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
Super Star Member
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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
Super Member
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
Silver Member
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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
Veteran 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
Super Star Member
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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 ?
