Feral Cats ... talking wild mean and knarly felines !!

[MustangMike]

Mebits said it. The argument is not whether or not to shoot cats it's whether or not to shoot feral cats. It's clear feral cats pose many problems (already stated above), but the key is to not shoot the "feral" cat the first time you see it. If it's feral, you should see it more than a couple times. It'll likely hang around and get into the same trouble consistently. One needs to confirm the cat is feral before shooting it.....once that's defined, then by all means SSS.
Noone's pet cat should get shot by a pellet gun, that's a fact.

amen, sometimes i put sumo outside in a harness and a long rope (enough to keep him in my yard) and ya may god have mercy on the soul that shoots my cat or any pet of mine. i wont go after their pet, their pet is innocent.. i will go after the person weither its a good ol fashioned beating or something worse, my car, my gf, my neices and my pets are all worth some jail time over..

[sawtoothscream]

2 of my cats were shot with bb guns. one lived te other one got hit in the spine and slowly lost control of its legs and died. Both clean looking cats, but they didnt have collars so dik, our fault.  people have to control thier pets. On archerytalk a majority of people will shoot any dog that walks by thier tree stand and just kill anycat they see regardless. The threat is known and out there so slap on a collar and try to keep it on your land.

that being said ferral cats and dogs are no different then a yote or bobcat. wild animals that need to be kepted in check or removed

[aack73]

i dont agree with just shooting a dog or cat just because it's there on your property. i guess that is there choice because the animal is trespassing. i have known people like this and totally disagree. if the animal is causing problems well that is a different story. deal with it best way you can, depending on the owner and the damages it's doing. but to shoot a dog or cat just because he happened to walk through your yard......that would make them an A #1 ...... well you get it.  every situation is different and should be dealt with accordingly after much thought and due diligence. just my opinion.  

[shadow]

It's a bummer that this post is recieving more replies then some of the hunting post here in the " Hunting Gate". Ed

[Bobbo]

Many people can't differentiate between "feral" and "pet." Folks, this thread is about FERAL animals, not your cuddly pets.

[Mebits]

Ed, I think it's a matter of serious concern to hunters on a lot of different levels, environmentally, morally, legally, philosophically, and just practically. It's not surprising that folks comment. Maybe they should. None of us wants any of our brethren to make a mistake that they'll regret.

M

[Tom @ Buzzard Bluff]

A different perspective

 I live on a 20 acre property at the dead-end of a gravel lane over a 1/2 mile from a small state hiway in a rural Ozark community surrounded by small towns. Town dwellers consider this community as an ideal place to dispose of unwanted pets. Over the decades of observing dumped pets it has became glaringly obvious that dogs will gravitate to the homes of people in the vast majority of cases. The same can most definitely NOT be said of cats! They appear to go feral overnight. I have 'rescued' both over the years with mixed success. Dogs re-domesticate eagerly. Cats don't. Period.

 I have been husbanding my property for the benefit of small game for over 20 years by planting native food plants for wildlife and building brushpiles to provide secure hides so the ground-dwellers can escape the top-heavy Coyote population. The brushpiles work for Coyotes but not for feral cats. They decimate rabbits and ground-nesting birds. Over 20 years after initiating my program I STILL have only a single tiny covey of Quail and see maybe 2 rabbits a year---all of which are safe from depredation by me. But not from a few feral cats that are too crafty to be eliminated to date. I haven't seen a Flying Squirrel in @ 15 years---and they were once abundant before the feral cats showed up.

 At this juncture my policy is that any cat that crosses my property line this far from other dwellings is feral and WILL be eliminated if at all possible. Dogs and cats wearing collars get a pass temporarily---until their basic nature becomes apparent. Either that flee precipitously merely at the sight of me seal their own doom.

 There are many others such as myself. So if you allow your 'Fluffy' to roam un-supervised you should be fully aware that it is YOU that is putting them into a hazardous situation. You are responsible for your pet. Not I nor anyone else who protect our property and wildlife from incursions by deadly trespassers. Deal with your own guilt before imputing sin to me.     Tom

[Motorhead]

It is refreshing too read MANY among us have a conscious and not just kill crazy zealots.
I do agree especially for those living very rural, if you have cats around that are yours ( Hopefully fixed ) and feeding them regularly, there hunting/killing is one of sport & not one of sole survival.
** No personal cats and no neighbors for some distance, any cats visiting and on the prowl are quite likely Feral !!

It is a Sad Truth that the domestic cat when allowed to breed unchecked are Equally or More damaging than Starlings, English sparrows, Pythons and many other introduced species that thrive by decimating/eating or chasing out other native species.

Here like other areas of the country our ground birds such as Quail / Chuckar / Grouse & even *Pheasant ( *I know non native  ) are far fewer these last 25 years as neighborhoods get built on the fringe of wild places and the domestic cat numbers in general have sky rocketed.

   SSS works     

[hoagy]

i have to add one more comment/story... there was a very nasty looking huge male stray hanging around my hood several eons ago.  my daughter just had to have a cat and got a beautiful calico female which was very fun and affectionate.  however, she was not fixed... hence the boys coming around.  went out one day and the front door had been spayed.  it was beside myself.  i kept seeing him about the same time every night or so and decided to take him out with extreme prejudice... well i saw a glint of a huge cat go through our front flower box and ran for a .22 airgun.  went outside and spotted the offended about 25 yds away looking right at me.  i put the cross hairs on him and squeezed... he fell straight backwards down a little rise in my back yard.  i went over to retrieve him and he was not there.  i went looking and found him in a neighbors yard sprawled out and not moving.  it was around 11 pm and i was sure no one was up and i went to get it.  i grabbed it by the tail and this thing comes to life with its own extreme prejudice and im glad it was not caught on tape and/or witnessed.  i never felt so bad since i shot a squirrel through the gut with a field point out bow hunting... this thing was making such a racket and it seemed forever to get things finished.  the thing that made this even worse was that this cat was not the stray i had been seeing but someone's pet.  my first shot had hit a flea collar and slowed the pellet down making the kill very slow.  i know someone in my town was very sad that next day and days to come.... the moral of the story, as it should be in any shooting situation,  is to be sure of your target.  i did have to apply the SSS

[Muppit]

i'll tell you what i see both sides of this subject. cats are not a game animal weather feral of not. but i see how poeple can get upset about a farel cat population as i have seen it here. a neighbo got a cat a few years ago and never got it fixed well make a long story short my dead end steet endied up with 100 + cats it was terrable. we contacted the proper poeple and they traped them and had them fixed and made poeple good pets, but we still have a bad cat problem. and the owner of the one that was here first does not seem to have a problem with the large cat population and animal control poeple are still struggling to get control after years. so anyway my neighbors and i were told we could not poison shoot or harm a feral cat in any way  because its anamel cruelty and agaist the law. so we have had to let the proper poeple take care of the problem.  it takes time but you almost just get used to the problem even as it has gotten better.

[Mebits]

That's exactly what I'm talking about, hoagy.

Sure, we may have the right to protect our property, but do we really want to be responsible for causing some poor kid misery because his cat didn't come home? I don't.

Careful, careful, careful. There are a lot of idiots and irresponsible folks or just folks who don't get it. There are also a lot of "escape artists" out there. I know I'm not willing to deprive some kid of a beloved pet by accident or just because his parents screwed up. Not if I can help it, anyway. Most of us face that reality. Some of us way out in the boonies have another tale to tell.

[Nomadic Pirate]

Feral cats especially those big ugly males are very easy  recogniseable compared to house cats,
the behavior of a feral is very recognisable too, When those big guys start to come around and harass our cats ( 3 household's in my property have cats ) You'll know it's a feral, 1st thing I do is take shots at them with Airsoft Pistols to see if they scare and don't come back, but when they do keep coming, spraying the doors beating up the house cats, than after making sure I ID them as repeater offenders, than the real Airguns come out

[Supaflee]

We've got lots of cats around my neighbourhood.Most r reallycool , but then , there is Thomas .
 He is the beetter-upper of everything. He's real old and knows all the tricks.He just waitsunder a hydranger bush and waits for an unsuspecting puss to come along then , without warning "whammo " he's onto them in full flight. I've seen im engage in some un-winnable wars and come out laughing, with everything intact.
 This he doesnt know yet though . There is a warrant out for Thomas's arrest.Several cat owners want him assassinated, due to the cost of repairs to their cats.
 Soon there is going to be a funeral for Thomas , the basher-upper , someone will get him . He just cant help himself.
 But , he aint feral. He's just a Bas...d of a cat.
                   

[melvin]

I hate cats so if you would like someone to brag to you are more then welcome to PM me pics and share stories.  haha  Seriously though feral cats spread disease and there isn't really a place for them so please to put them down.

[Fisherdude]

My cat is like family.  When a large feral cat started hanging around and injuring my pet (causing a large vet bill), it had to go.  Shortly after I purchased a CFX, it was no longer seen around the neighborhood. 

[Supaflee]

Maybe thats where the rifle got its name CFX ....Cat fx.
 Nice rifle all the same .

[GungaDin]

Couple of points I'd like to make. A family member has a cat that doesn't like people it doesn't know. She will run away from them. So just because a cat runs when it sees you does not mean it is feral.
 Cats are the most stubborn creatures on earth. While it's nice in theory to say keep them all inside, some will refuse to be indoor cats, howling constantly at the door and escaping at every opportunity.
 No collar is also not a sure thing, we have had cats that refused collars, they would go out with it on and come back with no collar. If a cat doesn't like a collar, no matter how tight it is they will get it off.
 Even fighting is not a sure sign, cats are very territorial and the stronger cats(especially Maine Coons) will drive the weaker ones out.
 I guess the only real indicator is appearance, if it's very unkempt, mangy it's probably feral.  I recommend continued observation BEFORE any shooting, get a pair of binoculars and get a GOOD look at the cat before you decide to shoot it.

[The Knot]

Feral cats especially those big ugly males are very easy  recogniseable compared to house cats,
the behavior of a feral is very recognisable too, When those big guys start to come around and harass our cats ( 3 household's in my property have cats ) You'll know it's a feral, 1st thing I do is take shots at them with Airsoft Pistols to see if they scare and don't come back, but when they do keep coming, spraying the doors beating up the house cats, than after making sure I ID them as repeater offenders, than the real Airguns come out

NP has in the past has proven to be an ethical and very competant hunter. I agree with him 100%, i have a love hate with cats domestics are a pure joy . Ferals sicken me over the years i know vet bills from my girls cats getting toughed up by ferals. Ive learned how to ID ferals and still take warning shots many times before removing . After midnight no collor and on the prowl all bets are off . During the day i take a pass on almost all i deam feral .Unless caught in the act of any songbird harm . .

[melvin]

There's no honor to be had in killing an animal.  Any animal.  If you've got a problematic animal in your midst, like a feral cat that is causing you or your family some harm, then destroy it, but mind who you brag about it to.

I think everyone should be proud of a good clean kill.  It is pretty natural to brag about it too.

[Muppit]

Ed, I think it's a matter of serious concern to hunters on a lot of different levels, environmentally, morally, legally, philosophically, and just practically. It's not surprising that folks comment. Maybe they should. None of us wants any of our brethren to make a mistake that they'll regret.

M

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