GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Hunting Gate => Topic started by: Atchman2 on August 31, 2010, 12:30:40 AM
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TOWNSEND (WATE) – Blount County SPCA officials say three cats were found on Schoolhouse Gap Road with their tails cut off along with other injuries.
They're offering a $250 reward through the Smoky Mountain Animal Care Foundation for information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of the person or people responsible.
One of the cats nicknamed "N.T." by the SPCA is doing a lot better two weeks after he was found by a woman named Mary Burton. Burton found him hurt and wandering on her street.
"As soon as I saw him I knew something was wrong with this cat. We looked closer and saw that his tail had been cut off," said Burton.
There's also a mark on N.T's head where authorities say he was shot with a pellet. Vickey Dennis, the Blount County SPCA Director, says there were maggots on his wounds at the time he was found.
"When we arrived we were shocked at what we found," said Dennis.
Dennis says two other cats with a similar story were also found in the area recently. She says they are certain a person, not an animal, is behind the cat mutilation.
"For one, this is the third case of this nature. Also the injuries are not like what an animal would have done," said Dennis.
Burton worries that if someone's capable of this type of animal brutality in her neighborhood, they could be capable of more.
"If they can cut a cats tail off, what else will they do?" said Burton.
The Blount County SPCA is looking for a home for N.T. If you'd like to adopt him, or have information that could help catch the culprit call them at (865) 256-9106.
The SPCA has tracked down N.T's original owner. They say he told them he never harmed the cat. However, he is being investigated in this case.
Why would anyone shoot cats with a pellet gun? I mean if I a cat was destroying my property or harming my other pets, I'd be sorely tempted, but even then I would take it with the same shot that I would take game. It is just too easy to trap cats and either re-locate them or take them with to the Shelter.
I'll keep you guys informed. I really hope that it wasn't a guy with a pellet gun. :(
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Randy, there are sick people out there. Sometimes kids/teenagers do it, thinking it's fun, or after having smoked some pot or consuming alcohol. One of the kids I used to hang out with in my suburban neighborhood, while in middle-school and freshman year in high school, admitted one time shooting the neighbor's cat with his Daisy BB gun. He said he and another friend of his were smoking a joint and thought it 'd be fun..
I have seen this kind of torture done to cats before. There are also people at the TAG forum admiting to shooting feral cats. One guy a few months ago at the TAG said he shot the neighbor's dog and killed it with a head shot, but said he didn't mean to kill it, or shoot it at the head. He was just trying to shoot it in the behind..(!) He is like 16 or 17 now. Not sure how old he was when he did this. He just basically meant to harm it, but not kill it. Some people will shoot anything, just because it's on their property.
There was a heated discussion about 1.5-2yrs ago on the TAG whether it's ok to kill feral cats or not. Besides that the moderators should have locked or removed the thread, (it's not a family oriented forum to say the least..), my 1st question was, how can you be so sure the cat does not belong to someone? Not all cats wear collars. We have 1 or 2 cats in the neighborhood which we all feed and they don't belong to anyone, but they are very well behaved and friendly, and will let you pet them. Because several neighbors feed them (including my wife and I) and they eat well, these 2 cats have nice shiny coats and look like they are well taken care of by someone. I have also seen cats which looked feral because they were scruffy looking and somewhat dirty half the time, but they were house cats, and one of them was my next-door neighbor's. You 'd think this cat lived in the sewer.. None of them had collars.
My 2nd question or comment I had was, it is illegal to shoot (or torture) a cat or a dog, whether they have a home or not, or are "wild", etc., end of discussion.
Unfortunately not everyone is like you or me. Asking why someone would hurt or torture a cat, is pretty much like asking how do people commit murder or hurt other people? If people can do that to others, hurting a cat is nothing in comparison. So that person that asked what the perpetrator(s) are capable of in your news article, has every right to be concerned. Hopefully it is just a couple of young teenagers and it's a phase they are going through. Sometimes it happens when you give a kid an airgun without any training, guidance or moral lessons. Cutting the tail off is pretty cruel and definitely a step up from putting a pellet into a cat from a distance. This person or persons have some serious issues I am afraid.
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I want tolerate any type of cruelty to any animal Its one thing to hunt which I have no objections to it even though I don't, I follow most of the threads here and injoy the storeys but I assure you I will be the first to jump with any suggestions of cruelty, but it would be doubtful I would throw the first rock because you guys would already have done it. Thanks David
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On a serious note, this is wanton cruelty. It implies that there is someone, likely a kid with something not quite right. Something that can grow into something much, much worse.
As a cat-lover, I do want to say that while I'd never kill neighborhood cats, I fully well understand why folks who love wild birds and game would. I strongly urge fellow pet owners to control your animals. In many jurisdictions, your neighbor is within his rights to destroy your animal if it is on his property.
I'll add that while I deter the cats in my invasive-kill/native feeding zone, I live in an urban area. Lots of strays keep the mice and rats at manageable levels, plus they're a clean-up crew for my occasional fly-aways...sometimes in mid air! (During starling season, I could swear I hear a cat say, "Mmmmm, zombies! We eets them!")
M
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I'm a big fan of keeping cats indoors. We wouldn't let ours out for every reason in this thread. He died of old age a few years ago, at home, with me petting him. I woulda been a bigger mess than I was if he went out one day and just never came back... or came back minus a tail with a pellet wound.
It's a bad situation, ya never know what someone else is capable of doing to an animal. I'd be worried about what someone capable of cutting off cat's tails would be capable of doing to a person. Ug... awful story.
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Yes that's just pain sick!
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If I ever caught the ba$tard who did this, I would shoot him in the butt with my own airguns.
It's slime of this sort who nearly always "graduate" up to serial killing.
>:(
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I agree pets should be controlled by their owners and be indoors when not accompanied outdoors, and also NOT &^^& all over your lawn (dogs!), but cats do run out sometimes when you open the front door. It happens. That doesn't mean the guy next door has a right to shoot them or torture them. Most municipalities have laws making it illegal to torture and hurt pets and even game animals. Cruelty to animals laws are very broad.
I forget who posted it, maybe it was in another forum, but a guy got charged with cruelty to animals and one or 2 other offenses when he shot a possum several times with his pellet gun, and failed to kill it. Someone had posted the article a while back. Anyway, a simple "shoosh" or some threatening noise, easily makes a cat leave your property. They are smart and get it, that you mean business. Will they come back? sure, many times, but all you have to do is scare them away or talk to your neighbor about them getting on your hood and leaving dirty foot prints when you just washed it, etc. Tell them that it might be picked up as a stray and put to sleep at the pound or shelter. Don't imply you would call animal control, or your neighbor won't talk to you again :) There are many non-harmful ways to limit a cat's visits to your property. I popped a balloon once because I had it with the neighbor's fat cat eating all the cat food I put out for the coons and possums. That cat did not come back for 2 months! hehehe.
I like cats a lot too. My last one recently passed away after 16.5yrs. She was an indoor cat. But sometimes you have the need to make some of them keep away for various reasons.
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I find one of the most effective ways to discourage cats with a bit more of a long lasting effect that is not unduly cruel is a cheap Airsoft pistol.
Just smack them in the flank with a plastic bead, and they scurry away, usually never to return.
No real damage done, too.
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Two pumps from the Sheridan at 15yds works pretty well. That's enough to sting but not enough to break skin from my research.
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I don't doubt you guys, but you can still be charged with animal cruelty if someone sees you shooting them with Airsoft or a Pumper at low power. It will probably be thrown out of court if the cat has not sustained a injury, it may not, but it's the hassle and the inconvinience I like to avoid.
Blow up a small balloon and then pop it at the window when a cat comes that you don't want around, and watch them jump up and take off at 30mph :) No need to have anything make contact with the animal because you never know if its owner or someone sees you. Now if you are talking about a skunk, I wouldn't hesitate using the 2 methods described above and it can be done in the dark late at night when the neighbors are sleeping :D
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You say it never happened, Harry. Just making noise. We love cats. :) At low power, you'd have to shave the cat to find evidence of anything at all, IF you could. Like THAT's not cruel (either to the cat's self image, or the poor bastage shaving him!) :D
Seriously, I WISH they cared about animal cruelty around here that much. Everyone needs to know his neighbors, his neighborhood, and his jurisdictional rules.
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If I ever caught the ba$tard who did this, I would shoot him in the butt with my own airguns.
Yeah, nothing like two wrongs to make a right!
Anyway...I like cats...they taste just like chicken!
Charles
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Any individual that derives any sort of twisted pleasure from torturing animals is a serioius threat to the community at large. A well adjusted person would not indulge in such depravity.
Bogey
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People like that value nothing in life and most of all life itself. I've trained my Tom well and he's ready for animals like that. ;) Ed
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Hahahahaha! Nothing scarier than an angry cat with its finger on the trigger. ;D
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They say serial killers start out with animals because they are easy.
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Stray cats and dogs kill chickens, annoy livestock, carry diseases, attack pets and poo in the grass and sand box/rose garden. I have no problem with a quick clean kill. I will treat a stray the same as any other animal I hunt. Granted I will look for a color first and give them a chance to move on.
The torture of any animal is a sign of sickness and these people need to be punished and no I do not mean rehab.
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They say serial killers start out with animals because they are easy.
That's how Jeffrey Dahmer got his start..........unfortunately, he progressed quite nicely.