Cat killing my rabbits.

[r4eboxer]

I don't know where to put this so if it is in the wrong spot please move. Dh loves rabbits free ranging on the homestead but we have problems with stray cats. It seems like they are coming out of our ears there are so many stray cats around now. We have shot two but they just keep showing up. Is there a way to keep them off my land. My ideas are to 1. trap them or 2. put out repellant.

I don't really think repellant is a great idea as it is urine of coyotes and foxes, we have poultry free ranging and I don't want to attract the coyotes etc to my land.

If anyone has any ideas please let me know. We are at the point where we are going to have to pen up the rabbits and that is opposite of what we wanted. We enjoy seeing them in their natural state and don't really want them penned.

 

[Queen Mum]

Feral cats are a HUGE problem in Australia as well. There is little you can do unless you put a border fence on the property with a shield over the top. They climb, they dig and they can squeeze through small spaces. You can put traps all around your property perimeter. And you can put repellant. The repellant should work because coyotes are territorial and will stay away from the territory of other coyotes, IN THEORY. Human urine may also work.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Can you make a "rabbit tractor" so they can be safe from predators but still out in the yard?

 

[r4eboxer]

Feral cats are a HUGE problem in Australia as well. There is little you can do unless you put a border fence on the property with a shield over the top. They climb, they dig and they can squeeze through small spaces. You can put traps all around your property perimeter. And you can put repellant. The repellant should work because coyotes are territorial and will stay away from the territory of other coyotes, IN THEORY. Human urine may also work.

Thanks for the reply. I am going to look into the repellant. I am going to try traps first. I cannot put a fence all around my property as it would be very expensive on 30 acres. I'm afraid if the two ideas don't work we will have to pen them if we want to keep them.

 

[r4eboxer]

Can you make a "rabbit tractor" so they can be safe from predators but still out in the yard?

That is a great idea and if the trapping and repellants don't work I think a tractor would be better than a standing pen.