Totally creepy!

[Bettacreek]

So, three nights ago, something got into the one quail pen. One of the rabbits was running in the yard, two dead quail in the yard (nothing eaten but the butts) and three missing quail. One neighbor thought that it was a fox, but everyone else thought it was a cat. Either way, I mentioned that whatever the heck it was, I wanted it dead. Two nights ago, another quail was dead, IN the cage (head was pulled through). Today, about an hour after feeding everyone, I saw a grey/white cat laying in front of the cages. I quickly and quietly grabbed my shotgun and two low brass shells. I was amazed that the cat was still sprawled out in the yard, even after having the toddler screaming in the house. I decided to head out through the back door to sneak up on it, instead of shooting through the bathroom window. I sneak around the car with the shotgun ready, only to find a dead cat staring at me. *Gag* I checked it, the eyes were clouded over, there were lots of gruesome looking wounds on it (around the neck, and the one paw was swollen with a big hole in it). Ants were already eating it. BUT, the blood was still wet around the fur, rigor hadn't set in completely yet, the blood trail was still wet, and, as I said, only about an hour previous, this cat was NOT there. I called Andy at work, because I was that freaked out. I don't know if someone had shot it and it just so happend to have ended up in our yard or if one of the neighbors shot it and tossed it in the yard as an anonymous way of saying "you wanted it dead, now it's dead". I'm keeping the shotgun beside me just in case, lmao.

 

[scbatz33]

Are you sure it was shot and not a victim of whatever got the birds?

 

[bock]

That is creepy!!!

 

[Bettacreek]

Quote:
I forgot to mention that the other gruesome wounds are older. It's a stray tom that we've seen around a few times before. I'm no expert, but I have seen plenty of gunshot wounds, and that's exactly what it looks like on this cat, right in the ribcage. I didn't check to see if there was another hole (entrance or exit) on the other side, and I'm certainly not going to be dissecting it for a bullet. I'm 99.5% positive that it was shot, by some type of rifle, to be exact.

 

[Chicken0Boy]

Quote:
As I read this that was just what I thought!

 

[Laurajean]

I find it disturbing that you were going to shoot a cat. What if it were some child's beloved pet? Seems to me the solution would be to secure the bird's coop better, not shoot a domestic cat with a shot gun.

 

[Bettacreek]

The other thing that makes me inclined to believe that it's not a victim of "my" predator, is the timing. The attacks on my birds were all at night. We've never seen anything near during the day. This happened just a bit ago (maybe half an hour ago). There's only one fresh, bleeding wound in the cat, and it's a bullet wound if I've ever seen one.

 

[Chicken0Boy]

Wow this is all so creepy!

 

[Bettacreek]

Quote:
One, it's called a feral cat. Two, people need to keep their pets secured. I'm allowed, by law, to shoot any feral cats that happen to be destroying my "livestock". They really don't even need to be after my livestock for me to be allowed to shoot them. Either way, I'm going to ask not to discuss the "ethics" of shooting a feral.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Obviously YOUR pets aren't being chewed up by a mysterious predator. It'll change your tune REAL fast.

Shooting a domestic-type cat was the hardest shot that I've ever had to make --- but after losing chicks to a mystery predator I wasn't willing to take any chances.