My eyes are open

andrew

New member
Last week while out shooting, I came across a dead feral/house cat that some one had shot and killed. The people I was with remarked on how messed up it was that someone killed a poor house pet and even though I am ashamed to say it, it kind of felt bad for the cat. Well I just read a topic in the bird hunting forum about saving baby quail and it hit me like a lightening bolt. That every native species of animal that that cat was capable of eating was better off with that cat dead. it was obviously nobodys pet due to the location and now, I have decided to do away with any feral cat I see in the wild. Is this a bad idea even if I am sure it is nobodys pet?
 
Where I live cats either stay in the house or the coyotes eat them
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, but if I came across one in the wild I would shoot it.

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Take care,
Daryl
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I just arrowed a feral cat last week. At first I too felt bad. However, there are so many feral cats out there that they do make a major negative impact on other critters. I have so many wild cats running around the apartment complex now that I have considered buying a 22cal air rifle.

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SGT Johnny C.
NAHC
AIRBORNE ALL THE WAY
 
Cats really do a job to the rabbit population around here, especially this time of year! I take them out when I see them....
 
If you see a domestic cat more than a half mile from the nearest residence, it is no ones house pet. Someone may be puting food out for it but for all intent and purpose that cat is "wild". Just try to approach it or pick it up. It's just as wild as the critters it's killing out there in the brush. SOS (shoot on sight).
 
I have a pet rabbit, it thinks its a person, cleanest pet one can have, house broken and all, like Clyde said, cats commit suicide in yard .
 
I recall seeing an article about five years ago that cited incredible numbers of songbirds preyed upon each year by feral cats. Now, like many of you, killing a domestic animal pets me wrong, but I have no problem shooting a feral housecat because, quite frankly, nature doesn't factor them into the big equation. They weren't meant to be there and wouldn't be if not for the ignorance of certain people. Along the same vein is the growing problem with feral dogs in my area. Primarily rural and rangeland, I can't count the number of times I've gone out to investigate a coyote complaint where all the evidence clearly point to dogs. Granted, the majority of them are house dogs left to run loose by owners who moved to the country, not to farm, but to live in the country and think that their dog has every right to wide open spaces. I've actually had dogs respond in packs of up to seven and eight animals, and turn aggressive on me when they discover that there's no rabbit to be had. That can get kinda scary. Our county enacted a resolution allowing for the destruction of domestic pets when found off the property of their owners. And I won't fess up to any more than that. If you gotta do it, do it humanely.
 
I got a personal 1/4 mile range from houses. I got one this past turk season, he pissed on my truck,that is initself a killin offense.

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jay
 
I'll go you one better. If I see dogs attacking livestock or horses I shoot the dogs, no matter who owns the cattle or the dogs. Of course, I don't worry too much about MY horse cause he loves dogs. I've buried a few of the neighbors dogs because he 'loved' them to death!
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Take care,
Daryl
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[This message has been edited by Daryl (edited 06-14-2001).]
 
If you need more justification to shoot feral animals, only look to Australia where feral cats are wreaking havoc on the place. They've adapted so well now that they're nearly a plague. They have no natural enemies (dingos don't seem to have much effect on them) and plenty of natural food. I've seen video of 30 pound calicos and tabbies attacking Koalas. Most places there now have a shoot on sight philosophy when it comes to cats. In fact, I have found some places on the internet that advertise hunts for feral cats.

I wonder if you can get a "Koala in distress" call? Could be the next frontier for predator hunters.
 
There is currently a big brouhaha going on between the cat lovers and bird lovers in my town. Seems like each wants to inflict their version of idyllic nature on everybody else. The big argument is "natural" versus "domestic" predators.

I don't put much weight on that argument, because those are the same folks who turn around and tell me I am an "un-natural" influence on the world and want me to stop hunting. I'm not outside the food chain, however, I'm on top of it and intend to stay there.
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And nobody can follow the whole problem through. Sure, the cats kill lots of songbirds, but it is the songbirds that cause the cats! Think about it. Look at all the people who go to Sam's Club and buy birdseed in 5 gallon buckets. They give this to the birds, which increases the number of birds.
If they threw hamburger around their backyards they wouldn't be surprised when a cat or two showed up, but they can't make the connection that they are doing the same thing by keeping their back yard full of fresh meat wrapped in feathers. Given this increase in the food supply, the population of feral cats goes up, and when that happens, well shucks, here come the coyotes.

A lot of these people are just too damn dumb to figure out that when you throw a rock in the pond, the ripples go out clear across the lake. When you dump tons of food into the ecosystem, it doesn't just stop with the first critter that eats it. Instead it feeds the birds, cats, coyotes, bigger cats, carrion eaters, mice, worms and bacteria.

So when we shoot feral (or otherwise) cats, we are just part of nature's system. Call it natural or call it what you want. I just think of it as facilitating the transfer of energy down the food chain. I'm not going to eat it, but _something_ sure will.

Bobcat hunters especially should keep this in mind. I've heard it said that the way to clean up on bobcats is to lug a hundred pounds of cracked corn into the area you want to hunt and spread it all around. It will take the birds a few days to figure it out and a few more for the bobcats to learn where the banquet table is. After that, sneak in, call, and take advantage of the situation.
 
Okay? Who knows? Legal? Probably not. All birds are federally protected except for English sparrows, common starlings, and pigeons. If these are the birds in your hunting area, blaze away. But unless the others are in season, you are taking a risk popping 'em. Minimal I think, but it exists. Just so you know.

Most kids hunt every little tweety bird they can find, but I guess you could get busted if everything was working against you.
 
I wrote an essay on shooting ferral cats in college. Ofcourse the instructor was a cat lover. If I remember right the Univ. of Wisconsin did a study on the effects of ferral cats and the numbers were astonishing. So I had real proof that you should shot them.
I've shot a whole lot more cats than coyotes. I don't know if it is legal or not but I shoot them. I lived in town for four years and always wanted to shoot the cats-I lip sqeaked a lot of them to my window. But I figured someone would see me shoot one and it would be someones pet. Then they would call the cops and some liberal lawyer and my ass would be hung.
When I shoot a cat I consider it a good ballistics test for pelt damage.
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Feral house cats are a plague on the countryside. Shoot 'em. Quite a number of years ago I had a "varmint" raiding my chickens. It took 1 big rooster and 8 hens, but I finally got it. Turned out to be one of the largest domestic (feral) cats I had ever seen. It sure was getting fat at my expense!
 
Many years ago, when I was more: foolish, brave, or stupid (take your choice) I built a shotgun just for shooting cats from a moving vehicle. Back East, the grass is wet most every night from the dew. Cats like to keep their feet dry. Therefore at night cats travel paved roads.

A regular shotgun is too long to swing around in a vehicle. You can't just hang it outside the vehicle, too much traffic back East. I took a single shot, shortened the barrel to 18 1/4" with an adjustable choke. And shortened the stock for an overall length of 26".

Had a lot of fun for a couple years there. Never got busted either, even with some real close calls. Once caught a county cop spotlighting deer from his cruiser.
 
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