Tell me about cats.

[OKprairiegirll]

Tell me about cats and chickens. I have a mouse problem and rather than have a snake move in and clear them out I decided to get a cat. He's full grown and known to be a good hunter. Most of my chickens are good sized pullets now - rooster not old enough yet to protect them, though. I have yet to set Cat free when they are free-ranging. Thoughts?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I have never had an issue with cats and chickens - that being said, I have heard of others having birds taken by cats. Young/small birds or those with health/fitness issues are the easiest targets - a healthy, adult bird is really not that tempting to most cats. More often than not the chickens bully the cats, not the other way around - you'll see tons of pictures of cats sitting and sulking while chickens gleefully gobble up the cat's dish of food. Even with our previous flock in which we had broodies with chicks, the cats knew to give the broodies a wide berth.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Funny sidenote - we did have one particularly gutsy (or crazy?) cat that got it in her head to have turkey dinner. We have wild turkeys that frequently cross our property, and one day PITA got the bright idea to creep up on one and take a shot at taking it down. She had come in from above off of a berm, making a leap onto the turkey's back. Biggest mistake she ever made...that poor cat went from dreaming of a feast to trying everything she could to get away from that turkey. Luckily no actual damage ended up being done to bird or cat, but a lesson was definitely learned.

 

[tantricdragon13]

I've had similar experiences. Cats don't seem to bother the chooks after they reach full size. For the most part they just ignore them.

Most recently, I caught the neighbor's cat stalking my babies when they were still little (no worries though - I was right there to shoo her off and the chicks were in a cage that the cat couldn't get in). Now I'll see the cat walking through our yard past the chickens and neither party seems interested in the other. Of course, I think by now that my girls weigh more that the cat!!

 

[OKprairiegirll]

Loving these stories. LOL