OK Hit this Poll: Should it be legal to shoot ferel cats.

[HOKIEHUNTER]

I live in an area that's pretty much between farm and rural. Everyone in my neighborhood used to have dogs, but now many of those neighbors have moved and been replaced with cat owners. I personally have always hated cats, but here recently especially. Here in VA there are no leash laws for cats and neighbors just basically tell you to screw off when you ask them to keep their pet contained. I woke up the other morning to two things that really pissed me off:
1) Weather's been nice so I sleep with my window open. Woke up at 5:30 to two cats "gettin busy" in the tree next to my window. This is a pretty loud event, so i pulled out the blowgun and shot the bastards with stun darts (one fell out the tree and it was great).

2) My Jeep which I have been very anal about keeping in good condition has paw prints and scratches all over the hood.

I have a shed and there are mice under the shed. The cats like to help control the mice, but the mice aren't mating in my trees or scratching up my jeep. I am however gonna poison the mice with spiked bait (dogfood, heck maybe even catfood) and I can't help it if there are any other casualties, I'm "just trying to kill the mice"

If I could shoot cats i would not discriminate. If it's on my property it's an intruder and goin down. I might try using the bow, much quieter than guns so the neighbors won't be alarmed.

other than cats I'm a big pet lover and would never consider shoot a dog unless it attacked a family member.

[bclark1]

i know cats can get out of hand but i think it needs to be monitored. i love my cats and dogs, but the cats stay indoors. we did have a barn cat that belonged to the people who lived in a place before we bought it, and we used to leave water and stuff out for it, it was skittish but a pretty good cat... unfortunately our psychotic socialist neighbors decided the cat "could have gotten sick" and lit it up. we really didn't think that was necessary. it was really the only outside cat between the two of our properties, not like we've got a cat problem up there, and we've certainly got enough rodents in the barn that the cat was of good use. anyway, i think there's better ways to go about regulating the cat population than declaring it open season for any nutter to pick up his .22 and go to town with. i'd sure be upset if someone shot a pet of mine that might have just wandered a bit.

[MeekAndMild]

i'd sure be upset if someone shot a pet of mine that might have just wandered a bit

Would you be upset if someone allowed their 'pet' to come into your yard and eat up your elderly, half blind cat's food and chase her around?

Just asking.

[bclark1]

i think it's clear that's a trouble cat. not everyone might assess degrees like that though. i was just getting at there's people out there as dumb as the cats who are just itching to shoot anything they can. i'd be saddened but not surprised to hear if something escalated between people based on that sort of a misunderstanding.

[foghornl]

I got pretty chewed up as a kid courtesy of a feral cat.

Not a cat hater now, bur ferals are a real problem. They take out the songbirds, and I saw one a few years back kill a squirrel.

I lived out in "The Boonies" a while back, and I can't count how many cats and dogs got dropped off near my home. I finally put up a big sign:

If you 'drop off' a pet here, be sure to 'drop off' $100 in cash or food to cover the costs. Failing that, drop off at least a box of .357Mag rounds.

Got a lot less 'dropped off' pets after that, and once even got a 50Lb bag of Purina Dog Chow.

[GON2FAR]

Ive lived in rural areas in several states. Feral cats were anywhere from a minor annoyance to a large issue depeding on where and who you ask. I was more than happy to help remedy the situation myself, courtesy of my 77/22 Mag and some Win. Supreme ammo. I couldn't even begin to count how many were put down. You would go to the dumpsters (yes in certain areas they do still have county maintained public acces dumpsters) and throw a bag in and anywhere from 5 to 50 cats would scatter. Many were in very sad shape, and were mercy killings to be sure. As well I have worked in the animal control business, and let me tell you, the absolute MEANEST animals I ever trapped on a regular basis were feral cats. You could tell a feral from a domestic in split second upon approaching the cage. A feral cat is the only animal I have ever had to reach out of the trap to get at me.

[Steve499]

Several have said they favor shooting feral cats but not someone's pet. I believe the problems associated with cat predation are more attributable to the pet than the truly wild-all-the-time feral cat. When any predator has a shortage of prey, the predator's numbers decline in relation to the population decline of the prey species. The problem as I see it is that the natural balance is skewed when the pet cat kills what it can but isn't dependant on the kill for survival. Fluffy or Morris just goes home, fills up on Tender Vittles and is back out, killing, tomorrow. The truly wild cat will eventually starve if there is nothing for it to eat, which takes pressure off of the prey species allowing the prey species to begin building back.
House cats, feral or otherwise, need to be controlled. If a pet, it needs to be prevented from ranging freely. People should not feed stray cats unless they intend to assume ownership and keep the cat contained. I suspect that will never happen so the obvious remedy would seem to be CAT SEASON!
Steve.

[40CalGuy]

I wish I could move to Wisonconsin till all this "feral cat" crap is over. I think it's a great freaking idea that responsible taxpayers take out the abundance of overpopulation of these cats. The Liberals cry "don't kill the cats, they're domesticated!" Fine...you want a million cats? HAVE AT IT MORON. "But we can neuter/spay them." They taxpayers already f'ed it up by not doing it themselves, and now these people are seriously proposing this an an option to controlling a situation that was created by their own laziness/stupidity/love of animal rights? Are you freaking serious? I tell you what...you get all the cats, and all the liberals, put them together in a enclosed area with a few loaded weapons on a table for a week. I betcha they'll be begging for more ammo. The obvious solution is:

Taxpayers created the problem, taxpayers can take care of it. A million feral cats in one state is ludicrous. As I understand it, a $6 license can be had by each person to go out with someone else and plink away at the overpopulation. Some that shoot may have a moral objection to the shooting of non-game animals, or those that are not creating a nuisance for them directly (killing livestock, etc). I say lock and load. Hell, I'm about ready to shoot my own damn cat, and he's not feral, is collared, and stays in the house. All dogs go to heaven, all cats go on the end of my barrel.

[HOKIEHUNTER]

haha 40cal, you said put the liberals and cats in a room and lay some guns on the table and in a couple weeks they'll be beggin for more ammo. you never specified who "they" were. Now are we talking about the cats learning to shoot and shooting the retarded liberals here, b/c that makes more sense. Between a feral cat and a liberal, my money is on the cat learning to shoot properly first. haha that would kill two birds with one stone (get rid of the liberals and without the liberals we could start shootin the cats)

[40CalGuy]

Obviously, what was meant was that the Bleeding Hearts would shoot the cats, but now that you mention it...all we can do is hope. I agree though...a two'fer would be prefferable.

[Hello123]

Feral cats obviously kill wildlife. You should shoot them, but not publicize the fact. That is horrible pro-hunting/pro-gun publicity

[GM-GUY]

The "Three S's"
Shoot Shovel Shut-up

[HOKIEHUNTER]

thought this would be a nice addition to this thread:

http://flashplayer.com/games/kittenc...vie.php#bottom

instead of shooting at cats, you get to shoot with cats.

funniest thing i've ever seen, spacebar fires

[HunterTRW]

The late author Corey Ford, of Field & Stream magazine's "The Lower Forty" fame, addressed this problem years ago in an article titled Tiger Hunting for the Man of Modest Means. In it he states, in part:

"Here in New Hampshire we have a benevolent organization called the Love the Little Kitties Association. Its membership includes doctors, lawyers, state policemen, several clergymen, a retired Air Force general, and the local undertaker. It was founded by an emminent municipal judge, who is Head Lover. I have the honor of being Associate Lover.

"The purpose of our organization is the extermination, by fair means or foul, of feral housecats. Meetings are held whenever a member encounters one of thes roving beasts which has reverted to its wild state, miles from any habitation, stalking the fields in search of prey. Our shooting-seat is an open convertible, or a specially fitted jeep with slits in the side windows for protruding gun-barrels, or the undertaker's hearse which not only affords excellent visibility but is also handy for a quick getaway. Our motto is: Tiger Hunting for the Man of Modest Means.

"Let me hasten to explain, ere the cat people bristle their back fur, that we have nothing against little kitties who stay by the fire and restrict their diet to canned salmon. Our members wouldn't dream of shooting a cat in the lap of an elderly lady sitting in a rocking chair in her front parlor, provided the window is closed. Our aim (and it is generally quite accurate) is the half-starved feline, abandoned when a farm is sold or a summer vacationer closes his camp in the fall, which has turned killer to survive.

"Take a family from the city who rent a cottage for July and August at Agojumpiney Lake. Shortly after their arrival, an itinerant tomcat purrs at the door and attaches itself to the household. At least, they think it's a tomcat, until it delivers a litter of seven kittens in the guest room bed. These are duly adopted, and cared for until Labor Day rolls around. Obviously the family can't take eight cats back to a city apartment so they board up the cottage, lock the door, and drive off hurriedly before the children notice their erstwhile pets huddled ont he back porch, left behind to shift for themselves.

"What that family has done, however unwittingly, is as criminally careless as tossing a cigarette out of the car in a parched pine woods. They have loosed eight of the most dangerous predators in America. The feral housecat, according to conservation authorities, is Wildlife Enemy Number One. Its fur grows long and shaggy, it attains enormous size (I shot one which measured over three feet in length), and it develops uncanny hunting ability. A single cat will kill an average of one hundred songbirds in a year. Government officials estimate that these feline felons account for better than fifty percent of the small game that is destroyed anually, more than the total of all the foxes and skunks and bobcats and weasels--yes, and human hunters--combined."

This needless, wanton waste (of both wildlife and cats) could be stopped if only people would be responsible enough to spay and neuter their pets, and keep them indoors where they will be safe.

Good luck, and good shooting!

P.S. The full text of this article may be found in a collection of Ford's writing titled The Trickiest Thing in Feathers, compiled and introduced by Laurie Morrow. The ISBN is 1-885106-21-1.