Why Can't We Have Ordinances to Control Cats? Please?

[chikinwing]

Quote:
Exactly

I do think that she should use a water gun or hose to make the cat stay away from her coop. My cats follow me to the coop and like to pounce out of the bushes to make the hens scatter if they are free ranging in my yard. They are not trying to kill them, just tease them. So I will fuss at them or scold them and tell them no! Or better yet I let my dog Henry chase them away which he finds amusing. None of them harm each other, it is like sibling rivalry. I think she has a valid point about the neighbors cat teasing her chickens, but for some on here to say that every cat should be indoors their whole life and never go outside is a little over the top. I think that should be a personal preference. All three of the cats I have were rescues born to feral mothers. I took them in as babies, but they have a strong desire to be outside and are just as tame and domesticated as a purebreed. The same can be said of my chickens, they would be much happier free ranging than being locked in a pen their whole life. I think all things should have some relative happy medium not one extreme or the other.

 

[chikinwing]

Quote:
Just like I believe that there are people who seem to forget that chickens are raptors, which means they are omnivorous, therefore they will even canibalize! Please, anyone can make an argument demonizing one type of animal or the other. Since you like to do research, you may want to check out the facts about snakes decimating the songbird population in Guam and the fear of them getting to Hawaii. Do you know what cowbirds do? They lay their eggs in the nests of songbirds and the baby hatches and kills the songbird babies therefore making the songbirds raise new populations of a parasite bird species. I can demonize too. But I try to be a reasonable person.

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
the difference is that these are DOMESTIC cats. It would be like you saying "It's ok that my chickens go into my neighbor's garden and eat the veggies. They are chickens and birds eat veggies" It's ok to free-range your chickens or your cats. The line is drawn when your chickens/cats/dogs enter your neighbor's property. Any damage they do then is entirely avoidable; if they eat the songbirds in your yard, the birds can leave your yard. If the cat is roaming, it will just follow them to where ever they are. Non-feral cats ARE greater danger to songbirds than feral cats. Feral cats (and starving dogs) will kill to eat. They don't have energy reserves to waste just attacking animals for fun. Pet cats are well-fed. They have energy to burn and can enjoy a fun game.

 

[carolsmith7878]

I work with a feral cat group that utilizes T/N/R to control cat populations. I have read through every one of these posts and am pleased to see some very thoughtful (to all animals, humans and other) and compassionate responses.

I have chickens, cats, dogs, fish, and have fostered wild creatures until they were old enough, or healed enough to be released back into the wild. It is generally more difficult to find complete and final solutions to a problem like this, than to resort to quick (and not usually effective) ones.

I can give you some details about my experience (usually unpleasant) with the kind of irresponsible people that do not spay/neuter their cats and let them wander/breed/overpopulate an area.

1) If you trap the animal and kill it/take it to the pound/take it elsewhere... they will just go get another one (or two) and you will have the same problem again
(ALSO: as with any animal tame or feral... If you remove a source of competition, another animal will move in to take over that niche. It could be a much more damaging animal than a cat that moves in).
2) This kind of person is usually not aware of/or does not care about you or your property
3) I try one time to politely, and in a friendly manner, go over to this person's home and explain the situation and education them about their animal (usually with an actual phone # of a free spay/neuter clinic, or a number of a cheap vet...) If it doesn't work the first time, it never will.
4) This kind of person generally does not care well for their animal (does not feed it often enough, give it a constant water supply, attention...), which is why it roams looking for these basic needs.

It is the owner's fault, not the animal's that causes them to wander seek out food/water/shelter/mates.

Save yourself the effort if dealing with these kind of people. There are many free/low cost spay/neuter programs that will fix the cat for free or for next to nothing. Trap it/fix it/return it. A fixed kitty is a lazy, less likely to wander kitty. All my spay/neuter cats have given up hunting/breeding and sit around in the yard lovin' life. I trap all strays, have them spay/neuter for free, and put out a dish of food/water on the far side of the yard away from the chickens (they are afraid of the full grown birds). Although they will eat any stray, untended to chicks, they otherwise live in harmony, and the cats keep the rats and mice out of my coop and home. A given area can only support so many cats, and the ones that are there will defend their territory so you will not have any more kitties moving in while your spay/neuter ones are guarding it.

There is no easy solution. Any solution that fixes the problem permanently will take time and effort. Check into a cat rescue group in your area, some will re-home cats for you, but (again) this will not permanently solve the problem.

Thanks, and good luck with your injured chickie!

 

[animals1981]

how do people keep chickens without cats? I honestly think thats gross and sick the amount of rats and mice around ur place is probably dangerous for ur own health u probably also over run with snakes. My friend didnt get any cats after his barn ccats died. His place is the most disgusting place i have ever been to rats come out during the day. I honestly dont see how people can keep a hobby farm without cats its pobably a place that u wouldnt want to visit or even touch because its so full of vermin. Rats are poison and trap savvy a lot of times. Even cats that wont take a full grown rat will still raid a nest of babys and eat them Still mine is still killing huge full grown ones thank god their droppings are nasty can get in food and grain and make ur life hell. Dogs dont camp outside in front of a rat hole 24 waiting for them to come out they sleep.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Quote:
Pretty extreme statement. Everyone who owns chickens and not cats has a place that is gross, sick and dangerous?

 

[animals1981]

that has been my personal experience i am sorry but it is true i have never seen a clean place that keeps a lot of birds that does not have cats


in my city it is legal to keep birds now so people in my city can have up 6 or 7 big standard sized hens even giants so with that small amount mice and rats start to swarm


people didnt pick and choose to take them every single place in the world on ships anywhere they could for nothing its to keep their living area clean, chickens truth is attract vermin lots of vermin, they need natural predator sthat will raid their nests and kill their pups non stop and make their lives hell and constantly displace them.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
They must live like slobs then...if they have SWARMS of rats...
Keep your pens clean. and the rats wont have anything to eat...
Sure you will still get a few of them here and there, but swarms of them?? Nah, not unless you have filthy pens..

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i am in Fair Oaks, which is Sacramento County. i'm truly sorry the people you know do not keep their chicken areas clean. But your experience does not transmit to all chicken owners. There are other ways to deal with mice and rats other than cats.

 

[animals1981]

i moved back to canada now left my partner here chickens are legal in the city i should change profile lol


the rats and mice will keep comming and they will be followed all the time by large snakes and stoats


cats will take care of all of the above problem with rats is they are so smart they learn to avoid things when they see another rat caught in a trap they wont do the same unlike mice i dont hate rats as a species but i cant have them live near me or mice their dropping are disgusting and they get into eeverything anything they will start fires and burn ur life down

when u poison them ur area will smell like dead bodys


they do keep their chicken areas clean that is not going to stop rats rat doesnt care if its clean or not they will still come and chew the baby chicks while they are still alive

one thing i dont get is why cant hens protect their chicks from rats? or why cant roosters kill them? are they too quick or what?


mother cat and her kitten living with a group of chickens is a rats worst nightmare thats when the cat is at her most dangerous and will kill kill kill all vermin non stop then teaches her offspring to do the same.