MacLawn
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I love cats. BUT, we are talking FERAL cats here. Cats that no one owns nor takes care of, so they are left to fend for themselves - those kind need killin!
Your Thoughts on Feral Cats
- Thread starter 2LaneCruzer
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/pine
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Agree 100% and shooting them is the most humane way to deal with them short of trapping (ineffective) them and having them euthanized by a vet etc... they are nothing but a scourge and need to be eradicated entirely..
IMO anyone that thinks saving a feral cats (that are not native) life over the lives of native birds and mammals is misguided...
OP
2LaneCruzer
Epic Contributor
I have always felt that way, but was made painfully aware that there were a lot of others who felt otherwise. Forty years ago I could have killed a cat and never looked back...as I've gotten older, I have grown much more sensitive and rarely kill anything any more, except maybe a wasp or spider...and not even then unless they invade my space. I will kill a gopher if he gets in my garden, but prefer to live and let live. My feral cat problem is really minimal, although I have to keep my little dog away from them and I clean up the bluebird feathers so my wife won't see them. If they keep the mice and other rodents under control, maybe they do as much good as they do bad. They don't seem to be increasing in number; in fact there is only one that hangs around constantly. Maybe the coyotes are taking care of them, although I haven't seen one in a long time.
mad_planter
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Sorry, gonna claim bs on this. I've caught and tamed more than a few. And before you tell me they weren't feral, I had to catch them with welders gloves on to keep from getting repeatedly perforated by teeth and claws.
We have strays in various stages of tameness my wife can usually get them to let her touch them long before I can. Some never will let me probably a "man" treated them bad is my guess.
The trick we use is a can of soft (stinking to high heaven) food dump it in a bowl or on the ground and sit there and wait on them to come get it and talk nice and let them get used to someone being there and work up from there. ymmv
And NEVER leave a cat food can out for them to eat out of! One of out house cats got one from the trash and cut his tongue so bad he nearly bled out. I saw him bleeding and frothing at the mouth and rushed him to the vet and they put a stitch in his tongue it was a huge gash in the side of his tongue.
The trick we use is a can of soft (stinking to high heaven) food dump it in a bowl or on the ground and sit there and wait on them to come get it and talk nice and let them get used to someone being there and work up from there. ymmv
And NEVER leave a cat food can out for them to eat out of! One of out house cats got one from the trash and cut his tongue so bad he nearly bled out. I saw him bleeding and frothing at the mouth and rushed him to the vet and they put a stitch in his tongue it was a huge gash in the side of his tongue.
DeeDubya
Silver Member
What I find amazing is that some people place a bird feeder or a bird bath low enough for a cat to jump and catch the birds and then (get this) blame the cat. I feed birds to the tune of about 40lbs of mixed seed per month. The feeders are suspended by a cable so that I can lower them to fill. We also have bird fountain (drip type) that is above the cats reach. A bird fountain is just as important as feed if you want them to stay around. We have a hawk that catches way more birds than the cat. So the feeders are pulled up into some thick branches which makes it difficult for the hawk to buzz through for the kill.
drssg
Elite Member
I have a soft spot for them. What looks like a feral cat can actually be an abandoned domestic cat that is scared, abused, and struggling to survive another day. We had one show up at the barn years ago that initially appeared very wild. Over time, it was not doing well and it was finally weakened to the point that it let my wife pick it up. She noticed that the cat was declawed in front, so it was not equipped to survive on its own. Once we took it in, it became the fattest cat we've ever had! :laughing:
All our current cats were strays, and I couldn't bring myself to shoot one. That said, we don't really have that many in our area. I think the coyotes keep them in check. I might feel differently if we were overrun by them.
All our current cats were strays, and I couldn't bring myself to shoot one. That said, we don't really have that many in our area. I think the coyotes keep them in check. I might feel differently if we were overrun by them.
/pine
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If it was a true feral cat you never would have gotten close to them...let alone catch one...
IMO...Those that claim they allow them to police rats, mice etc. are most likely negligent by allowing spillage of whatever seed, feed, grain etc. that is attracting the rodents in the first place...
DeeDubya
Silver Member
I see your point here, but how could you ever produce and harvest grain and feed without some spillage? There is absolutely no way to accomplish this. It's not negligence, it's just a fact that harvesters, trailers, elevators, storage bins, etc. cannot be sealed tight enough to prevent spillage or to keep mice and rats out. Those who prefer to not use poisons will benefit having a few cats around.
DieselnHooters
Platinum Member
Feral or not ?
Oh yeah throwing a declawed cat out in the wild that is my pet peeve that is guaranteed to start a fight if I am made aware of it. 
We took in one little bitty kitten 8-10 years ago it was 105-107 out he was dehydrated and near dead. He was so small that had his first knuckle taken off by some butcher declawing him leaving him totally helpless to live outside. I checked with all the local vets about it and nobody would own up. (this cat is still the love of our life's and has diabetes now but we give him 2 shots a day he is fine as he can be)
We took in one little bitty kitten 8-10 years ago it was 105-107 out he was dehydrated and near dead. He was so small that had his first knuckle taken off by some butcher declawing him leaving him totally helpless to live outside. I checked with all the local vets about it and nobody would own up. (this cat is still the love of our life's and has diabetes now but we give him 2 shots a day he is fine as he can be)
riptides
Super Star Member
Do you live on a farm? Or large trac of rural land?
Western
Super Member
x's 2.
Willl
Elite Member
Ya know, if we could get the coyote problem and the feral cat problem to merge the 2 would fix themselves.
OP
2LaneCruzer
Epic Contributor
Ya know, if we could get the coyote problem and the feral cat problem to merge the 2 would fix themselves.
Great idea! Maybe congress will pass a law...?
Willl
Elite Member
We'll need a study,,,
SPIKER
Elite Member
Feral or not ?
I'd take in that Feral Cat
My little feral female cat disappeared about 4 years ago now, she was wild when I bought my place (previous owners said she was dumped? & had trapped her & had her fixed.) It took me all of about 4 months of calling her to get her close enough to pet. I fed her a bit on & off of dry food & she mostly survived on her own catching her own food kept mice away from the cabin & out buildings. We have 22 acres of mostly wooded land with a creek running thru and some high tension lines & a lot of trails I mow. She helped take care of a LOT of moles & seen leftover hunks of young woodchucks & chipmunks snakes etc. She lived outside 100% of the time & I built her a box (well I converted an old blanket box) that I lined with styro-foam and carpeting. She stayed there next to the cabin & she followed me all over the farm. The Red Tail hawks kept her hiding in the bushes most of the time but when we were out she loved it rolling in the garden dirt and freely chasing & catching food as we worked in woods. The Old Guy I bought the place from could get close but not his wife, & it took my woman 2+ years to get to pet her & I had to HOLD onto her for my woman to get close. (Maybe abused by a woman prior?)
Miss that little thing now, not sure if it was the Fox that moved in or a Coyote that got her all we found was her flea collar. She was maybe 3 or 4 lbs is all & mostly muscle didn't see a lot of bird feathers around but she didn't like Mice Tails or moles
.
When I was 13yrs old on Halloween Night, (we were moving) I went out with some buds to run around & try & get some free goodies. I picked up a stray kitten that was sick, & was maybe 2 or 3 weeks old at most. Stuck it in my hoodie pocket not sure if it would make it. It had a short tail and tufted ears & grew to 27lbs (NOT fat!) and would stretch out in the back glass of my car (72 Dodge Dart) & push on BOTH SIDES of the B Pillar with front & rear legs! It's paws were almost the size of the palms of my hands & when he stuck his claws out (probably 1/2" long) they would hook into the soft part between my fingers. His head was so big when I scratched it using my thumb & pinky it barely got behind each ear. It went everywhere with me hunting fishing work when I hopped in the car he was there to go along, my old Boss Loved him he would catch 4 or 5 mice a day at work in the body shop. Only thing I can think of was it was about 1/2 Lynx as body size and shape was that of a lynx with just slightly shorter legs & orange, named him Garfield. I never got any pics of him (poor childhood) He got hit in the road 2 weeks after I left for military he would have been about 8 yrs old and Mom said he wondered around lost after I left looking for me I guess...
He once tried to eat my sisters dog (chihuahua) & I laughed my @ $ $ off at her. She pulled into drive and opened the door of her car & he jumped out.. The cat saw it and started to stalk him it chased him back towards my sister who grabbed him and the cat came running at them both. she jumped back into her car as the cat stood partly up looking into her car licking it's chops... hahaha I called the cat who came running & she carried "Chico" into the house where she sat him down on the floor. my dog then comes walking over and her ankle nipper barked at him and tried to bight his nose when he smelled him so my dog grabbed him around the middle & picked him up. his legs were flailing about in Scoobies mouth as my sister freaked. I told scoob to put him down and he sat him down & Chico ran behind my sister traumatized (un-hurt totally) but she didnt bring him back lol..
Cat's In The Kettle - Weird Al Yankovic - YouTube
Mark
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/pine
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first there would need to be a committee to set up the perimeters of the study then a another committee to grant the funds for the study then another committee to consider the results of the study then a symposium to decide the viability of the study................
Gale Hawkins
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The second photo cracked me up. The cat in the first photo is pure danger to be feared for sure.
