CATS. arrrrrrggghhhhh

[Granny Hatchet]

Everything is fine and there are no hard feelings on this end.

x2

 

[Blooie]

Then kin I come out now and play again?

 

[Granny Hatchet]

 

[StarMeKritten]

We live on about 3 acres out in the middle of the woods at the end of a dead end street. We weren't living here long when cats started to come out of the woods. It was 2 mommas and a whole bunch of kittens. We lost 2 half grown chicken and some chicks to snakes. Another half grown chicken just vanished. I can't say for sure that it was the cats, but that's a possibility especially when you are dealing with a momma and hungry kids. I trapped 5 kittens and we found homes for 3. I caught one of the mommas too. We had her spayed and released her. The remaining 2 kittens were also fixed as soon as they hit the minimum weight for surgery. Much to my dismay at the time, when we released them, they opted to stick around. We only had one lonely chicken left by then, a 3 month old buff orpington rooster. The strangest thing happened next. Mr Buffy adopted them. He taught them to hunt bugs and frogs and they followed him everywhere. They even slept together at night. Of course, these things don't last forever. Mr Buffy matured and the cats weren't willing to be his "hens" in all the ways that Buffy wanted. We brought home some real hens for him and everyone was much happier. But our two barn kitties stayed close and watched over them in the barn and outside while they free ranged.

The momma cats eventually returned with their remaining kittens, who were by this time grown. I trapped the other momma and the other kittens and we had them spayed and vaccinated too. All but one turned out to be female. I feed them and they come and go as they choose. I have not seen a single snake since then. We have no mice either. The cat population is under control and they keep other cats from moving into their (our) territory.

Sure, you can trap a feral cat and take it to the shelter to be euthanized or you can shoot it. It's only a matter of time before another shows up and you have to do it again. Trap Neuter Return is a viable alternative.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I had an acquaintance that built an outdoor run for her cats. They have free access from her house, through a tunnel in her garage to the 20x12, 8 foot tall, fully enclosed by wire pen for them. They have fabric hammocks, beds, benches, boxes, tree branches and a huge oak tree in the corner that gives them shade, She built this after the fourth cat got hit on the highway in front of her house and her favorite tomcat came home tore up from being in a fight and cost over $300 in vet bills. She has built a roof over part of it, and sits out there and enjoys her cats every evening in the spring, summer and fall.

I am in the camp of keep your cat on your own property.

 

[gander007]

This thing and it's family did big time damage to Chickens
Ducks and geese in just 18 months as I was told no more
leg hold traps just cage traps or a .22 or shotgun and no
BB guns at this is wrong according to the head Farmer
on trapping and law guy that came by my house with a
tittle so long I cant remember but he sure could rattle off
the law's so now I am down to shooting the varmints but
all my animals are livestock to do so, so now I haven't any
more pets on my property .......





gander007

 

[Beekissed]

It seems like it's only in the towns and suburbs that cats become an issue...and also in places where they catch them, spay/neuter them and then release them. The problem in these pictures is not the cats but the humans and their "love" of animals that keeps them from doing the necessary thing. So far, the only solutions I've seen are woefully pitiful compared to how it was all handled back in the olden days...and the cat populations are steadily on the increase...these solutions are not working.

One, people need to stop feeding feral cats. Stop neutering/spaying them and stop feeding them. Cats have been regulating their own populations since time began before animal lovers started intervening. Toms kill whole litters of kittens, when the toms still have their balls attached, to kill all possible future rivals...they may leave a female kit or two and they also will have a territory in which they will kill other toms to defend their hunting rights and breeding rights.

All that goes out the window when humans start to feed the cats...no need to defend a hunting territory then. Cut off the balls, no more natural selection going on of rival cats and kits...no drive to defend mating rights.

Cats getting killed on the road, eaten by foxes and coyotes, killing each other in fights...all of these things are natural selection and ways of thinning out the cat population. A cat is more a wild animal than a domesticated one by far and can fend for itself out on the land easily, so it's just the humans that gum up the works on how to keep cat populations down...naturally...as they have always been controlled since the beginning of time.

Farmers that saw stray cats on their land back in the day and who didn't want them near the chickens would shoot them, just like they would a stray dog. Another natural control of one predator towards another about hunting/food rights. It's not cruel to someone's pet, it's predator against predator as it should be. If you own a predator and don't want it to die, keep it at home....my advice is just to not own a predator if you can't stand the thought of it dying. That's dog or cat.

When I was young no one fed a cat past the kitten stage...no cat food. They lived off what they could catch and they defended their hunting and foraging from all others..or they were killed in that defense. Stray cats were regularly shot whether you had livestock or not...folks knew how to get rid of a nuisance back then and everyone knew everyone elses cat, so no known cats were killed..just the strays. Same with dogs..everyone knew whose dog it was and would just call them up and tell them to keep him at home because he's doing _________ and he'll get shot the next time they catch him doing it. There were no hard feelings over that because it was expected and those who didn't want to lose a dog kept it tied up. Those that didn't care, didn't and the dog would often disappear, get hit on the road, etc. All of that was a form of pet population control.

Enter the animal lover that can't ever let an animal die....ever...it must be preserved at all costs because they will just hurt too bad if it isn't, so it must be. Now we have dog and cat population problems, overflowing shelters that won't kill the animals there either, and an ever growing crisis....all in the name of the love of animals. Creating their own crisis and then crying about it to all and sundry.

The simple, natural ways work and they have always worked and when sentiment was the luxury of a few..and not really tolerated...the animals were far better off, humans fought less over them, neighborhoods were more peaceful and quiet, and a cat peeing in a garden wasn't any big deal...just more fertilizer.

 

[The Lazy L]

My wife loves cats and feed all the strays within a 5 state area.

The first floor window screens are ripped to shreds by the cats climbing on them.

Winter time they head for the garage every time the overhead doors opens.

Muddy cat tracks all over her car and my truck hood, up and over the windshield.

Cat mine fields all over the yard.

Wife has had so many of them fixed that the Vet gives her a discount.

Wicker furniture on the front porch is shredded.

I use to like cats...please...please try and get the chickens...

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I had a stray male i trapped twice and released him.......caught the same one again he got a bullet in his head as he was jumping on my avairys.....i like to call it population control....since theirs a barn down the road who has a ton of strays that keep breeding. Im not paying to fix someone elses problem.