Can house or feral cats kill chickens?

[Alaskan]

I admit that I was getting lazy about closing the coop up at night, but nothing has ever happened to our chickens in a year and a half. Saturday night my boys went out there to look for eggs and came running back to tell me there were feathers everywhere and some missing.

Turns out something killed 4 of our 9 birds in one night and left no carcasses or tracks (pretty grassy by the coop) but a lot of feathers by the fence line.

Last night I closed the remaining 5 up in the coop, put out a trail cam and baited a live trap by it. I went out about midnight to check on things and saw a big striped cat laying by my driveway. I've never seen it before and it didn't seem to be in a hurry to run off. I didn't shoot it because I wasn't sure if a cat would kill full grown chickens. There was nothing in the trap and nothing on the game cam this morning.

So, SSS next time I see the cat or wait to see what shows on the cam?

[hully1029]

you caught the burglar red handed... i wouldve ended it right then. i say if he shows a second time, make sure he doesnt show up a third.

[El Viejo]

Although a feral cat might be able to kill and eat a chicken, there is no way one cat would be able to eat 4 of them in one night. I would bet on something else, maybe a bunch of coons. They are smart and can be difficult to catch. That's not to say don't get rid of the feral cats. They are a nuisance and hazard to, not only chickens but wildlife as well. Good luck & let us know what shows up, either in the trap or on the camera.

[Swampa]

Keep that camera going. Youll know soon enough.

[rjtkdplus]

Yes, they can and will kill full grown chickens.

[Alaskan]

Although a feral cat might be able to kill and eat a chicken, there is no way one cat would be able to eat 4 of them in one night. I would bet on something else, maybe a bunch of coons. They are smart and can be difficult to catch. That's not to say don't get rid of the feral cats. They are a nuisance and hazard to, not only chickens but wildlife as well. Good luck & let us know what shows up, either in the trap or on the camera.

I think the fact that four disappeared in one night is really what had me thinking multiple coons. But we'll see if anything shows on the camera and in the meantime I'll be keeping an eye out for that cat.

[CarbonFlinger]

Keep the camera running and keep us posted, curious to see what you come up with

[TexasBear]

My daughter's cat killed a full grown jack rabbit a couple of years ago. He drug it into our garage. Mad me mad so I threw it out behind the shed. Next thing I knew, here he comes again with it in his mouth in a hurry. This time, with the rabbit in his mouth, he jumps straight over the side of my pickup bed and into my truck! I was shocked how strong he was and he is not even a medium sized house cat. My point is they can kill animals larger than they are.

[Speedgoat]

Cats will do it, but in my opinion, it is a rogue raccoon. Most likely a momma with pups nearby. Especially if there were that many missing.

[DrenalinJunkie]

My daughter's cat will take down and kill rabbits, squirrels, chickens, and birds......

[holdem]

I lost one to a fox, one to a bobcat and then 18 to a single coon who worked his way into the coop but couldn't get out. Even though he was trapped in the coop he still killed 18 chickens just for fun.

[Alaskan]

Cats will do it, but in my opinion, it is a rogue raccoon. Most likely a momma with pups nearby. Especially if there were that many missing.

If it was coons I'm surprised they didn't come back for the scraps I threw out there to bait them and the wet dog food in the trap.

Also, I've never had to shoot a domestic/formerly domestic animal before. Not sure I'm cut out for shooting cats, but the coons would be dispatched in a hurry.

[CEO]

We had a stray cat show up when I was a teenager and stayed for almost 10 years. We never fed her, she'd live on what she killed, mostly squirrels. She had a litter of kittens once and trained them to hunt, it was like watchings miniature lions.

[Speedgoat]

If it was coons I'm surprised they didn't come back for the scraps I threw out there to bait them and the wet dog food in the trap.

They are smart. We just had one Momma coon kill 7 birds in three nights. We set live traps with cat food and caught nothing. We finally set 8 pressure traps out and she tripped four of them before getting caught in one. She was a big smart *****

[Alaskan]

They are smart. We just had one Momma coon kill 7 birds in three nights. We set live traps with cat food and caught nothing. We finally set 8 pressure traps out and she tripped four of them before getting caught in one. She was a big smart *****

Wow, the ones I've shot before were sitting in trees staring at the shotgun. Maybe this will be harder than I thought.