Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Cat on a hot chicken roof


'Nuff said...

14 comments:

DK said...

Is this the same cat that's been giving you garden troubles?

Crunchy Chicken said...

Yes, it's one of the two Siamese cats that ruin my vegetable garden annually and poop in my other garden beds.

jennee said...

I think there's some kinda powder stuff you can put around your yard to keep them out. IDK what it is or what's in it though. I'm a big help huh?

Crunchy Chicken said...

Cocaine?

Brad K. said...

I must have grown up cruel.

My first thought on seeing the picture was "vaseline". Grease the roof. (Vaseline or other petroleum jelly is a common remedy for hairballs, and cannot hurt the cat.)

But I suppose a good, slick car wax on the tin (I think the metal manufacturer recommends using car wash to clean) might make it slicker, and less attractive a place to perch.

Then there would be the cartoon approach. Add a second layer of roof, hinged at the top and spring loaded. When cat lands, it triggers and Whap! flings the cat against the side. On second thought, hinge the flapper on the bottom, and just flip the lid to vertical, sending the cat onto the grass. No sense being rude, or hurtful.

Some eight years ago I was surprised to find a cuddle of six partly-grown kittens curled around the waterer heater in my chicken house. That afternoon the mother cat turned up, dead, on my sidewalk. I started feeding cat food to the kittens - in the adjacent barn - that day. One of those six is still with me, about 1 or 2 days a week. None of the cats have ever bothered the chickens.

This isn't always the case. Back in Iowa a neighbor had a lot of cats - more than a dozen - that spent a lot of time in his farrowing house with the pigs. One day they started eating the baby pigs. Not pretty at all; shotguns ensued and there were fewer cats there after that.

So I watch the cats, and don't worry too much until something actually happens. I still don't know how the cat or kittens got into the chicken house; none of the cats since then have ever gotten in. That I saw.

Greenpa said...

:-) GREAT pic. My experience with cats and bird feeders, just out the window, is that they never really get tired of watching. Like premium cat TV.

equa yona(Big Bear) said...

I think cocaine would keep them coming back, Crunch. And more wide awake than ever! Can you live trap them and return the to the owner with subtle warnings about steel traps being set...for coyotes, of course, a growing urban problem!

equa yona(Big Bear) said...

Naturally, you would never actually set dangerous traps. Nor would I-just a joke. I have two cats and two dogs, folks!(figured I'd better say that before I got death threats from kitty lovers)

Erika said...

You can sprinkle habanero powder or spray the commercial pepper-like spray - I think it's in a green spray container... around areas you don't want them in... it has capsaicin in it, which critters don't like on their paws. Draw backs include: the need to reapply after rain, some creatures actually don't mind licking uber-hot powder off their paws (those might be candidates for cocaine...?), and if you're using the powder - it can get spendy. We don't have to use it anymore. The neighbor cat still thinks our lawn is made of spicy. :)

--Erika

Bucky said...

Your problem with the cats is very easy to solve.

It involves the flat end of a large shovel.

If that is too much for you, put them in a cage and take them to the pound. Preferably in another city or they will just be back again in a few days. Unless, of course, they are your cats, and then why aren't they in your house where they belong???

I don't let my dog run loose in the neighborhood and crap in other people's yards. Why do cat people think it is acceptable to let their annoying animals run free outside and ruin my yard and my enjoyment?

Barbara said...

love, love, love this photo!

Brad K. said...

equa yona(Big Bear),

Yes, but cats on cocaine - that would surely irritate the owners (where the disciplinary correction needs to be applied).

Of course, I wouldn't want to be caught with the cocaine. "Honest, officer, I just got it for the neighbor's cat, so it wouldn't stare at my chickens!" Golly, I wouldn't want to have to tell that story.

Bucky said...

The biggest problem with cocaine is that all of your neighbors would be always over sniffing and licking your plants. While amusing at first, it would quickly get very old.

Not to mention expensive for all of us who live in other states and would have to travel!

Panamamama said...

:) I like cayenne pepper to keep squirrels and cats away. Just sprinkle it around on places you don't want them. Thanks for posting the video of your coop on FB. I showed hubs and he actually has hired a dude to make me a bigger & better coop. Our chickens like under the deck better and it's making egg finding nie impossible.