Stray Cat Wants to Move Into Henhouse

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Cat poop may harbor toxoplasmosis and parasites which could be transmitted to you. If you take the cat to the vet, might as well do a basic poop screen while you're getting shots. I am the luckiest girl around, our vet has a house call service, which makes it not-too-stressful for anybody. Our poop ova&parasite screen/culture/fungal smear is $31. Small price to pay for peace of mind.

We visited a RIR flock by Newark, Illinois (c-c-c-cold windy winters!) which had a cat within the flock. Really part of the flock. Throw treats over the fence and the cat had to snitch pizza crusts just like the rest of the flock. Funniest thing! They obviously had a very good thing goin' on. That cat was a great mouser. They all cuddled up for naps and bedtime and groomed each other.

 

[teach1rusl]

Do you know if it's male or female? If it's female, and you let it stay, would you be willing to get it spayed? Because if not, you're going to end up with season after season of kittens. And if you don't want to send ONE cat to a kill shelter, then that one's going to come back and bite you in the butt, because a lot more than one will end up there in the end, even through rehoming. If you're not willing/able to get it fixed, I'd opt for the shelter, kill or not.
I'm a big advocate of "fixing" males too, but in a case like yours, I wouldn't worry nearly as much about him remaining intact. Of course there are the other benefits of neuter for males...

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Any pictures?

 

[thechickenchick]

I say keep it! I had 2 cats that decided when they were kittens their beds were the nesting boxes. If they weren't already in there when I shut the pop door at night, I would call them and they would come running and settle in. They never bothered the birds and the birds didn't seem to care much. When I dumped the scraps in the morning and the cats got to them first, the chickens would "politely" let them know that those belonged to them, but that was it!!

 

[vtgirls]

We have four kitties (they are our pets and all are vetted) and ALL of them take turns sleeping in the nesting boxes. Whenever the chickens are free ranging the cats have access to the coop (since the run is open so the birds can come and go). The only trouble I have ever had with this is one of my Barred Rocks will only lay in one certain box - she gets good and mad when the cat is sleeping in there and she lets them know it! The cats (two of which are BIG toms) always give in and leave so she can have her way.
I can't say enough positive about the kitties - they kill all pests that might get into feed and they have never once hurt or gone after any of our birds. My biggest, oldest tom cat did however try to single out a wild turkey (and tried in vain to bring it down) from a group that travel through our yard. We also have Narragansett turkeys here and he never even bothers with them. Seems to me that the cats are smart enough to know where their bread is buttered. Have the kitty wormed and given a rabies shot and enjoy this new addition!

 

[BlackBart]

I say, never can have enough cats when you have chickens.
I have four house cats and one stray cat. The stray cat beats up the housecats. But he lives in the hay barn most of the time and kills mice and rats. I do feed him. Somebody dumped him as he is neutered and sort of friendly. Can't touch him though.

None of them bother the chickens.
Actually the chickens can pick on the cats.

 

[mmaddie's mom]

Quote:
You have gotten lots of good advice! My "stray" has lived here for over 10 years and waits to go in with the chickens at night. Never has bothered any chickens, even 2 day old babies that are with all the other chickens. I like having him in the coop and pen at night to take care of any late night rodent visitors. Grommet is a great cat!

OH... and YES! spay or neuter! ! !

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

The cat has steered clear of me and my wife until today.


We give our hens several day old raw milk that we get for free from a dairy farmer about an hour out of town.


Today, I went outside after I got home from work to give the chickens bowls of milk.


I saw the little cat -- she was sitting right in the middle of my tractor hen's nest (sitting on top of one of my hen's eggs, I might add).


So I poured the milk in full view of the little cat, and before I could count to 5, she darted out of the tractor and started drinking the milk. I was only about two feet from her, but she didn't care -- she was hungry, and that milk looked really good.


I poured another bowl of milk for my tractor hens, then went inside the main henhouse to pour two bowls of milk for those hens.


Then I came out, and she had finished the bowl of milk (I only put about half of a cup of milk in it -- I really just wanted to see what she would do).


So I softly walked towards the bowl, and poured more milk into it.


She drank all that milk too.


I stayed a few feet away from her, and didn't move. She'd look up at me from time to time, I guess trying to figure out if I was going to shu her away, and when I just stood there, she went back to lapping up the milk.


After she drank the second bowl, she came right up to me and rubbed her body on my ankles.


She seemed like she wanted to be picked up, so I did.


She is bony, but otherwise looks in good health.


I cuddled her, and my wife cuddled her. She really wants love as much as she wants food.


So yeah, I guess I've got another yard cat, whether I want a second cat or not.


Late this afternoon, when I fed the chickens, I put out a small bowl of dry cat food for her. She already drinks out of the tractor chickens's water bowls, so I didn't have to put water out for her.


An hour ago, I went out there, and the cat food bowl was empty.


Tomorrow, I was already planning on finishing setting up the chicken tractor for winter housing of the three birds that we do not house in the main henhouse.


So I guess I'll be building her a warm little cave to sleep on the side of the henhouse at the same time.


I figure on building it out of square bales of hay. I'll put down a piece of plastic tarp on the ground where I want the cave to go. Then I'll use blocks of hay to form the walls of her little sleeping cave on three sides, and I'll use another piece of plywood and then two bales of hay on top of the plywood for the "roof". Her "flooring" will be a mixture of cut grass clippings and crushed autumn leaves, about six inches thick, that she can use to help keep herself warm and comfy. The cave will be about as wide as a cat carrier, but will be the length of a square bale of hay, so that she can go to the back of it and have protection from the elements during bad weather, or sleep near the opening in good weather. Or climb on top of it, and sleep on top of the roofing when she wants to be "on top of the world."


I've done this once before for my Maine Coon cat (until my other cat died, and the Maine Coon asked to become an indoor/outdoor cat), and it proved to be a pretty warm and dry little place for a cat to make a winter home.


The cave will be on the south side of the henhouse, which means that the henhouse itself will block alot of the harsh winter wind and some rain from reaching her. The plywood roof weighted down with hay bales will provide both insulation and further protection from cold and rain.


I figure I'll feed her right in front of her cave, once I get the thing constructed tomorrow. I'm figuring on feeding her well for a couple of weeks while I try to put a little meat on those bones and get her used to living in that little cave. But then, I'm going to cut back on the rations, cuz I want her to continue to go after the mice. The henhouse is only about 25 feet from a neighborhood drainage ditch - though there IS a wooden fence separating the chicken house from that ditch -- so mice that normally live in or near the drainage ditch routinely wander into our henhouse.


I'm sure that's part of the reason why this cat decided to move in with us in the first place.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Good for you Barry! What a great story. Thanks for sharing. All four of the cats I've owned in my life were feral cats that I tamed and each one of them was fantastic in their own way. Congratulations on the new cat.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
If the cats has been there for awhile and the chickens havent gotten sick would there still be a risk of them getting sick? Why kill it, its just looking for shelter and not doing any harm. None of my cats have had any shots or vaccinations for anything and are outside 24/7.

I'm glad it worked out, that is one lucky cat