Guy is losing farm cats he’s not far from the River breaks a few miles away, he has thick trees around the home place good cover. He has chickens roaming the place no specific coop really but they seem untouched so far. He figured 9 house cats missing so far some come and go for a while. Put out cams tons of tall grass blowing in the wind photos some coon and house cat movements that’s it.

He knows he has fox, yotes, owls and bobcats not far away so one of those would be my guess. The last time cats were missing like that it was a bobcat a few miles away at a neighbors place that took in cats ( Lady Vet). Not finding any dead or wounded house cats around the place just poof gone!

I’m heading down later today to set cages and one huge cage as snares and traps I’ll pass on with fawns running around at this time of the year.

So what’s your guess?

Whenever it has happened around here it is usually bobcat or coyote.

nothing touching the chickens

cats missing

no fur or sign

either it is happening far from the area the chickens frequent or

my money would be on some one new feeding them better than he does, be that into a live trap or into a house.

you don't lose house cats if they stay in the house where they are house cats , when they are outside they are outside cats or barn cats

Talked to his neighbor 1/2 mile away he said he’s not getting any extra cats by him or losing any that he knew of. The next closest neighbor has no food out by him.

Owls are a likely suspect. Cats would be moving around after dark (and chickens would not.) That's a clue...!

Yes my though was if it was a fox it would just go in the buildings after a chickens if it wanted one they ain’t shy about that.

I believe Pete is correct GHO.

I agree.

Likely

Do you have fisher in the area they will just poof and the cat disappears one after the other till there all gone then they will move on to something else or somewhere else

Some of those fishers develop a real fondness for cat meat

With no chickens missing, i think the most likely culprit is a neighbor. Lots of people permanently remove cats from the environment. Most barn and great horned owls will only kill small cats and usually eat the head and leave the body behind.

Keith

Coyote

June in s.d. my guess is coyote,,look for sign....no need for cameras
Coyotes just pack them off and pup rearin time they will happily take cats because of territoriality and especially males because of the nads scent.
In june I"ve also had them run in the barnyards after the farm/ranch dog running them under trucks etc with landowners watching.
Snares with deer stops at s.d. regs will hold fawns without hurting them. Set them 14 inches up to avoid fox and housecats. What size are trails coming and going? Should be an indicater

all s.d. June and july...double on fawns in 3/32 with stops....released unhurt. Even the little guys can kick...lol

Eagles?

X2

Around here i someone is missing cats, it's usually a female coyote feeding a litter.

No issues with the neighbor that I know of it’s a tight knit area they all coop together and grew up at the same time they get fired up about roaming dogs but not cats. I offered to replace the missing cats that was a big no! LOL

The place holds fox most years and yotes all of the time on the outskirts the owls are thick here in the better shelter belts. No fisher around no bald eagles that are hanging around. Even the buzzards are not giving away any clues like circling any areas.

Put in 10 cages in 2 places at each end of the farm place and a cam on a road going through a shelter belt I brushed in a huge cage I got in a trade. I’m not risking killing any fawns over half wild cats no way.

Disease

Cats look good around there no bodies are being found in the area buzzards not circling like they would if bodies were laying around, it's tough looking now the grass is a waist deep in places.

had a guy call last year , missing cats 9 total a fisher was caught in live trap and moved ,

my guess is owl