Feral cats. - Page 2

buck460XVR · August 7, 2011, 04:17 PM

Quote:

A Daisy Red Rider is a toy.

No, it is not. Like any firearm, it has the potential to injure, maim and kill, and should be treated a such. Treating it as a toy is a much bigger mistake than using it on feral cats.

Quote:

The only thing you've taught a 16 year old kid is that killing is fun. He has learned nothing about ethics nor anything else.

Eliminating nuisance animals such as feral cats is not "killing for fun". It's no different than setting mouse traps or shooting the woodchuck tunneling under your shed. Actively going out and shooting/killing people's pet cats is killing for fun. Killing animals for no reason other than to watch them die is killing for fun. Killing nuisance animals that have no other predators than man is doing a necessary evil. Eliminating pests that damage your home and may bring disease to you and your domestic animals is something many pay others to do. The boy not wanting to kill the kittens shows he has good ethics and I applaud him and his desire to now hunt game animals.

I too tho, would check local and state game laws concerning feral cats. Here we have no closed season on feral cats, and for good reason.

langenc · August 7, 2011, 04:22 PM

We need a cat killing party at lease once a year around here-from post #8

More often is better.

I wish someone would define feral for me..

ClayInTx · August 7, 2011, 05:00 PM

A feral cat has a ring around its neck from sticking its head into a salmon cat to lick the scraps from the bottom. This causes a cruddy ring from the rim of the can to stick to it. This ring looks somewhat like the ferrule you see on the end of a water hose to keep the nozzle from squirting off with the water.

The most common feral cats are Chicken of the Sea ferals. Sometimes one will see a Hormel Corned Beef feral cat and these are distinguished by a rectangular looking feral.

The words got slightly corrupted but have been so since, I believe, the days of Shakespeare when he wrote the play Much Ado About Feral Cats. It was never a popular play and was performed only once and only through the second act when the crowd was dispersed by a clowder of feral cats.

The phrase which seemed to have excited the cats was when the star actor shouted, “Oh, ye clowder of flea besotted cats withe thy kindles of kittens, be off withe ye and wence nay to deprive mee of mine dishes of mine canned Chicken of the Sea salomine fishes!”

This, or course, had the very opposite effect and brought the cats running to him, an entire clowder or two.

This was one of Shakespeare’s last plays because the audience went away wondering if Willie had now lost it because they knew that chickens don’t live in the sea and they also knew that canned food was not due until the days of Napoleon.

Oh, yes, the cats killed and ate the actor and Willie had a problem getting hired help from then on. Some historians proclaim this was what really ended his career as a producer.

So if you ever see a clowder of feral cats do not say anything about canned fish. Shoot first and talk later.

The Terminator · August 7, 2011, 05:09 PM

buck460xvr,
Thank you for your comments, they reflect my thoughts on the statements that you quoted. My son and I had a good discussion about making clean kills, and that they were God's animals and did not need to suffer. I made sure that he knew to go and step on the cat's neck and make it expire if it did not die cleanly. I also made sure that he did not shoot at them while they were right near the house, because they could easily run back under the house or porch, if they were wounded. We are in the middle of several hundred acres, surrounded by a patch of forest and hay fields. We bought an old home place on a farm. The old farmer's son still raises hay on the rest of the land.

I was not yet ready for him to use a .22 pistol, even though at his age, I would not have even had to ask for one. Besides, the pellet pistol worked/works very well.

603Country · August 7, 2011, 05:17 PM

Well...ClayinTX saved me from having to Google up "feral", but I do have a question. How do the feral hogs get a cruddy ring around their necks? It'd take a mighty big Chicken of the Sea can. I can see that Javalinas have the ring, but I haven't noticed it on the hogs. Still, that could be because they are mostly covered with mud, so that I just can't see the ring.

For the record, ClayinTX has earned one free beer from me for his creative thinking, and can collect that beer at his leisure.

m.p.driver · August 7, 2011, 06:13 PM

A friends family owned 400 acres down in Kentucky.We hunted rabbits and we noticed they were becoming scarce.His dad is the county vet and he said it was the feral cats living in a 50 foot brush pile in a ravine.We took some Ar-15's,sandbags and made a day of it.My ex and his wife asked us how we could shoot cats?I said it was simple,put the cross hairs on them ,hold your breath,and squeeze.

hogdogs · August 7, 2011, 06:30 PM

Florida does not call any loose cat "property" as are dogs. They can be shot on sight pert near anywhere that it in not forbidden by written local laws and codes.

Florida calls a loose house cat an "invasive predatory specie" or some wording real close.

I wish i had a better record than i do as i feel there are just too many in most of the state.

Brent

Superdave70_02 · August 7, 2011, 06:59 PM

I am an avid upland game bird hunter an within the past three years have had all of my quail killed off by feral cats. I also shot three of them out in the middle of Milo stalk fields while pheasant hunting. They will destroy the game bird population in months if not controlled.

Jim Watson · August 7, 2011, 07:18 PM

One chore of traditional gamekeepers in England and Europe is shooting feral cats to protect the gamebirds for the landowner and his guests to hunt.

SamC · August 7, 2011, 07:34 PM

Feral cat aka, lawn leopard, ditch panther, crat, porch puma. Whatever you call them, they get disposed of on sight. Vermin.

Rifleman1776 · August 8, 2011, 07:16 AM

I hate cats and feral cats are beyond hate alone. They kill desirable wildlife like song birds, quail, etc. A feral cat killed, and tore into pieces, my wife's pet cat. I later shot it. That was two good cats as I see it.
They really should not be shot with anything smaller than a .22. They can be live trapped and dispatched later.
Saving those "babies" is just restarting your cycle of misery all over again.

hogdogs · August 8, 2011, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Saving those "babies" is just restarting your cycle of misery all over again.

Target regeneration...

Brent

Art Eatman · August 8, 2011, 09:30 AM

Since this is about the tenth iteration of this subject:

The Wisconsin wildlife agency got a bunch of wildlife biology grad students to do research on feral cats. Quick summary: A feral cat will kill about 100 songbirds in a year. The population of feral cats in the state of Wisconsin was estimated at around a million. I do not see the math as being a challenge.

A next-door neighbor here in south Georgia--rural area--regularly put out a small bowl of cat food for the kitties. We ran out of songbirds, squirrels and rabbits. The animal shelter folks came out with a Havahart trap, and in a period of a couple of months captured 72 housecats. That ended the feeding and we now have some songbirds and squirrels.

Feral cats = fuzzy cockroaches. Just as desirable as a screw-worm fly.

egor20 · August 8, 2011, 06:18 PM

All our "barn cats" have a colored collar, it makes it easier for my wife to inoculate them. Most of the time the Barns take care of them self against the Ferals. But on occasion if we get a very aggressive feral, a .223 or 12G is utilized.

Most of are barn cats have "Maine Coon" cat blood in them, they're not to be toyed with.

bamaranger · August 9, 2011, 04:14 AM

I can clearly remember a college resource mgmt class where the prof stated that a feral cat was the #1 predator of small game and birds.

Many pet house cats roam at night and are as near destructive. Anybody that keeps cats will tell you about the stuff they drag up if they're honest.

I was bowhunting once on a large tract of public land, it was likely 2 miles plus to the nearest residence. A cat slipped in, in range, but I did not want to ruin a broadhead and tried to swap out the shaft for a field point.
Twenty feet up, full camo, and slow movement, and that cat still spotted me and took off. Spooky as all get out, absolutely wild.

Another instance I was varmint hunting, legally at night w/ a light. Using a rabbit squaller, mouth blown. Cold , like 15-20 degrees. Had a flash light taped to the shotgun barrel. Squall for a bit, then scan w/ the light.
Darn if the first critter I ever called in was a cat. I got that one.

Art Eatman · August 9, 2011, 07:40 AM

No matter how in-bred and stupid is a pet Fluffy the poo-tat, the moment it gets outdoors it begins hunting.

The Terminator · August 9, 2011, 08:55 AM

Give credit where it is due. They are magnificent predators, as are all cats. I know from playing with our Siamese house cat, with a non hooked rubber fishing lure, she is incredibly strong. When she gets a paw hooked onto it, i usually cant get it loose.

Rangefinder · August 9, 2011, 09:32 AM

There seems to be a few here who have apparently never had to deal with feral cats---lucky you. I love hunting, and enjoy the sport of it as much as I enjoy it on the table later. But killing simply for the fun of liking to kill something just isn't in me. Doing what has to be done to control an out-of-control wild cat population, however... THAT I have no issue with what so ever. I have no problem with cats. I have a shop cat that found me years ago and has been with me for many years and several thousand miles. My daughter thinks he's a wonderful stuffed animal like her bear that can be flopped on, rolled on, snuggled with, etc, and he loves every minute of her squashing him on sight--I think he's a golden retriever in a cat's body. For other cats, I don't have any particular fondness for them, but I don't go hunting them until one shows up in my shop, tears out the insulation to burrow into the wall to hide, knocks things off shelves, hunts the birds nesting under my porch rafters, etc. If it makes a bee-line like its tail is on fire the moment it sees me, it becomes a potential target. I know all my neighbors. Some have cats. All those cats are pretty friendly--a couple come visit if I'm outside on occasion and get a quick ear-scratch every time. They have collars and I know them by sight at quite a distance. No collar and I don't recognize it, it "goes away", end of story. Giving a pass to one nuisance-cat a couple years ago made me have to deal with dispatching almost a dozen wild offspring 6 months later when the bird seed could sit in the feeder for days and not a single bird was around to touch it. Never again.

hogdogs · August 9, 2011, 10:38 AM

Rangefinder, I long ago quit killin' just for the fun of it (I would be a liar to claim I never did) but a cat has to do very little to trigger me to go from "spidey sense" to "incredible hulk" with a quickness.

As for "owned" felines with collar etc... If one approaches me and I can pet it, I feel a front paw... If it has claws, it better have a noisy bell or I am gonna catch it and stuff it in a pillow sack and tote it to the owner and give them one chance.

Cat+Claws+Loose= Non-Native Invasive Predator to me.

Brent

Daekar · August 9, 2011, 01:30 PM

Let me start off saying that I am a cat guy 100%. We have always had cats and dogs, and I have always liked cats better. They're graceful (most of them anyway), sassy, loving, intelligent, beautiful, warm (to snuggle), and good for my blood pressure. And unlike dogs, they don't stink! I hope never to be without a cat as a pet.

However! Not all cats are the same. The placid, vaccinated, cuddle-kitten is not even close to a feral cat. I have seen feral cats beat the ever-loving hell out of or kill housecats. The coyotes tend to keep them down, here, but if I see a cat that causes problems, it's gone.

August 7, 2011, 05:00 PM	#28
ClayInTx Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 1,066	A feral cat has a ring around its neck from sticking its head into a salmon cat to lick the scraps from the bottom. This causes a cruddy ring from the rim of the can to stick to it. This ring looks somewhat like the ferrule you see on the end of a water hose to keep the nozzle from squirting off with the water. The most common feral cats are Chicken of the Sea ferals. Sometimes one will see a Hormel Corned Beef feral cat and these are distinguished by a rectangular looking feral. The words got slightly corrupted but have been so since, I believe, the days of Shakespeare when he wrote the play Much Ado About Feral Cats. It was never a popular play and was performed only once and only through the second act when the crowd was dispersed by a clowder of feral cats. The phrase which seemed to have excited the cats was when the star actor shouted, “Oh, ye clowder of flea besotted cats withe thy kindles of kittens, be off withe ye and wence nay to deprive mee of mine dishes of mine canned Chicken of the Sea salomine fishes!” This, or course, had the very opposite effect and brought the cats running to him, an entire clowder or two. This was one of Shakespeare’s last plays because the audience went away wondering if Willie had now lost it because they knew that chickens don’t live in the sea and they also knew that canned food was not due until the days of Napoleon. Oh, yes, the cats killed and ate the actor and Willie had a problem getting hired help from then on. Some historians proclaim this was what really ended his career as a producer. So if you ever see a clowder of feral cats do not say anything about canned fish. Shoot first and talk later. __________________ . No people should have to fear the will of their government; all governments should have to fear the will of their people.

August 7, 2011, 05:09 PM	#29
The Terminator Senior Member Join Date: February 3, 2002 Location: Georgia, 35 miles Northwest of the armpit Posts: 946	buck460xvr, Thank you for your comments, they reflect my thoughts on the statements that you quoted. My son and I had a good discussion about making clean kills, and that they were God's animals and did not need to suffer. I made sure that he knew to go and step on the cat's neck and make it expire if it did not die cleanly. I also made sure that he did not shoot at them while they were right near the house, because they could easily run back under the house or porch, if they were wounded. We are in the middle of several hundred acres, surrounded by a patch of forest and hay fields. We bought an old home place on a farm. The old farmer's son still raises hay on the rest of the land. I was not yet ready for him to use a .22 pistol, even though at his age, I would not have even had to ask for one. Besides, the pellet pistol worked/works very well. __________________ The Terminator John 3:16 (I hope to see You over there.)

August 8, 2011, 06:18 PM	#39
egor20 Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2010 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 1,824	All our "barn cats" have a colored collar, it makes it easier for my wife to inoculate them. Most of the time the Barns take care of them self against the Ferals. But on occasion if we get a very aggressive feral, a .223 or 12G is utilized. Most of are barn cats have "Maine Coon" cat blood in them, they're not to be toyed with. __________________ Chief stall mucker and grain chef Country don't mean dumb. Steven King. The Stand

August 9, 2011, 04:14 AM	#40
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,308	cats I can clearly remember a college resource mgmt class where the prof stated that a feral cat was the #1 predator of small game and birds. Many pet house cats roam at night and are as near destructive. Anybody that keeps cats will tell you about the stuff they drag up if they're honest. I was bowhunting once on a large tract of public land, it was likely 2 miles plus to the nearest residence. A cat slipped in, in range, but I did not want to ruin a broadhead and tried to swap out the shaft for a field point. Twenty feet up, full camo, and slow movement, and that cat still spotted me and took off. Spooky as all get out, absolutely wild. Another instance I was varmint hunting, legally at night w/ a light. Using a rabbit squaller, mouth blown. Cold , like 15-20 degrees. Had a flash light taped to the shotgun barrel. Squall for a bit, then scan w/ the light. Darn if the first critter I ever called in was a cat. I got that one.

August 9, 2011, 08:55 AM	#42
The Terminator Senior Member Join Date: February 3, 2002 Location: Georgia, 35 miles Northwest of the armpit Posts: 946	Give credit where it is due. They are magnificent predators, as are all cats. I know from playing with our Siamese house cat, with a non hooked rubber fishing lure, she is incredibly strong. When she gets a paw hooked onto it, i usually cant get it loose. __________________ The Terminator John 3:16 (I hope to see You over there.)

August 7, 2011, 04:22 PM	#27
langenc Senior Member Join Date: August 19, 2007 Location: Montmorency Co, MI Posts: 1,551	We need a cat killing party at lease once a year around here-from post #8 More often is better. I wish someone would define feral for me..

August 7, 2011, 05:17 PM	#30
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	Well...ClayinTX saved me from having to Google up "feral", but I do have a question. How do the feral hogs get a cruddy ring around their necks? It'd take a mighty big Chicken of the Sea can. I can see that Javalinas have the ring, but I haven't noticed it on the hogs. Still, that could be because they are mostly covered with mud, so that I just can't see the ring. For the record, ClayinTX has earned one free beer from me for his creative thinking, and can collect that beer at his leisure.

August 7, 2011, 06:13 PM	#31
m.p.driver Senior Member Join Date: January 25, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 552	A friends family owned 400 acres down in Kentucky.We hunted rabbits and we noticed they were becoming scarce.His dad is the county vet and he said it was the feral cats living in a 50 foot brush pile in a ravine.We took some Ar-15's,sandbags and made a day of it.My ex and his wife asked us how we could shoot cats?I said it was simple,put the cross hairs on them ,hold your breath,and squeeze.

August 7, 2011, 06:30 PM	#32
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Florida does not call any loose cat "property" as are dogs. They can be shot on sight pert near anywhere that it in not forbidden by written local laws and codes. Florida calls a loose house cat an "invasive predatory specie" or some wording real close. I wish i had a better record than i do as i feel there are just too many in most of the state. Brent

August 7, 2011, 06:59 PM	#33
Superdave70_02 Member Join Date: February 27, 2011 Posts: 47	I am an avid upland game bird hunter an within the past three years have had all of my quail killed off by feral cats. I also shot three of them out in the middle of Milo stalk fields while pheasant hunting. They will destroy the game bird population in months if not controlled.

August 7, 2011, 07:18 PM	#34
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,541	One chore of traditional gamekeepers in England and Europe is shooting feral cats to protect the gamebirds for the landowner and his guests to hunt.

August 7, 2011, 07:34 PM	#35
SamC Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2000 Location: MI Posts: 113	Feral cat aka, lawn leopard, ditch panther, crat, porch puma. Whatever you call them, they get disposed of on sight. Vermin.

August 8, 2011, 07:16 AM	#36
Rifleman1776 Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 3,309	I hate cats and feral cats are beyond hate alone. They kill desirable wildlife like song birds, quail, etc. A feral cat killed, and tore into pieces, my wife's pet cat. I later shot it. That was two good cats as I see it. They really should not be shot with anything smaller than a .22. They can be live trapped and dispatched later. Saving those "babies" is just restarting your cycle of misery all over again.

August 8, 2011, 09:30 AM	#38
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Since this is about the tenth iteration of this subject: The Wisconsin wildlife agency got a bunch of wildlife biology grad students to do research on feral cats. Quick summary: A feral cat will kill about 100 songbirds in a year. The population of feral cats in the state of Wisconsin was estimated at around a million. I do not see the math as being a challenge. A next-door neighbor here in south Georgia--rural area--regularly put out a small bowl of cat food for the kitties. We ran out of songbirds, squirrels and rabbits. The animal shelter folks came out with a Havahart trap, and in a period of a couple of months captured 72 housecats. That ended the feeding and we now have some songbirds and squirrels. Feral cats = fuzzy cockroaches. Just as desirable as a screw-worm fly.

August 9, 2011, 07:40 AM	#41
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	No matter how in-bred and stupid is a pet Fluffy the poo-tat, the moment it gets outdoors it begins hunting.

August 9, 2011, 09:32 AM	#43
Rangefinder Senior Member Join Date: August 4, 2005 Posts: 2,017	There seems to be a few here who have apparently never had to deal with feral cats---lucky you. I love hunting, and enjoy the sport of it as much as I enjoy it on the table later. But killing simply for the fun of liking to kill something just isn't in me. Doing what has to be done to control an out-of-control wild cat population, however... THAT I have no issue with what so ever. I have no problem with cats. I have a shop cat that found me years ago and has been with me for many years and several thousand miles. My daughter thinks he's a wonderful stuffed animal like her bear that can be flopped on, rolled on, snuggled with, etc, and he loves every minute of her squashing him on sight--I think he's a golden retriever in a cat's body. For other cats, I don't have any particular fondness for them, but I don't go hunting them until one shows up in my shop, tears out the insulation to burrow into the wall to hide, knocks things off shelves, hunts the birds nesting under my porch rafters, etc. If it makes a bee-line like its tail is on fire the moment it sees me, it becomes a potential target. I know all my neighbors. Some have cats. All those cats are pretty friendly--a couple come visit if I'm outside on occasion and get a quick ear-scratch every time. They have collars and I know them by sight at quite a distance. No collar and I don't recognize it, it "goes away", end of story. Giving a pass to one nuisance-cat a couple years ago made me have to deal with dispatching almost a dozen wild offspring 6 months later when the bird seed could sit in the feeder for days and not a single bird was around to touch it. Never again. __________________ "Why is is called Common Sense when it seems so few actually possess it?" Guns only have two enemies: Rust and Politicians.

August 9, 2011, 10:38 AM	#44
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Rangefinder, I long ago quit killin' just for the fun of it (I would be a liar to claim I never did) but a cat has to do very little to trigger me to go from "spidey sense" to "incredible hulk" with a quickness. As for "owned" felines with collar etc... If one approaches me and I can pet it, I feel a front paw... If it has claws, it better have a noisy bell or I am gonna catch it and stuff it in a pillow sack and tote it to the owner and give them one chance. Cat+Claws+Loose= Non-Native Invasive Predator to me. Brent

August 9, 2011, 01:30 PM	#45
Daekar Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 2011 Posts: 458	Let me start off saying that I am a cat guy 100%. We have always had cats and dogs, and I have always liked cats better. They're graceful (most of them anyway), sassy, loving, intelligent, beautiful, warm (to snuggle), and good for my blood pressure. And unlike dogs, they don't stink! I hope never to be without a cat as a pet. However! Not all cats are the same. The placid, vaccinated, cuddle-kitten is not even close to a feral cat. I have seen feral cats beat the ever-loving hell out of or kill housecats. The coyotes tend to keep them down, here, but if I see a cat that causes problems, it's gone.