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

[thomasboyle]

I would go with the best defense method. I secure my chickens and ducks in a strong coop at night, and have them protected by an electric net fence during the day. I would also try and trap the cats and take them to a local shelter to get spayed / neutered so the problem will not continue to grow. We have 3 barn cats on our farm, and they keep many nuisance pests at bay, including other cats. The issue with getting rid of the feral cats is it will only allow something else to come in and take their place.

 

[XtremeRooster]

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 believe you are wrong on the issue of feral cats. Our animal control traps them, then shoots them, the ones they cannot trap they shoot. I have been told by the local game warden that feral cats and dogs were open season. There are packs of feral dogs that have blended in with coyotes around here and we shoot them year round.

If noise is an issue use a .22 short. Gamo makes a whisper quiet .177 cal pellet rifle that is really quiet for a high powered pellet gun and it works quite well too. The only places you will likely be prosecuted for shooting a cat are big cities.

I got bit by one of them feral cats that had nested on my freshly washed and waxed truck. I got cat scratch fever from the piece of vermin, I just thought that was a Ted Nugent song when the ER doctor gave me a round of gobstopper antibiotics and some pain pills I knew it was no joke. Especially when I was treated for rabies. That vermin disappeared too even after the DNR animal control officer came in to kill it to test it for rabies. So maybe you should tell law enforcement that they can't kill feral cats. You know what the Humane Society does here, nothing. Animal control only keeps dogs 7 days here then they are euthanized. I know they don't keep feral cats. If a cat has a collar it is kept 7 days just like a dog, you pay the fine and bail Sylvester out or its the needle.

Feral cats are a major problem in America, (they are the #1 predator of birds), and there is NO major organization that is going to adopt them and take care of them, it simply cannot be done. A domestic house cat is three generations from feral. The third generation of kittens left unattended will be 100% feral wild.

I wish it were different too because I have a cat and dog and I do love animals but realistically they cannot all be pets or saved. If you grow up on a farm or in farm country you know this.

 

[furbabymum]

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.

It is not illegal to shoot any animal who is attacking your livestock. Owls excepted.

 

[furbabymum]

Your birds are wide open to a RANGE of predators! A secure enclosure is the answer to your problems. After the cats are gone, other mammals and raptors will move in.

We put a door on our barn to prevent owls. Had a problem with that once. Otherwise we aren't likely going to cover a 1/2 acre run. Too large.

 

[furbabymum]

I believe you are wrong on the issue of feral cats. Our animal control traps them, then shoots them, the ones they cannot trap they shoot. I have been told by the local game warden that feral cats and dogs were open season. There are packs of feral dogs that have blended in with coyotes around here and we shoot them year round.

If noise is an issue use a .22 short. Gamo makes a whisper quiet .177 cal pellet rifle that is really quiet for a high powered pellet gun and it works quite well too. The only places you will likely be prosecuted for shooting a cat are big cities.

I got bit by one of them feral cats that had nested on my freshly washed and waxed truck. I got cat scratch fever from the piece of vermin, I just thought that was a Ted Nugent song when the ER doctor gave me a round of gobstopper antibiotics and some pain pills I knew it was no joke. Especially when I was treated for rabies. That vermin disappeared too even after the DNR animal control officer came in to kill it to test it for rabies. So maybe you should tell law enforcement that they can't kill feral cats. You know what the Humane Society does here, nothing. Animal control only keeps dogs 7 days here then they are euthanized. I know they don't keep feral cats. If a cat has a collar it is kept 7 days just like a dog, you pay the fine and bail Sylvester out or its the needle.

Feral cats are a major problem in America, (they are the #1 predator of birds), and there is NO major organization that is going to adopt them and take care of them, it simply cannot be done. A domestic house cat is three generations from feral. The third generation of kittens left unattended will be 100% feral wild.

I wish it were different too because I have a cat and dog and I do love animals but realistically they cannot all be pets or saved. If you grow up on a farm or in farm country you know this.

My philosophy on dogs and cats is that if you want it to live you keep it contained. Where I live dogs get shot AND you are then fined and forced to pay for whatever your dog killed. Cats are a problem. If these people really loved their cats they'd keep them inside. Now they're bothering me and I'm going to handle the problem.

 

[furbabymum]

Can you use a live trap to catch them and take them to the local humane society yourself? T&S sells basic cage traps for $30-$60.

Yeah we have a couple live traps we put out last night. But what to do once they're caught... hmm. As someone else stated, taking them to the animal shelter is a for sure death. So what would be more humane, me killing them or them?

 

[Mehjr10]

22 CB caps for dispatching in trap and a shovel or trash can. You can also set up your own feeding station where by you may be able to catch them feeding during the day and dispatch that way 22 Subsoinc rounds work well.. And this one will be unpopular for some here and deadly to any animal that eats it, but search on BYC for Golden Malarin and Soda mixture.. May have to mix it with something the cats will eat and elevate it so that they will climb up to it? But it will kill all who consume it, so great care has to be taken.

 

[chickenboy190]

Yeah we have a couple live traps we put out last night. But what to do once they're caught... hmm. As someone else stated, taking them to the animal shelter is a for sure death. So what would be more humane, me killing them or them?

Well we just shoot them where I live. You could just transport them but you would have to take them pretty far away.Like we had a cat transported it 10 miles away was back the next day.

 

[Kelsie2290]

If your humane society has an automatic kill policy on feral cats, I would say the kindest thing to do with the cats is to shoot them yourself so they don't go through the added trauma of being transported and handled. If they do evaluate the cats and there is a chance some would be rehomed, I would take the likely candidates to the humane society. I would not release them somewhere else.

 

[pattyjean73]

The problem with transporting ferrel cats is even if you relocated then far enough that they don't return, you're just relocating the problem. Someone else is going to lose their livestock. It is best IMO to just stop the problem there and then. Prevention its the first step, defend when needed.