Dealing with predators

[eggie o'geggie]

I'm not intending to select kittens based on colour. I'm going to keep them indoors until they are old enough. I'm also going to take them to the vet and have all their shots, flea preventions and neuterings.

Speaking of the vet, after I made an inspection of the building, I visited the neighbourhood vet and talked to a couple of ladies at reception about wildlife and if there is anything around that preys on cats. I was surprised to hear that there are a lot of fishers around (they were introduced to control porcupines) but the woman I talked to said that they co-existed with her cats for decades and never posed a problem for them. She acknowledged that if their food supply was ever to dwindle they might turn to cats, but in the meantime, they prefer other food sources--probably herbivores. In the end it seemed that the biggest threat to outdoor cats is other outdoor cats, not predators. So it sounds like this vision I have of my cats revelling in the great outdoors is quite feasible.

 

[mrssooz]

Either buy, or build a cat-proof fence, or enclosure. If you're worried about predators that could climb over a 7-foot high fence, then build an enclosure.

Here are some links that I hope you find helpful:

Cat fence, bought: http://www.purrfectfence.com/

Cat fence, bought: http://www.catfence.com/

Cat fence, bought: http://www.kittyfence.com/

Cat fence, bought: http://www.deerfence.com/cat-fencing.html

Buying one is certainly the more expensive, but easier option. You can usually put them up yourself or with the help of one able-bodied person. 

You can also make one yourself with common items bought from the hardware store, and a roll of deer fence. The fencing material needs to be non-rigid and wiggle bit. The instability is what discourages cats from climbing the fence. This method is also easily removable if you need to change the location, and if you get black pvc pipe, it is almost invisible from a distance.

I am in the process of making my own fence that is about 6" from a broken down wooden fence. I ordered 8 foot by 165 foot of medium strength deer fence. I used 1/2" x 10 foot rigid metal electrical conduit for supports, cut into 5 foot pieces and pounded into the ground about two feet. Space 6 feet apart. You can then buy pvc pipe that is 10 foot long, cut it down to 6 or 7 feet tall and slide it over the conduit. String the deer netting on the pvc pipe and secure it with UV resistant zipties. At the top you will want to attach it to a line to provide less sagging in between, or you can install pvc pipe between the poles and zip tie it to that at the top. I'm making my fence posts 6 feet tall, and using 1 foot of netting at the bottom with ground stakes to secure the bottom. At the top, you can use a 45-degree angle piece and the leftover pieces of pvc pipe. This top part is what foils the clever cats, they cannot climb upside down and will immediately jump off when they encounter it. This is a video I watched to give me the idea about using PVC pipe: 
This isn't really a complete guide, but it was what I thought would keep my cats in effectively and is not expensive to do. The netting cost me about $140 with shipping, and is the most expensive part of doing it yourself. You can buy it here: http://3tproducts.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=207&idcategory=63   This is the company I used. They are the most cost effective netting supplier in the US for this length and height that I could find after about 3 months of calling various companies all over!

There is also the complete enclosure method. This is basically a big pen you can make for your cats. I like this option too, but I had too large a space to do it! I think that is the best option if you're dealing with bears, mountain lions or things that can chew through the deer netting.

Here are some enclosure ideas:

http://habitathaven.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

http://www.mypetenclosures.com/

http://www.just4cats.com/

There are also tons of videos about fences an enclosures online. Search for cat-proof fence or cat enclosure to research.

 

[mrblanche]

My biggest concern is that the cats don't have a niche in the normal ecology of the U.S.  They're too small to control the larger animals, and they remove the prey the normal animals in that niche depend on.  In addition, they over-feed on small birds, and they are one of the largest reasons for the decline of songbirds in North America.

 

[planetx]

You all live in such exciting places!

Only predator here is the human kind. My cats get bitten regularly by a neighbours cat though - you'd think all 5 of them could gang up on this 1 cat, but no...

 

[nerdrock]

If you're talking about Ottawa (your location in your profile) there are definitely more predators that you need to be aware of. There are coyotes, coy dogs, bears, hawks, eagles, other people's farm dogs, foxes, wolves, lynx, cougars, possibly badgers (although they're a lot less likely up there), bobcats, stoats and weasels, wolverines (although unlikely), and probably some that I'm forgetting. For the receptionist to tell you that fishers are the only thing and that they're aren't a big deal is ridiculous, especially if she lives in the city/town where there is less wildlife. Lots of people don't know the animals that are in their own backyards until they actually see them - I didn't think we had wolves this far south until we saw one by my friend's kennel building in the country (saw it and then watched her security cameras to verify), we also have some feral pigs around here. 

I would check with your neighbours and see if any of them raise animals, if so, feral pigs could be a concern for you as well - they're mean buggers. 

My boyfriend's family lives in Northern Ontario, even though the place they live and surrounding areas have been developed for decades, they still have bears that come through. A few days ago they had four in their backyard and their neighbours backyard. 

Predators will most likely leave your cats alone in the summer when food is easy to come by, but in the winter and spring, when it's scarce, they may very well go after your cats. 

Don't forget about neighbouring dogs either - my friend used to let her cat out. One day it went into the neighbours yard and was killed by their dog. They were extremely apologetic but she actually ended up being fined for letting her cat roam. 

Just some things to consider. 

 

[ldg]

My biggest concern is that the cats don't have a niche in the normal ecology of the U.S. ... In addition, they over-feed on small birds, and they are one of the largest reasons for the decline of songbirds in North America.

This isn't the right place for it, but as I devote a significant amount of time to research devoted to cat predation, I couldn't let this statement go ( http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/cat_predation.html ). You may want to refer to this: http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/PDF/17reasons.pdf - or this, written by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/gardening/unwantedvisitors/cats/birddeclines.aspx , or the extensive work of Peter Wolf (Vox Felina) has done in response to claims like you just made: http://www.voxfelina.com. In particular, http://www.voxfelina.com/2010/12/on-invasion-and-persuasion/

Habitat loss here, habitat loss in South America (where they migrate), tall buildings (responsible for the death of over 1 billion birds according to the leading expert), and agriculture (herbicides and pesticides) are the largest contributors to the loss of our song birds. (I do realize you said "one of," but you also combined it with the use of the very definitive "are." ).