Catching a cat

Don Armstrong · #21 11/18/04, 02:26 AM

Just don't get me started on ferals. Just DON'T! Australia is full of them, and killing them off so the native wildlife can come back is the best thing you can do.

As for the real subject, yes, feed the cat, and move the food a foot a day out into the open. If you're going to trap it, a see-through trap will do a better job than a closed box.

Quint · #22 11/20/04, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cygnet

The point of trap-neuter-release is that they're *neutering* the cats.Leva

The fact that they are turning them loose again -neutered or not- is the problem.

It is a simple fact that house cats, feral or the family pet, are enormously destructive to wildlife. It isn't the cat's fault. It is just that they are fantastic hunters that can devastate the songbirds and small mammal population where they roam. This has been exhaustively scientifically documented.

I am not a cat hater, far from it. I love my cats dearly. But feral cats should be eradicated by any means available. I thoroughly dislike having to eliminate the stray cats that wander onto my property but I simply will not tolerate them killing my songbirds or my quail population I have worked so hard to help with food plots and conservation practices. In fact I had a d***ed stray cat up on the hill yesterday prowling around where the quail like to hole up. Sure enough I found a pile of feathers and a half eaten quail. He had half a quail left and he was out looking to kill more. He won't be killing any more.

If there is a group of people catching, neutering and releasing them they should not be praised for it. In fact as I said before they should be penalized for reintroducing a feral pest into the environment. If they were adopting or euthanizing those cats it would be a worthy endevor.

I sincerely wish these d***ed town people would quit dumping their pets out in the country.

I wish people would keep their pet cats inside or in an area where they don't damage the wildlife.

I wish people wouldn't catch (or feed) feral cats and then out of ignorant sentimentality turn them loose to decimate the local songbirds and other wildlife. I wish those people could be fined heavily for doing so.

I wish people wouldn't dump their dogs on my doorstep.

I wish people would keep their livestock killing and/or chasing dogs locked up.

As my dad use to say, Wish in one hand and.......you know the rest.

DW · #23 11/20/04, 08:29 AM

I'm sure tha cat is totally spooked. Try to get one of those havaharts...it won't look like the other one you have. Someone else mentioned...only open it inside your house. Good luck, too.

southerngurl · #24 11/20/04, 08:58 AM

I have three cats that go outside, but really I think only the one kills birds. My other kills mice, and the last one kill his tail.

Anyway, the main bird killer has been out for years. We have tons of birds. I feed them in the winter, and seems like we have more than before. I have blue birds trying to nest in my wood duck/ mandarin next boxes.

They use up however many bird lkhouses you put out.

southerngurl · #25 11/20/04, 08:58 AM

In fact the lk in front of houses was my cat's contribution.

BobBoyce · #26 11/20/04, 11:35 AM

The bird and population around here took a nose dive when someone dropped off a couple of cats, one pregnant. The pair of chipmonks we had enjoyed watching for years also vanished.

Within a few months, there were kittens wandering all over the place, killing off the wildlife along with the adults.

When they started going for my chickens, it was time for me to intervene.

Animal control is not a solution when they want $25 to $35 to euthanize a cat or dog, stray or not. It's a lot cheaper to just buy a box of .22 long cartridges.

Needless to say, I haven't had a cat problem for a while now. It was hard for me because I love animals, but I had little choice. I couldn't afford either alternative, leaving them to roam around, or trapping and hauling them to animal control.

Bob