The Dreaded Cat

[Pheasantman]

Here's a little story about my quail and two neighborhood cats:

Late in the evening, two cats came to my quail pens and decided to have a snack.  They pushed back the wire (even pulling out the staples) and entered the pen.  They slaughtered 7 of my coturnix quail and maimed one.  Worst of all, they left 5 dead and only decided to eat two.  The survivors were brought inside and are living quite comfortably now.

Anyone else have an experience like this when cats broke in and killed birds?

[drwink]

No, my 22lr would get them first. :lol:
Sounds like you need stronger pens. Coons, Skunks, cats can't get into mine.
Are you raising on wire or the ground ?

[duck nutt]

last week one of my cages was left open all day.....5 quail left the pen...kids have 5 cats running around...when wife got home one quail was under pen where it had layed an egg...another cat was standing about 1 ft away from a cat scratching around....the other 3 were later found walking around the yard....I can't believe the cats didn't feast on them....they must realize they're OUR PETS TOO>>dunno..

[Pheasantman]

drwink,

I'm raising them on the ground.  Actually, my pens are really strong, I just think I missed a few staples and they worked their way through.  

Update:  The one that was mauled was found dead 5 minutes ago, so we have just one survivor.  We're gonna go give the neighbors a good talkin' to.

[Fivehollers]

Sorry to hear about your loss...we have not had problems with cats yet but coons and the like so we have put up an electric fence and anything else gets a fatal case of lead poisining...if ya catch my drift. Good luck talking with the neighbors but I would not hold your breath for some positive feed back or actions.  :lol:

[Pheasantman]

Yeah, I doubt they'll do much but hey, it's worth a try.  We borrowed a nice little cat trap from some friends and we're gonna put it out by the pens and see what we can get.

[theweave]

Pheasantman,
When the cage quites bubbling at the bottom of the barrel of water, its time to pull up and extract the problem kitty!
I've got to the point that when I catch cats more than 1/2 mile from farmhouse when I'm bird hunting, they are out there killing quail, rabbits and other prey for nothing more than sport.  Every treed cat is a guaranteed shooter at that point!

[County Line Gamebird Farm]

Yes...I have experienced it...you name it and I've experienced it concerning somebody else's pets.  I have come to the conclusion that if it ain't mine and it's on my place it's fair game.  I really hate having an attitude like that but I'm tired of other people not controlling their animals and then them coming and costing me money.  I certainly have no problem with dogs or cats, I have 4 dogs myself, but I keep them in their pens and when I have them out I know where they are.  I kinda figure it's more of a case of irresponsible owners than irresponsible pets.

[Buckbriar]

I caught two of the neighbors barn cats yesterday in "Havahart" traps using fried fish left overs.  It was the first night that I had the traps out. These two varmints have been slinking up and down the road looking for rabbits and in my barn trying to get my quail.  After I live trapped them they were dispatched by a .22 in the head.

[!BigHogLeg!]

Buckbriar,
   A cat BBQ is a terrible thing to waist. Hope you didn't just throw em away!

[Fivehollers]

yucky...cat BBQ?