Barn Cats in Coyote Heavy Area?

[4horses]

Please don’t get kittens. You would just be feeding them to the coyotes.

My neighbor is terrified her mini horse will become coyote food. They take on baby deer, so why not a mini horse?

Adult cats can do okay provided they have escape routes. Many shelters have barn cats available - that are semi-feral and not friendly enough to make a house cat.

I think a snake would probably work really well. I looked after my friend’s chickens and she must have had a dozen of the fattest snakes you have ever seen.

My kittens came in super dog friendly and would walk right up to a coyote. Kittens have no sense of danger.

[Simkie]

@4horses

My neighbor is terrified her mini horse will become coyote food. They take on baby deer, so why not a mini horse?

Does she know a baby deer is about the size of a cat? They’re TEENY!

[Cocorona]

Thanks all! One of my barn friends had the name of a woman who rescues feral cats to rehome as barn cats (fixed, microchipped) and she’ll help us with the how of the crate acclimation too. Well get adults both to give cats a home that are harder to place and because hopefully they’ll have the know how to avoid predators.

[CHT]

Help your kitties survive by making sure they have lots of safe places in and around your barn. Sheds that are on skids give cats a place to dive under for cover, or make raised cat houses that the cats can jump up into to hide. Make sure they are neutered/spayed as they will be more likely to stay close. make sure they are well fed as a well fed cat is more likely to stay close, and they WILL still hunt for food/sport. I agree that kittens would be a bad idea.

[walktrot]

Simkie, you’re right about cats resetting their guidance system. They are attached to the space and not the people. My first cat was a leash-trained Siamese. I moved to a new apartment a few blocks from the old one. The cat found the path along the bank of a mill pond and headed straight for the old location.

My sister’s cat was in a carrier before the good airline carriers were available. They were on the way to Cape Cod with family and friends. They clipped the back bumper of a bus. The car rolled onto one side and landed on the side of the road. All were uninjured but the carrier broke open and the cat disappeared. We searched the next day, but no clues. Her husband went down there a few days later and left posters at the closest homes which weren’t that close. A week later they got a call. Cat was under a porch and the family was feeding her. She looked pretty scruffy but was in good shape and lead a long and happy life.

[S1969]

@anon81364900

We’ve lost a few barnies to predators (presumed–you never know)

I agree that the presumption of cats being lost to predators is just that – I have had a few cats and the only one I ever “lost” was hit by a car. I would never have seen her but a neighbor on my road who walks every day did see the cat in a low drainage ditch and called me, and I could confirm it was the barn cat.

Of course coyotes could be the cause, but I would not discount cars as being a major cause of missing cats as well.

The same remedies apply though - the more you can keep them from wandering, the safer they will be.

[FatCatFarm]

We live in an area with a large and active coyote population. Once they discovered our 17acres which is completely perimeter fenced, but not impermeable, they decimated our barn cat population. Our only solution was livestock guardian dogs and since then we’ve always kept two or three LGDs on the property. They are great about dividing the farm into zones which they defend and combine efforts when they feel like the threat level merits it.

Otherwise, it’s securing the cats in the barn each night, which is fine if the cat or cats is/are cooperative, but an exercise in frustration if not. Some cats are more savy than others to the predator threat. Most are not and are easily taken. Even with the Great Pyrenees defending our property, if the kitties wander outside the fence once too often, it seems they inevitably get taken. If they stay put on the property, they seem to do fine.

The kitties do an awesome job keeping rodents away. Wish they did as good a job with possums. The dogs keep raccoons away, but the possums seem so wilfully ignorant about the dog threat, the dogs seem to almost view them as funny looking cats and I have to regularly trap them and cart them off away from the cat kibble for the barn cats.

Best of luck!

[DiamondJubilee]

I also live in a heavy coyote population area and have had the same cat for over 10 years now. Females tend to be a better choice as they do not roam as much as males. I had a couple of male cats (all fixed) and they have a 1km or so radius. The female we have never goes far from the barn. There is a cat door that she can go in and out of and I always feed her 2 x a day, so shes always in and out of the barn. I also have a cat bed for her in the window that shes loves to nap in.

The males have both disappeared and I’m pretty sure were snatched from a coyote at some point.

The males were quite tame and very friendly while the female is very skittish and does not mind humans around, but is not a fan of being pet. It has made her quite aware of her surroundings and I’m sure thats why we’ve had her so long - plus shes always around the barn and close to safety if she needs it…

Try to get females if you can. I bet they will be a little more savvy and stick around for longer.

[pony_grandma]

I 100% say Black snake. Harmless and hungry! We carry a bucket in the back of the truck pick them up off the road before an idiot purposely runs them over.

[Ponycatraz]

Our black snakes have been amazing. I’m keeping an eye out for one near our creek to relocate to our new barn.