Feel kinda crappy.....had to shoot a cat

[Hens_And_Chicks]

A male cat with his "intact junk in the trunk" is a nuisance. A responsible owner would not allow a male cat outdoors to roam and if the cat had any financial value, it would not be outside. I have three male cats and all are neutered. I wish I knew who owned the males in my neighborhood that fight with my cats and beat them up.

I'd have no problem dropping a stray male cat that sneaks around and causes problems. This - coming from an extreme feline lover. I just don't lose any love on a feral or aggressive male that comes onto MY property and antagonizes MY animals.

 

[Terri]

op is remorseful, why give him/her a hard time. To protect our own some hard decisions must be made.

 

[Jetlander]

Quote:
I had a troop in the Air Force about 8 years ago that was bitten by a stray cat on the hand. Well a day later his entire hand and arm swelled to twice it's normal size. He went to the ER and was immediatly admitted. To make a long story short, he almost DIED. When I realized he was in bad shape I went to talk with the doctor, he said if it was a dog bite he wouldn't be concerned, but because it was a cat and they carry several really nasty viruses and he wasn't sure if he could stop the infection from spreading to his brain. Well in the end he made it, but it took 2 weeks before he was out of the woods, we thought we were going to lose him. From that point in time, if there is a stray on my property it is disposed of immediately. Make your own conclusions, but I say you made the absolute right decision and should be commended for killing it before it hurt a child or worse.

 

[nerfy]

This is nerfy.. not my niece. Even if a cat is healthy, it can cause major infection due to small teeth and a deeper puncture. A cat bite is much worse than a dog being that a dogs jaws crush.
I will copy this info below from LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

Which is worse, dog bites or cat bites?
Dogs have strong jaws—large dogs can exert more than 450 pounds of pressure per square inch—and their teeth are relatively dull. So the wounds caused by dogs are usually crushing of the tissue bitten and lacerations or tearing of the skin rather than puncture wounds. Most dog bites do not penetrate deeply enough to get bacteria into bones, tendons, or joints, but they often do a lot of damage just from the trauma of the bite. Tissue that has been crushed, however, such as may occur with a bite to the hand, is particularly susceptible to infection.

Cats’ teeth are thin and sharp, so the wounds they cause are more likely to be puncture wounds. These wounds can reach into joints and bones and introduce bacteria deeply into the tissue. Puncture wounds are very difficult to clean, so a lot of bacteria may be left in the wound. Also, most cat bites are to the hand, which makes infection more likely.

Dog bites often do more outright damage, but only 3 to 18 percent become infected. In contrast, cat bites may appear more trivial, but up to 80 percent of cat bites may become infected if proper care is not taken.
Here is the link to this sight
http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu/animal_bites.htm

 

[redhen]

its true about cat bites..they are nasty! thats why many groomers wont touch them....one lady told me she just cant afford to take a cat bite!

 

[got2bskilled]

It could have been Rabid. Careful on shooting animals that have the potential to carry rabbies at close range... one man here died because a drop of blood went into his eye after shooting a coon. Shooting it sprays blood which in turn is dangerous to all living creatures in the habitat. Even the dead ones can spread disease(by other animals eating it, or you just touching it, because of the saliva residue). Capture is the best way... and be sure to call the county to pick it up.

Domestic animals in my state are protected by law. That is why Micheal Vic sat in jail rotting for so long. I am not going to give you a hard time over it because I understand the ferrel cat epidemic. And you shot it... you did not torture it. But, it could have been a distant neighbors cat that escaped..... I would never shoot a domestic animal. I'd call animal control because that is what I pay my taxes for.

Dont beat yourself up over it... just dont do it again to be on the safe side

 

[ivan3]

We are a dumping ground for strays (out of the way and at the bottom of a half-mile dip in the road).

We've retired more than our share of ferals. A pair will occasionally hunt like the lionesses I saw on MOO's Wild Kingdom. Watching two of them work their way up from the road (one advancing and then crouching, the other then swinging past on the flank slinking ahead of the other) I kept waiting to hear Marlin Perkins describe the progress: "on the veldt, stalking chickens is reserved for the aged, young, and outcasts, but for those felines prowling the dissected uplands of the midwest United States, quick and lethal attacks from the tangled cover of Amur Honeysuckles and clumps of Multifloral Rose, provide even the most skilled `claw cat' effortless kills..."

The flock gathered in the big Lilac and growled, the cats were euthanized.

Both of our indoor cats are `ditch cats'. We found both abandoned kittens along the road fronting our property. They are `fixed', they never go outside (our fifteen yr. old outside cat - neutered as a kitten - homebody - lost his left eye to a feral as they fought on the front deck).

So, not to worry. Save what you're able to save. Try not to reflect too often on the irresponsibility of some humans...

ed: clarity

 

[amazondoc]

Not to cause more grief, but to offer a possible alternative to others who might find themselves in similar situations --

My mom, and other rescue groups around here, frequently trap/neuter/test/vaccinate feral cats and then find barn homes for them. There is even a local spay/neuter program specifically for feral cats, called Snip N Tip. Not all areas will be *that* lucky, but trapping and relocating after castration i certainly an alternative to shooting.

 

[nzpouter]

there's another name for it.... "make it somebody else's problem".

A hunter will always be a hunter no matter where it is, we got one of those crazy cat rescue lady down the road (+/- 2 miles) and you won't believe how many of her cats end up here (we know it's hers as she paint fluoro paint at the end of their tails

).

 

[KattyKillFish]

I'm not sure what to say. i can kill a dog any day of the week, any time with to regrets. if anything it makes me feel at peace knowing my chickens are safe after the dog is dead. but a cat? i couldn't so it. but I understand why it had to be done. wild cats reduce the wild bird population by A LOT. also, now your neighbors companions can sleep and eat in peace, and they are safe now. so i guess it was a good thing. kill one to save two. sounds reasonable to me, especially since the cat may have been a pet turned loose by past owners. I would certainly have something to say to the people who got rid of it like that. don't they know how HORRIBLE it is?

but still. If i was in your position i wouldn't have been able to do it, even though it's probably the best thing to do.