Is this your Charles Manson ?

 Now...........regarding the 18 ......er.....9....chicks in the coop, Farmer Deno was a very unhappy Farmer last week. It's a unsettling sight to see so many little fluffs lying dead in the coop....and outside of the coop.
 I had done a secure check of the coop before releasing these little chicks.....but apparently I failed on that. The cat came thru an opening that was barricaded with logs.......and was able to push aside the barrier. Lesson learned. Time to really secure that coop.
 Applying chicken wire......18 inch width, I surrounded the entire outside perimeter of the coop. The wire is nailed to the exterior wall at 6 inches height....then is folded outward onto the ground. Very firmly. I added 6” Hold Down Metal Wire Stakes (used for drip tubing) to the ground chicken wire to keep any animal from lifting it up.
 And yes..............I did check the ceiling too...... this time! I never thought about a cat coming through an opening "above ground". So having said this ....the skunks and possums will climb every square foot of a coop.....looking for any openings. The door to the coop has been adjusted so that there is no slack.....for any predator attempts to squeeze through.

 Now...........I know a few here are thinking....."What happened to the cat"?

  I catch cats, skunks and possums at times......with the animal cage traps. Non lethal. All animals are released at various suitable locations. The skunks and possums are released down by the river levee that is near by. The cats are released downtown where it has a far better chance of survival. There is food, water, and humans to take them in. I do not take the critters to the animal shelter.....not a good place for the animals of Sacramento County.
  Most but not all of the cats belong to a distant neighbor. The captured  ....are not taken back to the owner. A few years ago they were asked to retain their 17 cats....because these cats were "stocking" our goats. The response was "Oh..okay". Off they go now.....
 No more Charlie Mansons here at the farm.