tabby, (I know Tabby isn't a breed) shelter cats who aren't used to being outside and are just getting used to it with you, will probably be more invested in hanging with you then hunting.

 

[HKG]

X3
my cat also can coexist with the chickens (again bigger than quail). I also agree that if the cat is brought in young you might have better success. (Think getting pecked at once or twice when they are similar size might be a deterrent to go after that particular animal again) Also, be sure the cat is well fed-it will be less likely(not impossible) to hunt them if it doesn’t have a need to do so.

disclaimer: my own cat has never killed anything larger than a grasshopper despite us catching some mice in the dog food once and releasing them right in front of his nose, AND him catching a chipmunk once and letting that go as well after carrying it around for ten minutes.

Poor chipmunk

 

[cuckleberry]

Thank you all for this information! We will be waiting for some time before deciding. We can easily predator-proof our coop so I don't think that will be an issue. In regards to the cat itself, I may also try to reach out to any local farm / shelters that also have poultry along with dogs and cats for adoption. Seems like a relatively common thing in this area.

 

[photogal76118]

Thank you all for this information! We will be waiting for some time before deciding. We can easily predator-proof our coop so I don't think that will be an issue. In regards to the cat itself, I may also try to reach out to any local farm / shelters that also have poultry along with dogs and cats for adoption. Seems like a relatively common thing in this area.

I’m getting an 8 week old kitten today to hopefully drive off the mice that have invaded my duck run. I also have 3 chickens and 2 dogs. The dogs are interested in the birds but don’t bother them. They are separated by a fence, so they watch but never growl or try to jump the fence to get at the birds. I’ll let you know how it goes introducing the new kitty to the dogs and birds.