Barn Cat birth control

[Budweiser John]

Yup, you all read the header correctly.
OK, so here's the delimina: For years we had a couple of old Tom cats that hung out in the barn and earned their keep keeping the mice and birds in check. Alas, those two grumpy ole guys passed over the Rainbow Bridge and for several months we were Cat less and, naturally the aforementioned vermin started making a comeback.
Wonders behold, a cat sighting happened earlier this summer and like most welfare recipients came with a family in the hopper looking for a place to set up housekeeping. Predictably, a litter of seven hit the deck all looking for a handout.
Now, the word is out and well circulated around the feral feline community as we now have another litter of kittens who now bring the population to somewhere around twelve or fourteen....YeGods, HELP. That's a lot of cat poop.

I really welcome may be three or four as permant residence rodent control and I've not found a stellar market for feral cats and getting the whole herd neutered would cost a kings ransom and besides in the past, our experience with neutered cats is that they seem to be an attractive coyote bait.
Any one out there know of a kitty birth control pill?
B. John
P.S. I fully realize some answers might not be politically correct.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I'll start on the non-PC response...
.22 shells are cheap...


But i caught alot of flak in a different thread over hypothetical dogs chasing my horses too...

I could let you borrow my BIL, he has no qualms about thinning out your cat population.

 

[hawkeye08]

Locally, if you are on the good side of the county animal shelter folks, you can get "barn cats". They come already neutered and in pairs (so they don't get lonely). Alas... there are never any funds left when we ask about it.. I think it is a meaningless advertisement they run on local TV to make folks think they are doing some good..

 

[flyerdan]

If you can catch or trap them, some organizations have free feral neutering programs once or twice a year. Might check out some of these:

Michigan Feral Cat Organizations

Any kittens that you can get early will be fine pets, I have three born of a feral that are awesome. Free on craigslist beats dead in a hole.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Neuter a couple that you want to keep, then destroy the rest by which ever way is most humane. There is never a shortage of feral cats to deal with. I guess we are lucky around here not to have an abundance of them. My neighbor has picked up two over the past year while one of the two disappeared one night (coyote maybe) then an almost identical one appeared a month or so later. I am not a cat person and prefer dogs, ours loves to chase a cat, which is likely why we don't have any strays.

 

[ovrszd]

My local Vet will neuter/spay them free. Live trap to catch them. Might go to the local Vet and ask. Wish you were my neighbor, I need a couple at my farm.

 

[dickfoster]

I'll start on the non-PC response...
.22 shells are cheap...


But i caught alot of flak in a different thread over hypothetical dogs chasing my horses too...

I could let you borrow my BIL, he has no qualms about thinning out your cat population.

You took the words right outta my mouth, you even got the caliber right. Neuter the few that you want to keep.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I wish I had Richards's vet nearby... Little local support thats easy to obtain.

We have had reasonable luck giving away a few kittens, nature has taken care of the rest of our 'issues'.

But when all else fails... A well placed shot is very humane, quick, and cost effective.

 

[Budweiser John]

Greg, I appreciate your offer. However, I didn't mention the fact that my wife and grand daughters are of the mind set that more is better.
Years ago I had an elderly uncle that farmed full time and his posture was if you can't sell it or eat it just don't shoot through the barn roof.
B. John

 

[Budweiser John]

Flyerdan, now there's some information we can get our paws around.
Thanks
B. John