Unique stray tom cat predator situation

[Northie]

If you can't trap, you could spray him with the hose if you don't want him around. They *HATE* water (duh) and it's a non lethal way of making him move on. Then there's the super scary shopping bag at the end of a stick swished around while you hiss like some kind of cat eating devil....
Make sure there isn't any food available for him outside either (chickens too). If you have food out something will come for it if there's nothing available most critters move on.
If you decide to feed him and let him stay just keep in mind you will likely attract more strays, which means stray kittens if you don't trap spay/neuter release. You'll also probably see a few cat fights between strays and house cats and there's the potential for your cats to pick up a number of diseases. Unfortunately it would probably be for the greater cosmic good to trap him and have him humanely euthanised. I worked at an SPCA where only 10% of the adoptable cats found homes. (adoptable - young, healthy and tame. If they didn't meet that criteria they were automatically listed to be put down.) I hated working in the cat room, it was so sad...

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Rescuing, feeding, keeping, encouraging, releasing, medicating, protecting, and relocating feral or domestic cats ranks right up there with a do it yourself Atom Bomb kit as the most environmentally selfish, irresponsible, and reckless activity that a human being can engage in alone.

The US Wildlife Service just released a long term study that claims that so called

DOMESTIC

and feral cats destroy 15,000,000,000 to 20,000,000,000 (15 Billions to 20 Billion) small wild animals each and every year. BTW, most of these victims are not mice and rats, but every thing from baby rabbits, to song birds, to chipmunks, to native animals that compete with cats for mice. The animals that cats compete against the most for mice is shrews and the tiny shrew is a more effective predator of mice than any cat ever was. However anyone seeing a cat with a dead shrew thinks the cat just caught a mouse.

The figure for the United Kingdom is 55,000,000 birds and almost 1/2 a billion other small animals. The US-WLS claim of 4,000,000,000 to 6,000,000,000 cat related bird deaths and up to 20,000,000,000 small animal deaths per year is in line with the United Kingdom's figures.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ca...ly-study-finds/story?id=18357853#.UYgV1b4o4dU

http://www.livescience.com/26670-cats-kill-billions-animals.html




Kitty 'kats' kill more birds than all the pesticides ever made and sold by Monsanto or BaterAG put together, all the tall buildings, all the glass windows, and all the wind mills combined. Every year cats kill 15% of all birds that leaves the nest, and of all birds every year that are killed by predators, cats kill half. The toll cats take on other wildlife is 3 - 5 times as high as the terrible toll cats extract from our feathered friends. I know some of you are going to disagree with me and point out how your cats avoid your chickens.... but none of you sit up nights and watch what goes on between cat and chicken in the dark when chickens are helpless.

Belling cats is ineffective in preventing them from killing birds. The most effective way to keep cats from killing birds is to fit an apron or bib around your cat's neck in such a way as to keep the cat from using its front paws for anything other than walking.

 

[Liberty Nursery]

I like the water hose idea a lot. Chances are slim he will be out in the open while I have the hose charged and ready to spray.

as far as cats killing wildlife, yes that's what predators do and they are needed. In an urban area cats have replaced predators that humans have run out of the area. I am only concerned about my chickens. I could lecture on the benefits of feral cats in urban areas but who cares this is backyard chickens not an enviro-political site.

as far as getting rid of roaming pets, if they are on your property then you have every right to do that. It happens and that's part of the risks of having outdoor cats. They go where they want to go and have to deal with the consequences. I happen to be in a pet cat roaming neighborhood. People welcome them because the mouse population here is on the high side. They bring the mice back alive and I feed them to the chickens. One day someone will eliminate a cat of mine and I will just have to deal with that just as I would with a cat being hit by a car.

I already use urine around the coop, coffee grounds in and around the chicken run to attract earthworms and my compost is lined with dehydrated cayenne peppers because it keeps mammals out of it. I will just put it around the coop also now that I have the suggestion.

I would feed the cat if I could handle another cat, long story as to why I can no longer do that but I have been known to adopt strays in the past. And yes feeding them stops them from hunting something as large as a chicken. I already have a farm to take this cat to if I have it neutered first.

My cats are already afraid of the trap because both got trapped in there this morning so I doubt I have to worry about catching my cats in it, if I do catch them I will let them out anyways.

So glad someone suggested I do this during the day, I do not want to deal with a raccoon because my coop is rock solid sealed at night with redundancies at every hardware cloth window.

--------------------

I have learned a lesson in all this, I slaughtered my first chicken about a week before this cat arrived. I did dispose of the guts but some blood and feathers were left behind due to me being not prepared for what happens. It was my first slaughter and I think that's what attracted this tom cat. He was not in the area before. I usually know the tom cats in the neighborhood because a few neighbors do not get theirs fixed.

Lesson learned... completely clean up after a slaughter. and hose down any blood that missed the bucket

 

[bumpercarr]

I like the water hose idea a lot. Chances are slim he will be out in the open while I have the hose charged and ready to spray.

as far as cats killing wildlife, yes that's what predators do and they are needed. In an urban area cats have replaced predators that humans have run out of the area. I am only concerned about my chickens. I could lecture on the benefits of feral cats in urban areas but who cares this is backyard chickens not an enviro-political site.

as far as getting rid of roaming pets, if they are on your property then you have every right to do that. It happens and that's part of the risks of having outdoor cats. They go where they want to go and have to deal with the consequences. I happen to be in a pet cat roaming neighborhood. People welcome them because the mouse population here is on the high side. They bring the mice back alive and I feed them to the chickens. One day someone will eliminate a cat of mine and I will just have to deal with that just as I would with a cat being hit by a car.

I already use urine around the coop, coffee grounds in and around the chicken run to attract earthworms and my compost is lined with dehydrated cayenne peppers because it keeps mammals out of it. I will just put it around the coop also now that I have the suggestion.

I would feed the cat if I could handle another cat, long story as to why I can no longer do that but I have been known to adopt strays in the past. And yes feeding them stops them from hunting something as large as a chicken. I already have a farm to take this cat to if I have it neutered first.

My cats are already afraid of the trap because both got trapped in there this morning so I doubt I have to worry about catching my cats in it, if I do catch them I will let them out anyways.

So glad someone suggested I do this during the day, I do not want to deal with a raccoon because my coop is rock solid sealed at night with redundancies at every hardware cloth window.

--------------------

I have learned a lesson in all this, I slaughtered my first chicken about a week before this cat arrived. I did dispose of the guts but some blood and feathers were left behind due to me being not prepared for what happens. It was my first slaughter and I think that's what attracted this tom cat. He was not in the area before. I usually know the tom cats in the neighborhood because a few neighbors do not get theirs fixed.

Lesson learned... completely clean up after a slaughter. and hose down any blood that missed the bucket

I think I may have a similar problem. I lost one of my chicks today and I haven't seen any hawks around yet. I did see a stray cat that was eying the chickens yesterday and I suspect that was the culprit. Usually, the rooster takes care of these annoyances, but I think he may not have seen it coming. Anyway, I'm trying to decide what to do.

My preferred method of dealing with cats and dogs is to load the .22 with snake shot, get close enough to scare the dickens out of any domestic animal, pop off a few shots while screaming like a crazy woman. That usually makes them go away

. My neighbors always enjoy the show. Anyway, I suppose tomorrow will be sitting at the coop watching the chickens day with a loaded gun in my hand. I would really prefer not to lose any more chicks. BTW, I only shoot to kill if the dog/cat comes back again. Fortunately, I haven't had to do that for a very, very long time.

 

[Northie]

Catching a skunk in the trap would be worse I think another good reason to try to catch him during the day... Also may not want to go after questionable black and white "kitties" with either hose or scary bag .
Also a note on small animals and predation, most of them have very high production rates. They mature early and have batches of babies at at time. Their life cycle is healthiest when it is in a predator prey relationship. Boom and bust cycles controlled by either starvation or disease are much less stable. I'm not saying we should replace all the natural predators with feral cats and dogs just trying to explain predation a bit. Habitat loss sucks...

 

[magnumrebel]

Once a cat gets a taste of your chickens he is going to be a problem for the rest of his days (or your chickens days). If it is a feral cat then you are not doing any favours for the local wildlife or your and neighbors livestock. Where i live we have skunks, coons, fox, coyote, wolves, mink, marten, weasels and owls and hawks and they all eat chicken. I have enough to worry about let alone a feral cat that wants a free meal! Eliminate the cat

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

If I see a cat around the coops I hiss like a mad cat at him/her and do the "rrrrrr- rrrrrrr" growl at them and they RUN away. I also start chasing them as I am spitting and hissing. They are terrified. I grew up with cats and love them, but they have twice tried to kill my chickens.

 

[soccermom36]

I live in the country and we have owls, hawks, coyotes, raccoon, hawk, snakes and feral cats. My biggest challenge is keeping the hungry cats away. The other predators are somewhat predictable based on their patterns. However, the feral cats my neighbor feeds has increased to over 45. The cats are always hunting for food day and night. I have built a secure coop and run but still worry about cat attacks more than other predators. Any suggestions are welcome. To date we have had to call animal control and they removed 35 cats(still an estimate of 45-50 cats left). I would love to know what others have had to do too combat excessive feral cats from eating chickens!

 

[bumpercarr]

I live in the country and we have owls, hawks, coyotes, raccoon, hawk, snakes and feral cats. My biggest challenge is keeping the hungry cats away. The other predators are somewhat predictable based on their patterns. However, the feral cats my neighbor feeds has increased to over 45. The cats are always hunting for food day and night. I have built a secure coop and run but still worry about cat attacks more than other predators. Any suggestions are welcome. To date we have had to call animal control and they removed 35 cats(still an estimate of 45-50 cats left). I would love to know what others have had to do too combat excessive feral cats from eating chickens!

Wow! Your cat problem makes mine look simple. The cat after my chickens is just a neighbors cat, I think it is spayed/neutered. I haven't had any feral cats around for a long time. Feral cats would be much more difficult. Perhaps our feral cat problem has gone away since we went into a drought and the coyotes are having to venture closer to us to get their meals. I've never heard or seen one, but I hear the neighbors talking about it. The cat that got one of my chicks yesterday was waiting by the coop today for me to let the chickens out. I popped off a few rounds in the general direction and screamed. Cat took off like the angels of hell were after it. I don't think it will be back today, but cats are sneaky and he/she may forget after a few days. In that case, I'll have to take care of the cat. I've trapped cats before while trying to get raccoons, but I've usually just let them go. Unfortunately for them, they won't be let go anymore.

For those that set traps at night, you will get skunks, raccoons, cats and anything else that will fit in your cage. You just have to be prepared for whatever you catch. For skunks, I make a suit out of black garbage bags, wear safety glasses and gloves. I try to approach without getting sprayed and drop a blanket over the cage. Needs to be an old blanket, you won't want to use it again except for relocating skunks. I hook up the small flatbed trailer and put the cage on the trailer. Take about 3-5 miles away from the house and then open the cage to release the skunk. Most of the time, I have to dump skunks out, they aren't smart enough to get out once the door is open. They've always just taken off, none have tried to spray me once they are out of the cage.

Raccoons are worse than skunks. Although they won't make you smell bad for a week, they are very dangerous animals when cornered or captured. Always where gloves when handling the cage, they can reach through and scratch you. They can transmit diseases to you that way. Raccoons need to be taken at least 5 miles away before they are released. Remember, it needs to be 5 miles as the crow flies, not 5 miles of road. They are really smart and can find their way back. Also, once you've caught one of them, you will not be able to catch them again. They learn from their mistakes.

Cats are pretty easy to catch, but I agree with the others that if you don't want to deal with all of the other animals that roam at night, you should set your traps during the day. You will be less successful, but you won't have to deal with the other critters. The good thing about cats is that they can't get into your coop very easily like raccoons can. The bad thing is what to do with them once you've caught them. You can release them far away, but that is just moving the problem to someone else's backyard. If it is a feral cat, I personally would kill it. If it seems to a domesticated cat (i.e. it doesn't hiss at you when you get close, it is probably someone's pet) I would probably take it to the shelter and let them deal with either euthanizing it or getting it adopted. I don't seem to have a hard time killing something that is hissing and spitting at me, but when one is rubbing up against the side of the trap trying to get me to pet it I have a harder time taking justice into my own hands.

Anyway, that is my two cents worth. I agree that feral cats are becoming more of a problem. They completely wiped out our wild quail population before the drought even hit.

 

[sunset]

1 big male goose.... He keeps my cats on the side of the wire