BDutch's bantam flock & natural breeding projects #5 🪺 🪺 and #6

[ManueB]

Today I let the chickens free range because I planned to work in the garden.

When I went inside for a late lunch I saw the strange cat again running though or garden, chasing Katrientje. I went outside immediately and chased him away. But I couldn’t find Katrientje after he was gone. The Dutch were in the coop and on the coop (alarmed flight?).
Now it’s 1.5 hours later and I still haven’t seen her. Probably hiding in shock.

This convinces me its the strange cat who done it, and not another predator.

I hope she comes back before the night .
Do you think it's a stray cat or it has an owner ?
If it's a stray it might be worth searching if there are cat rescue associations who would take him in ?

 

[BDutch]

I hope she comes back before the night .
Do you think it's a stray cat or it has an owner ?
If it's a stray it might be worth searching if there are cat rescue associations who would take him in ?

YES! She just returned.
Walking calm on the path to the coop as if nothing had happened .

She/he looks good, as a well cared cat. Not a stray cat. Only a collar is missing.
She/he is only two inches taller as the neighbour cats. And has an dark grey stripe that’s not very common.

The cat is probably from another neighbourhood nearby. Because nobody in my own neighbourhood seems to know this cat.

 

[MaryJanet]

YES! She just returned.
Walking calm on the path to the coop as if nothing had happened .

 

[ManueB]

Happy for Katrientje !
Cats can wander pretty far unfortunately. And even if you knew the owner, it's difficult to ask him, or her, to keep his cat locked up without having a proof that he was the culprit for Chef and Abby .

I don't know how it would work in the Netherlands. It has happened twice to me that I needed to find dog owners. I used both the mandatory national ID base request, and Facebook groups that exist for lost cats and dogs (my partner did as I don't have Facebook) and both times the Facebook groups had the owner reach out to me in a couple of hours.

 

[BDutch]

In NL dogs are not allowed to walk freely in general. Only in specific, often fenced walking areas its allowed to take the leash off. Most people with dogs follow this rule.

Cats have no restrictions. And many people don’t even keep the cats inside at night. Too many people with cats have a cat (pop) door to avoid cleaning a cat litter box. There are just too many ‘stray’ cats. And yes they wander pretty far from home especially at night.
During the day I never see any other cats. Just the 4 neighbour cats (very often) and the killer cat (once in a while).

This was recently in an article on the Gelderlander, a local newspaper: About ⅔ of the people experience hinder and would like more restrictions for cats.

 

[fuzzi]

In NL dogs are not allowed to walk freely in general. Only in specific, often fenced walking areas its allowed to take the leash off. Most people with dogs follow this rule.

Cats have no restrictions. And many people don’t even keep the cats inside at night. Too many people with cats have a cat (pop) door to avoid cleaning a cat litter box. There are just too many ‘stray’ cats. And yes they wander pretty far from home especially at night.
During the day I never see any other cats. Just the 4 neighbour cats (very often) and the killer cat (once in a while).

This was recently in an article on the Gelderlander, a local newspaper: About ⅔ of the people experience hinder and would like more restrictions for cats.

I have kept my own cats as indoor only for the last 35 years. They're healthier, and live longer lives. I've seen dead cats by the side of the road, and I've watched helplessly as one was deliberately run over...it's not pretty.

I have also fed ferals, but did TNR (trap, neuter, release) to keep the kitten count down. One cat had two litters of four kittens each before I could trap her. Most of the offspring disappeared within their first year, one "came home" to die after obviously escaping a predator. Only one made it to elderly status along with her mother. They're all gone now.

This is my current spoiled brat. Her mother had her litter on our front porch while we were away for over a week. The mother cat moved her kittens but left one behind. We brought the 4 week old kitten inside and bottle fed her, our dog cleaned and mothered her. They're still best buddies.

Cleo and Deborah aka Debbie

 

[ManueB]

I have changed in the opposite direction of Fuzzi, and would not keep a cat now if it had to be kept indoors.
I have done so when I was much younger. Now we live in an environment with no cars and few enough predators, I can see how much happier the cats that we have now are choosing if they want to be outside or not.
I realize that few people are in this situation and this means many people could not keep cats. And that cats who have only been indoor can possibly be happy in some circumstances. I am still convinced from my experience a cat should have time outside. Like us humans.

It's a fact that cats are terrible predators and my cats hunt and kill mice (good, that's why we got them), rats, dormouses, birds, lizards, and many insects every day. I probably won't get other cats after they die because of this. There are too many cats... and too many humans in this modern world .

 

[ManueB]

Cute predator tax

 

[MaryJanet]

I have changed in the opposite direction of Fuzzi, and would not keep a cat now if it had to be kept indoors.
I have done so when I was much younger. Now we live in an environment with no cars and few enough predators, I can see how much happier the cats that we have now are choosing if they want to be outside or not.
I realize that few people are in this situation and this means many people could not keep cats. And that cats who have only been indoor can possibly be happy in some circumstances. I am still convinced from my experience a cat should have time outside. Like us humans.

It's a fact that cats are terrible predators and my cats hunt and kill mice (good, that's why we got them), rats, dormouses, birds, lizards, and many insects every day. I probably won't get other cats after they die because of this. There are too many cats... and too many humans in this modern world .

I think cat households are all different because each cat has unique preferences and needs.

My cat-keeping involves both inside and out. If Blossom wants to go out during the day and I'm home to fulfill my rightful destiny as her doorperson, she goes out. She spends her nights indoors.

There's a litter tray indoors which she uses every day. I don't mind the daily litter tray scooping.

I have never known her to hunt. Maybe she hunts when I'm not around and eats the corpses in their entirety but that would be unlikely.

She is well fed and often doesn't finish her wet food, with dry food available all day and night. Water too, of course. And sneaky snacks (dental treats) to keep her teeth in good order.

She's not young and active. She's old and snoozy. Except when we play with her fishy on a string.

She seems happy and I doubt she's doing harm in the neighbourhood.

Although this is not a taxed thread, I'm trying to improve my habits, so here's a tax payment for discussing something other than chickens.

 

[BDutch]

I believe its in the cats interest to have free roaming time outside. But for wildlife its better if (most) cats are confined inside a house.

The local gov. of the villages next to my small town urges people to keep cats inside during the night. This way they don’t annoy people much, and wildlife has more chances to survive. I like their advice (its a not law). They say they need to follow general rules in NL and can’t do more. But I would like it if owners were obliged to chip their cats who come outside unattended and to keep the cats inside their house or in a barn at night.

The Netherlands is a rather crowded country and there are way too many cats (and humans and other animals). In the house where I lived before rivalling cats made a lot of noise during the night. It was a compact neighbourhood with very small gardens and lots of cats. Most gardens were 40 - 100m2). Glad we don’t get screaming cats under our bedroom window anymore.

We have no cats, only chickens. But the cats of our neighbours dont mind to get patted.