The inevitable has finally happened....

[lissalischicks]

A cat has finally dared to enter my coop. There has been an increase in cats in our neighborhood. We don't know if they are feral or someone's pets who just lets them roam and poop in everyone else's backyard... but they are coming to my house now.

I was woken up at about 5am this morning to ruckus. Ran outside the the chickens were scared. I then looked at my video footage and saw the freaking cat enter into the automatic door which was open.

I have made the door not open until later in the day and sprayed essential oils (orange, spearmint, lavender, black pepper with apple cider vinegar) all around my yard. Then hung moth balls up high along the fence to ward them off... hopefully.....

What does everyone else do.

 

[Folly's place]

I don't use an automatic door, because I've worried about unwanted visitors that I don't know about. My coop/run combination is pretty safe, and I go out and let the birds out to free range during the day, at different times, and lock them in at night, after counting everyone, and being sure that there's not a predator lurking in the coop.
Bad things have happened here, and we all try to be careful!
Most cats are interested in the rodents, not the big chickens, even at night. Chicks without a mama hen are at risk, and maybe small bantams, but it's usually about the mice.
I will trap and test stray/ feral cats, because any cat who lives here will be tested, vaccinated, and neutered. I'm not interested in having a feral cat colony!
I doubt that odors and moth balls will really deter any serious predator for long either.
Mary

 

[NewBoots]

Sorry, the video isn't working.

 

[lissalischicks]

OK... let's try the video again

 

[Ribh]

I have cats & chooks happily co~existing. A full grown hen is too much bird for your average house cat to take on but strays & ferals are another matter. Mice, rats, small chicks but if it is hungry enough it will try for a full grown bird just like any other predator.

 

[lissalischicks]

@Folly's place The moth balls and scents are hoping they will leave us alone for a while. I know long term almost nothing works.

 

[lissalischicks]

All my girls are grown so that's a relief ... sort of lol. We think we know who owns 2 of the cats but they won't fess up to it. It's weird.

 

[BrandonVercnocke]

The only thing to do with cats is trap and relocate. Most local humane societies will take them for free. I had a really bad cat problem.....crazy cat lady neighbor....the humane society near me will take one a day

 

[Acre4Me]

We had lots of feral cats living around the duplex we lived in for a few years. Some had claimed our side -and were there before we moved in using the front bushes as a place to poop and spraying the foundation walls. No mice problem, no chickens, just sewer pipes, tall landscape bushes and grasses for the feral cats to hide in along with a couple of various neighbors feeding them.


So, hating the stench of cat poop and pee, and not wanting them lounging on our patio furniture, or our front step, we decided to deter them from our side. To neutralize their spray, we used vinegar poured on the foundation walls. Apparently, this neutralizes it or something and does not attract cats. We read somewhere that bleach attracts them. Then we put moth balls by all the bushes along the foundation wall and front door. They do not like the smell, but won’t eat them. We were not wanting to kill them, just make our little area inhospitable to them. It worked for the entire time we lived there. They still lived and reproduced in the general area, but didn’t hang around our place. Thankfully, that town began a catch, spay/neuter, release program -the feral cat problem was bad.

Good luck.

 

[BReeder!]

A cat has finally dared to enter my coop. There has been an increase in cats in our neighborhood. We don't know if they are feral or someone's pets who just lets them roam and poop in everyone else's backyard... but they are coming to my house now.

I was woken up at about 5am this morning to ruckus. Ran outside the the chickens were scared. I then looked at my video footage and saw the freaking cat enter into the automatic door which was open.

I have made the door not open until later in the day and sprayed essential oils (orange, spearmint, lavender, black pepper with apple cider vinegar) all around my yard. Then hung moth balls up high along the fence to ward them off... hopefully.....

What does everyone else do.

Get a pellet gun.