Best way to kill cats? *Yeah I think the cats could have done it*

[chickengeorgeto]

The sweet think about box a.k.a. live or Have-a-heart traps is that when you trap a problem cat it can be eliminated discretely and the PITA cat lover is none the wiser. Don't say squat to any one either before or after, just let the PITA cat lover imagine the worst. You may even get a two for one out of this by taking the cat collars and leaving them under a hawk's or eagle's nest. At the least the cat lover may keep their cats better confined. At the best the PITA cat lover may take it on himself to settle the score with the tabby eating raptor. Feral cats are the most destructive introduced animal on planet Earth and every year in just the USA they kill 10s of billions of birds and other small animals. I have a cat but he is confined to my house 24-7. What makes those PITA cat lovers so much better than you or I? In short they are no better if as good as anyone else.

 

[XtremeRooster]

Trap, neuter and release is a good policy. Killing a feral cat colony will only allow a new colony to move in. If not cats, some other predator, such as raccoons, foxes, bobcats, coyotes etc (not sure what predators are in your area, just throwing this out there). Were there lots of feathers and body parts left behind? If so, then a bobcat or raccoon is likely. If not, then it was likely a fox, hawk or owl. Surprised to hear a cat would take out a duck, sleeping or no. If you still wish to remove the cats, consider borrowing a trap from the local animal shelter - here they are free, though you must leave a check for a fully refundable deposit upon return of the trap. Whatever you do, please be humane, feral cats suffer and lead hard lives. Also, just because they are outdoor cats does not necessarily mean they are feral. They may just be outdoor cats and therefore someone's pets.

Better yet, just build a fence with a wire floor and roof - chicken wire smaller than 1/2" will keep out even determined raccoons and weasels.

Trap nueter release is already proving to be another failed policy. It does nothing to address the fact that feral cats are wiping out 1 billion+ birds annually. Many of the birds are on the endangered species list, such as the ones metioned in Hawaii on the USFWS website under search link: Feral Cats: http://www.fws.gov

Facts will speak for themselves there has been enough fallacy already injected into this post. Such as TNR saves taxpayers money: False; the taxpayers are paying the salary of the Animal Control Officers, the cost of the veterinary spay nueter surgery fees, and transportation to and from cost, in some cases the damage the feral cats cause to government property. I see this damage to government buildings regularly. In one instance that I know of personally a feral cat managed to get inside a high voltage switchgear cabinet and exploded a transformer causing an entire major federal facility to lose electrical power and repair costs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The repair costs were footed entirely by the taxpayers. These feral cats are a nuisance which is costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars annually. That is why there will be no federal protection issued for these animals.

The federal government has chosen to leave this issue up to the individual states and rightly so. If the taxpayers were shown the actual costs there would be an outcry to open a hunting season on feral cats such as has happened with the feral hogs. With a 16 trillion dollar defecit and government sequestration looming DOD personnel being furloughed 26 days a year. There will be no money budgeted by the federal government to fund TNR.

 

[Delawaremommy]

We in Indianapolis have a group that does feral cats. They are INDYFeral. They will TNR as well as shots and worming. It's usually $0-30 depending on your ability to pay as well as how many cats are in the colony. We also have a low cost place called FACE clinic that has a special right now for certain zip codes to get any cat feral or domestic spayed/neutered free due to the massive number of cats in the area that animal control and INDYferal have picked up. If the cats are not totally feral sometimes either place will try to adopt them out as barn or even house cats.


While I don't agree that the cats are eating your ducks I do agree that they can be nuisances in other ways. They can also help control rodents and snakes however.

I think trapping then killing would be your best bet. Poison is too risky if you have other animals around or if you dogs would have access to the carcasses once they did eat the poison.

I personally have two cats that are indoor/outdoor and would understand if someone killed them for being a nuisance. But I have also had a cat poisoned and it is a slow agonizing death.

Just remember that when dealing with predators of any kind a good offense is the best defense....works in football too!!

 

[kgdubois]

my boyfriend worked as an animal control officer for years.
yes, they will come out to trap feral cats if you call them in as a nuisance animal.
and yes, it is a punishable crime in all 50 states to kill a domesticated cat, feral or not.

i thought ANY "domesticated" animal could be legally shot if you are losing livestock to them?? i've checked our local laws here (far west TX) and i can shoot cats, dogs, etc. if they kill my livestock, chickens included...

 

[XtremeRooster]

Quote:
I AM NOT ADVOCATING KILLING CATS MERELY STATING WHAT THE LAW SAYS. CHECK YOUR OWN STATE LAWS. MAKE YOUR OWN INFORMED DECISIONS.

 

[speckledhen]

Xtreme Rooster said:

Quote:
Again, I am also in GA and the state law, as well as my own county ordinance, specifically gives us the right to dispatch animals harassing our livestock. Feral cats are not federally protected. We do need to get our facts straight and look up the laws in our own states and localities regarding this issue. See it in the official law; do not take someone's word on it, no matter how sure they seem to be.

jaxchic said:
Quote:
Not a way to win friends and influence people, using insults like that. Let's be kinder, please.



We should probably get back to the original poster's question here, which was the best way to kill cats.

 

[Suzierd]

I think someone is going to continue to lose full grown ducks after they eliminate the "feral" cats. Ducks are pretty heavy birds and I can't see a cat killing it or carrying it off. Heck, cats won't even bother crows, they're just too big. Smaller birds or baby chicks or baby ducks I can see, but not full grown. Especially if the neighbor has been feeding them. But, I agree with others, animal control needs to be called to catch them because the neighbor obviously is not spaying or neutering and by feeding them even occasionally, they are going to breed more. That's an awful life for a stray, half starving and always open to disease and such. They look so pitiful at times. They may be visiting your place for feed. I've seen even my cats eat my chicken feed and they are well fed.

Agree, doubt its the cats. Why don't you totally in close just part of the run for night time. If you can train them to sleep in the inclosed area you can set up a automatic door so you don't have to be there.

 

[quigley257]

Feral cats=Invasive species that are extremely detrimental to native wildlife.
Easiest way to get rid of them discretely is a .22 with subsonic ammo. Legal and effective.

 

[lincolnsilkies]

Never heard of a feral cat taking a full size duck before i have them running around her and i have chickens they have never messed with them you should be 100% positive that the cats did it and no something else if it was at night time there are several different things that could have done this

 

[lincolnsilkies]

And not to sound harsh but if it is cats doing it i would shoot them if they were messing with my chickens!! Just like any predator i would shoot to protect my animals! I wouldnt be pulling the trigger cause i would feel bad but i would have someone take care of the problem