Can I do this?

Of course, if you're looking for feline entertainment, there's always....

CAT JUGGLING!!!

Or you can play Confuse-a-Cat.

Pony!

Now a straight answer from a cat lover......
You could band a cat, but if you did it would injure itself further as they have sharp teeth and can certainly reach the area that is causing discomfort. I have a farm friend who alters her own cats, it is done with a local anesthetic and a sterile scalpel at a young age, much they way goats are altered. I'm not a big fan of banding myself, to leave an animal with a bit of it to rot off seems inhumane to me. Yes I know it's been done that way for a long time , but I am entitled to my own opinion.

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SuzyHomemaker
rtfmfarm.com
LaMancha & Nubian goats

I don't think it would be a good idea to band a cat but I don't see any reason you couldn't castrate one at home. I wouldn't want to be the one holding him unless you anesthetize him. I'm not suggesting it but careful use of either (starting fluid but watch out for 'additives') can do the job.

Just remember a few things:
it takes a lot longer in real life than it does in the movies

you can OD and kill them if you are not VERY careful about how much and how you give it to them

don't try to do the movie trick of wetting a rag with either and putting over their nose. put a either soaked rag in a jar and let them breath from the jar.

they probably won't be 'out cold' but they sould be out enough for you to get the job done w/o YOU needing stiches afterwards.

you can kill the cat by doing this so be warned.

WOW, I think this would be in the extreme. Ether is dangerous to anything that breathes unless it is properly dosed.

You want a barn cat and some shelters are anti-farm cat as they mistakenly think the cats won't be fed and otherwise get proper care. Go to www.progressivefarmer.com as they had an article about barn cats and organizations that place them.

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My grandfather used to do it himself, but I have not idea how...

Not like this helps much!

MandE,

I'm glad you asked because we had wondered the same thing. Not because we wouldn't take him to vet, but because it was darn simple to do the goat.

It probably makes more sense to bring them to the vet I guess.

We just had our rat terrier nuetered, and it cost $120. I wish I found a vet that would do it for < $50.

I'm a vet tech and lemme tell ya, if I could band or neuter cats myself without having to take them to the vet I would. But neutering a cat isn't exactly the most invasive procedure and a lot of spay/neuter clinics do it CHEAP. Around here what racks up the money is vet's who won't spay or neuter said cat/dog without 1st having a series of vaccinations, which I suppose is sort of a good thing to an extent, but it's also a serious deterrent to folks who love their pets but aren't made of money.

No shame in asking about banding. For Pete's sake! Some folks need to get a thicker hide about themselves. How are you supposed to know stuff if you don't ask?

Thank you all for your responses. I am a bit surprised by how much my post offended some people.

already spayed and neutered cats are often available through your local classifieds or freecycle. I bet if you posted an ad you would get 100's of calls from people trying to place them. they may not be kittens but sometimes thats nice, because you can get a good idea of there personality before taking them on. a kitten could turn into anything over a few months, from a raging furball to lazy fatball. if you adopt from a shelter, just don't tell them the cat will live outside. I think a little white lie is better than the unreasonable expectation that all cats be inside, as if its better for them to be wasting away in a 2x2 cage for months or years, or killed.

That is a really good idea. I do not care if I have a kitten. I only stated a kitten because I imagined that if I could in fact band a cat, it would have had to been a kitten. It never even crossed my mind to look at Freecycle.

I think you should ask about banding the mice. Now there's an idea.

You can, technically band a cat. My grandpa used to shove them face first into a boot to put the band on. I will probably never go that route, but it can actually be done.

Our freecycle doesn't allow posts for animals, but our Craigs List always has numerous pet listings, including cats.

Isn't that odd? Our Freecycle is fine with pets, but Craig's List told us we can't post ANY animals because they're based in California, and there is some law there prohibiting advertising animals on the 'Net.

Pony!

I have cats, 12 at the moment since we have some kittens we need to adopt out. I don't see a pattern as to who is the better mouser. I just think it depends on the cat. We have two toms. One ,Charlie, is an excellent mouser! We saw one in the house the other day and he got it within the hour! Our other tom Curly is what I call a "porch cat". He does hunt but I think more for fun since he doesn't have to. My females are all good hunters and will eat grasshoppers like crazy even if there is a big bowl of food sitting on the porch. Honestly, fixing the tom will make him lazy and MAYBE (just depends on cat) won't hunt. Then again even if they do depends on cat.

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"I prayed for patience and God sent me a goat"
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I'm missing something here. What would the purpose of a band be? If it is to prove ownership then I would say, just buy a license with a breakaway collar. Besides, nobody owns a cat. LOL

It does not sound to me as though you are interested in having a living, breathing creature become part of your world. Rather, you are looking for something to perform a service and *maybe* you might give it the care it needs, if only to keep it alive to "do it's job". Personally, I don't think this is a good idea. Cats need care and YES - LOVE. If you are unwilling to give your pet love, then you are better off just getting a mousetrap or something. IMHO if you do not love your pets, then that is abuse. One reason I did not get a dog was because I really did not WANT a dog and was going to have it only as security and the members of the forum here made me see the error of my ways.

I hope you see the error of your ways too.

donsgal

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Life is what happens while you are making other plans. (John Lennon)

I had a great outside cat. She would hang out under the house and must have gotten the mice before they got in because we never had mice in the house. UNTIL I put in a doggie door so I didn't have to keep getting up and letting the dogs out and the cat discovered that our inside cats got fed every day. After that she got fat and lazy spending more time inside. Then we started getting mice in the house.

its what they live for dear...