Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

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Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Blaine »

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Anyway, a stray mama cat dropped off five kittens on the back porch. She weaned them and took off a couple weeks ago. I do not want these little bundles of joy, but I don't want to hurt them either. I've been feeding them inside a cage, and can trap them most any time. I leave for a two month Van jaunt in about two weeks. I've only managed to give one kitten away. Every shelter is full. The Humane Society will take them, but will more than likely put them down. Now: Since these are basically untame, do you think they would survive if I took them out to the wilds, not close to anything, or anybody? Or is that just a slow death, and the Humane Society would be the better option. (My gut sez Humane Society)
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by octagon »

A third and obvious option, just send them all to Joe' s house.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by gamekeeper »

One of the jobs I had in pest control was catching feral cats and kittens, the idea was to have them spayed and returned to the wild. Every feral cat and kitten I caught was inspected by a vet and declared unfit due to infectious diseases etc and were put down.
Because feral cats cause alsorts of problems to native species and pet cats I was not too upset to see them thinned out a bit.
Didn't stop the kittens from being cute though..
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by FWiedner »

Take them the Humane Society.

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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by wm »

Strange coincidence you should bring this up at this time. I'm working on thinning out the feral cats at the university I work at. Here is a webstie that might interest you.

http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=760

In our case we are trapping them and turning them over to MSU vet program (students in the program spay and neuter them) who then turns them over to a 'no kill' shelter. Leaving them run amok has decimated the wildlife on the nature trails........really hard on the birds, snakes and frogs. And cats do kill for 'fun'. They will kill and then leave the animal uneaten
Last edited by wm on Wed Aug 27, 2014 6:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by jcw »

Off to the pound with them.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by 7.62 Precision »

Don't release them into the wild, they are very destructive.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by AJMD429 »

7.62 Precision wrote:Don't release them into the wild, they are very destructive.
Yep. All the baby songbirds they will KILL are just as 'cute' as those kittens are (at least to their mom's :wink: ), and are far more unique environmentally.

I'm not a 'cat hater', but am a 'wildlife lover', particularly when it comes to the many threatened species that feral cats prey on.

If you choose to 'release' them, far better to release them in an urban area, where they will simply steal food from other pets, and catch some rats now and then, than a rural area, where they will be preying on more fragile species, or subject to 'euthanasia' from the locals who don't fancy introduced cats any more than ranchers out west fancy introduced wolves.
Last edited by AJMD429 on Wed Aug 27, 2014 7:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Mescalero »

Find a no kill shelter.
I never took part in the annual N.M. cat kill event.
Killing, for me; is sometimes needed, but never fun.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Old Ironsights »

BlaineG wrote::lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Anyway, a stray mama cat dropped off five kittens on the back porch. She weaned them and took off a couple weeks ago. I do not want these little bundles of joy, but I don't want to hurt them either. I've been feeding them inside a cage, and can trap them most any time. ... Now: Since these are basically untame, ...)
(A) All kittens are untame/semi-feral. Only releasing them into the wild/streets makes them genuinely feral/dangerous.
(B) Momma gave them to you for a reason. She didn't want them to be ferals. I acquired my polydactyl that way... a momma cat put a kitten into my open truck to protect it from the oncoming hail/tornado while I was visiting a ranch.
(C) A box of kittens isn't hard to transport. Call the shelter(s) along your travel route. You might get lucky.

If you MUST give them to the Humane Society, make it happen as the last thing you do before leaving town.

But don't release them into the wild. Assuming they survive (and most will) they will just breed and make matters worse.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Chuck 100 yd »

We have/had a similar situation here. These kittens were so wild that if you opened the door and they were 50 yd. away they would run. The lady across the street is a cat woman and she finally got their trust enough to trap them and have them neutered/spayed at a free clinic in Portland. They were returned to her and she has found homes for about half of them. The rest are now hers.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Blaine »

Yep....The Humane Society.....
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by plowboy 45 »

This what I use to do with puppies and kittens, go to the quaters when the kids are out and playin, and givem one some of the little buggers will take 2.
Then get down the street out of sight and repeat
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Blaine »

plowboy 45 wrote:This what I use to do with puppies and kittens, go to the quaters when the kids are out and playin, and givem one some of the little buggers will take 2.
Then get down the street out of sight and repeat
I like it :twisted: :twisted: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by bdhold »

animal shelters around here refuse feral cats
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Streetstar »

bless you for trying to think of a way to save these little critters Blaine ---- I hope it works out -- I have 3 very domestic house cats now who started out feral, --- they were tiny when my wife took them in, just a day or 2 shy of getting their eyes open
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Griff »

I love kittens. I take all I can get... when I'm going to be home for a month... I turn 'em loose in the barn... they clean out the mice and become coyote bait. Sometimes I win... sometimes the coyote.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by JerryB »

jcw said off to the pound with them, I think he meant off to the POND with them in a tow sack and a cement block.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Blaine »

JerryB wrote:jcw said off to the pound with them, I think he meant off to the POND with them in a tow sack and a cement block.
I could not do that...If I were to be the one to end their lives, I'd use a .22.....
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by J Miller »

Blaine,

If they can be handled, do so and domesticate them. Shelters that will not take ferals will usually take domesticated kittens from mommas that went hunting and didn't come home. You don't have to tell them the momma was a feral cat.


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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by piller »

J Miller wrote:Blaine,

If they can be handled, do so and domesticate them. Shelters that will not take ferals will usually take domesticated kittens from mommas that went hunting and didn't come home. You don't have to tell them the momma was a feral cat.


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That sounds reasonable to me. I don't know about the shelters near you, but the ones near me will have the animal spayed or neutered at a low cost clinic and the new owner pays for it. All of my pets are incapable of reproducing.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by vancelw »

Kittens are the hardest thing for shelters to re-home. They are abundant. The theory of a no-kill shelter is nice, but not practical.
A shelter is the best hope for the kittens to be adopted into loving homes. If they can't place them, the can be euthanized in a humane manner and not be allowed to reproduce and perpetuate the problem. Spaying and turning them loose is not practical or responsible.
Giving them to kids who don't have permission from their parents or turning them loose are the best ways to ensure future suffering for the kitten.
Feral cats (an invasive, destructive species) are damaging to the songbird and quail populations. (and also your domestic cat)
Don't turn them loose in the country. We don't want to have to deal with the problems someone else didn't have the intestinal fortitude to handle.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by 7.62 Precision »

BlaineG wrote: I could not do that...If I were to be the one to end their lives, I'd use a .22.....
I'm with you. I have no problem killing cats. I have also had to kill a number of dogs. I don't enjoy killing for the sake of killing. When I shot a bear that was trying to kill my children, my kids, though they were scared of the bear and relieved that it was dead, were petting its head and telling me they were sad it was dead. I told them that they were right to feel sad. I teach them that anyone who does not feel a little sad when an animal is killed has a problem.

When an animal needs to be killed,that's fine; it should at least be done with some respect and dignity, and minimal suffering.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by OldWin »

7.62 Precision wrote:
BlaineG wrote: I could not do that...If I were to be the one to end their lives, I'd use a .22.....
I'm with you. I have no problem killing cats. I have also had to kill a number of dogs. I don't enjoy killing for the sake of killing. When I shot a bear that was trying to kill my children, my kids, though they were scared of the bear and relieved that it was dead, were petting its head and telling me they were sad it was dead. I told them that they were right to feel sad. I teach them that anyone who does not feel a little sad when an animal is killed has a problem.

When an animal needs to be killed,that's fine; it should at least be done with some respect and dignity, and minimal suffering.
I agree. I've hunted all my life and never hesitated to kill when hunting for the table. However, I don't enjoy killing and never have killed for the sake of killing something.

I know how you feel Blaine. I love cats and always have. We have a huge orange cat that was a feral kitten. He is a gteat pet and very gentle. The wife has a tiny poodle that weighs four pounds. That cat loves her but could easily kill her.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Mike Armstrong »

My gut agrees with original poster's gut. Releasing cats into the wild is a cruel and destructive act. Where I come from we'd call it "trashy." Cats are VERY destructive of wildlife if they survive to maturity in the wild. But most "dumped" kittens are doomed to a slow, awful death by starvation or a quick and terrible death by coyote, fox, or owl, or the ever popular auto. A "kill" shelter is more humane than any of these fates.

That said, if you can tame a feral cat and take care of it, you have a buddy for life. I've had two and still have one of 'em. They are hard to tame, and never quite as tame as a cat that has been entirely raised in a human family; always a little wary and tend to be one-person pets. One of mine, Hairy, is buzzing on my lap as I write this.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by RIHMFIRE »

we gave ours to the local ranchers for barn cats.....
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Blaine »

I'm still working the heartstrings of some Wimmin I know.... 8) 8)

I could always turn 'em loose at Boot's and Ollogger's place :twisted: :twisted:
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by AJMD429 »

Don't turn them loose near this guy's house... :shock: :?
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Old Ironsights »

BlaineG wrote:I'm still working the heartstrings of some Wimmin I know.... 8) 8)

I could always turn 'em loose at Boot's and Ollogger's place :twisted: :twisted:
What's your route? I'm in Riverton most days & every other weekend now... (but I'm full up with cats...)
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by bdhold »

feral cats are mis-defined on this thread, and on the Mortar link.
A feral cat was not released in the wild - that is a stray cat.
A feral cat was born in the wild - it had an ancestor that was released to the wild.

I do not see a paradox in loving my Abyssinian and hating feral cats.

We can't shoot enough feral hogs, but a feral cat is a kitty?

1894 was the first documented extinction in Zealand due to feral cats, since then 7 bird species and 70 bird subspecies have been documented as extinct due to feral cats in New Zealand. There is a long list of currently endangered birds, lizards and bats there - all due to feral cats.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by J Miller »

I think Bulldog has made a valid point. We have rescued / adopted many stray cats and after they realized we were not the enemy they became good pets. But we have never succeeded in making a feral into a pet. We had one feral female that we adopted for nearly 6 years as an indoor cat. She had bonded with our domesticated cats, but never us. She died in the basement behind some shelves of an unknown cause. Very sad.

This has been the case with all ferals. I don't believe in killing them and if they are neutered and spayed then released back into their territory the numbers of cats will diminish. That has been documented.

As for the extinction of species in New Zealand due to ferals they should declare war on the cats and exterminate them. It can be done, look what we did to the passenger pigeon. Just takes a cold hearted attitude and zero rules. SSS

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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by BrentD »

J Miller wrote:Tif they are neutered and spayed then released back into their territory the numbers of cats will diminish. That has been documented.
Where? I would very much like to see that work.

Thanks,
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Blaine »

BrentD wrote:
J Miller wrote:Tif they are neutered and spayed then released back into their territory the numbers of cats will diminish. That has been documented.
Where? I would very much like to see that work.

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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by 7.62 Precision »

BrentD wrote:
J Miller wrote:Tif they are neutered and spayed then released back into their territory the numbers of cats will diminish. That has been documented.
Where? I would very much like to see that work.

Thanks,
Brent
I would also like to see the documentation. You would have to be catching pretty much all the cats.

Anyway, it makes little sense. If they are caught, fixed, and released, that takes a lot more resources and money than killing them. Besides, when if they are neutered and spayed then released back into their territory the numbers of the animals they kill will diminish.

Few wild animals kill for the joy of killing. Sometimes it happens with a particular bear. For the most part, animals kill what they need to eat. Maybe they have to share with ravens and foxes, but they don't kill to let things lie.

Domesticated cats will generally kill anytime they have an opportunity. Even if they do not need to eat, they hunt and kill birds, small mammals, reptiles, etc. and they kill a lot of them. When the become feral, they do not loose this tendency. Also, they are very bad for carrying diseases and parasites. Up here, they are killing sea otters when their feces washes into the ocean. There was a sort of famous polar bear in the zoo up here who ate a cat and died of it, so they can kill larger animals as well.

Feral cats should be destroyed. The problem is that all the animal lovers cannot differentiate between a feral cat and a house cat, and protest if anyone kills them. A feral cat is not a house cat any more than a wolf-breed or a coy dog is a domestic dog.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by BrentD »

BlaineG wrote:
BrentD wrote:
J Miller wrote:Tif they are neutered and spayed then released back into their territory the numbers of cats will diminish. That has been documented.
Where? I would very much like to see that work.

Thanks,
Brent
Well, if they can't reproduce....Ergo sum.....
if only that was all there was to it. But from what I know about feral cats they are, for the most part, recruited from non-feral cats, not by reproduction from the ferals themselves. So, you have to ask what limits feral cat population growth? and in this case, in situ reproduction is probably not the answer.

Then you can ask, what do you gain by releasing neutered cats relative to simply NOT releasing them? Presumably they would be filling up the "carrying capacity" for cats out there, but what's the point in that (if it even happens - and it doesn't)? They still gotta eat and thus cause problems and if they die of old age, it's not like they won't be replaced (see above). So, anyway, the bottom line is that the math just does not work. And population math is my bag, so that's why I want to know.

BTW, there are not many places where females are being neutered and released. All of those programs that I now of only castrate males (because it is cheaper and easier) and yet, cats are polygamous. It only takes one male to keep all the females happy for a LONG ways in all directions.

Anyhow, I like to see the science on such things because, generally it isn't there.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by 7.62 Precision »

Also, dumping cats on those who do not want them increases the feral population. EVERYONE knows that if you have a cat you don't want, you just drop it off at some farmer's barn. The problem is, most don't want cats dropped off. They defecate in the feed, overpopulate, kill rabbits and chickens, go from calf to calf licking milk off their mouths and spreading disease, breed, and breed, and breed, and then they and their offspring spread over the countryside as feral cats. When we had a ranch, people constantly dumped cats on our property, and we had to get rid of them.

I appreciate you being willing to actually take responsibility for them (when they were not really your responsibility to begin with) instead of just dumping them somewhere.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Bruce Scott »

BrentD wrote:
J Miller wrote:Tif they are neutered and spayed then released back into their territory the numbers of cats will diminish. That has been documented.
Where? I would very much like to see that work.

Thanks,
Brent
There's this:
http://www.feralcat.com/

And some other points of view:

"Supporters of TNR embrace this practice as part of a "no-kill" philosophy. Euthanasia on a massive scale is not fiscally practical. TNR advocates agree that the traditional methods of trapping-and-removing will not work because of a "vacuum effect": As some cats are taken out of their territory, others will move in to replace them, which renders the initial removal ineffective.[119] However, there is little to no scientific
evidence to support this claim. If other feral cats are available to do so, the primary factor of whether they will or not is the availability of food: If enough food is present, then any nearby cats may move in.[120] This, however ignores one simple fact. The food supply for most "community cats" is food provided to them by people. If people are prevented from feeding free roaming cats, there will be nothing to attract other cats to replace those removed.[citation needed]
Effectiveness

Studies have been conducted to gauge the effectiveness of TNR. Several of them suggest that the procedure works.[121][122][123] A PhD study in North Carolina found that TNR consistently reduced the populations of feral cat colonies by a mean of 36% over two years and with the extinction of one third of the colonies within the same period, while the non-TNR'd colonies increased by a mean of 47%.[124] One peer-reviewed study showed a reduction in numbers of cats with TNR by 66% over an 11 year period.[125]

However, a study by Castillo (2003)[126] found that TNR was ineffective due to feeding locations attracting even more feral cats while also providing a convenient place to illegally dump unwanted cats, although advocates argue that dumping is a separate issue and does not invalidate TNR.[127] A review article by Longcore et al. (2009) argues that TNR advocates are too concerned about cat welfare and not about the effect on indigenous wildlife.[128] The authors argue that populations are not stable and movement of cats is significant between urban areas and nearby woodland. They also state that cats can reach high densities when there is a reliable food source without proper sterilization and management. California State University researchers published mathematical models of feral cats populations suggesting that 71–94% of a population needs to be sterilized for the population to decline, based on case studies of San Diego and Alachua Counties.[129]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap-neuter-return
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octagon
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by octagon »

A quick search indicates that there are 50 - 76 MILLION feral cats in the US. Wow.
Some years ago, after a flood, many folks were displaced and left the area. They left many cats behind. I had a country cat that mostly fed himself, but the wife put out a small amount of food to augment the rodent diet. We started to notice some of these wild ones showing up to eat. This number increased dramatically seemingly overnight, and in no time there were many many dozens of wild, inbred, weepy eyed, foul smelling animals that left a scent of urine that would peel the paint. The local shelter said to trap em and bring em down to the animal shelter, but after 3-4 loads they refused to take any more. My black dog was eliminating them daily, but could not keep up.

I had noticed that the majority of the cats were white, and when visiting the neighbors (hippies) to try and come up with a plan, I saw they had a dozen pet cats on their porch that were not neutered and they were mostly white.

I live by the old rule my Dad taught all us kids which is just kill what you eat, or what is harming livestock or family. My kids were small then, and one day the youngest girl came running in the house hollering that the cats were chasing her and had bit and scratched her leg. When I stepped out to investigate I saw I had let this problem go on for far too long, and started the long, unpleasant task of dealing with a problem that was forced upon me. Worst task I ever set for myself.
That kid is the sweetest girl you ever met, and is an animal lover. She does NOT like cats.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Blaine »

These will either be given to a home, or taken to the Humane Society....really no other choice. I was originally concerned about the cats surviving, but, did not consider the local wildlife....(though, will the volume of coyotes, bobcats, and cougars around here, I don't see how it could be much worse.)
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by jeepnik »

BrentD wrote:
J Miller wrote:Tif they are neutered and spayed then released back into their territory the numbers of cats will diminish. That has been documented.
Where? I would very much like to see that work.

Thanks,
Brent
Among other places, Cabrillo Beach, Point Fermin and White's Point in San Pedro Calif. The only increase in numbers for some years has been the result of folks dumping off cats (both adult and kittens) that haven't been spayed or neutered. These are usually trapped, spayed or neutered and released back. The groups that do this try and get the cats at least one set of shots, and often they can get them their shots annually. Those that are unvaccinated tend to have fairly short lives.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by BrentD »

Bruce Scott wrote:
BrentD wrote:
J Miller wrote:Tif they are neutered and spayed then released back into their territory the numbers of cats will diminish. That has been documented.
Where? I would very much like to see that work.

Thanks,
Brent
There's this:
http://www.feralcat.com/

Well, this one certainly doesn't document anything. TNR works because they say works but that's all and that doesn't cut it in the real world.

I'll have to poke around and look at some of the others. The whole idea of cats being territorial and thus keeping out others is ridiculous. If that were true 1) you would not see barnyards and hoarders' homes with dozens of cats at one time and 2) it wouldn't matter if you neutered or not because the territories would still be filled to and the landscape would be at the same overall population size. I don't understand why folks don't think the logic of these things through, never mind actually look at the biology of the animals.

I'll have to look at the others but I am doubtful.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by 6pt-sika »

BlaineG wrote:
JerryB wrote:jcw said off to the pound with them, I think he meant off to the POND with them in a tow sack and a cement block.
I could not do that...If I were to be the one to end their lives, I'd use a .22.....
Use a pellet rifle , it's less expensive ! Nothing against cat lovers but I truly dislike/hate felines be it the lowly house cat or the Lord of the jungle . Just saying !
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by 7.62 Precision »

Cats are tough, I had trouble once killing one with a .22. I would not trust most pellet rifles for a clean kill.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by .45colt »

7.62 wrote; Cats are tough, I had trouble once killing one with a .22. I would not trust most pellet rifles for a clean kill.
My experience has proven that out also. just go to the 32-20.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by 6pt-sika »

7.62 Precision wrote:Cats are tough, I had trouble once killing one with a .22. I would not trust most pellet rifles for a clean kill.
These aren't man eating wild Alaskan cats :lol:
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by OldWin »

They are tough for sure.

I remember reading somewhere that pound for pound, cats were one of the toughest things on the planet.
Don't know if it's true but it should be!

BlaineG wrote:These will either be given to a home, or taken to the Humane Society....really no other choice. I was originally concerned about the cats surviving, but, did not consider the local wildlife....(though, will the volume of coyotes, bobcats, and cougars around here, I don't see how it could be much worse.)
I think you've chosen the best path Blaine.
It says a lot about you that you gave so much thought and effort to saving these cats. Most people just don't care.
Good on you Sir.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by octagon »

7.62 is right as rain. A .22 to the brain is a poor way to dispatch a cat. They are hard dying like an armadillo. Unpleasant as it sounds, it is nonetheless true.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by 7.62 Precision »

6pt-sika wrote:
7.62 Precision wrote:Cats are tough, I had trouble once killing one with a .22. I would not trust most pellet rifles for a clean kill.
These aren't man eating wild Alaskan cats :lol:
In Alaska, the wild men eat cats. Or so the reality shows would have you believe.

The mentioned cat was someone's little house kitty that they didn't bother to keep at home. It was tearing into food in our mudroom and urinating everywhere. I trapped it in a leghold trap and took it outside and shot it in the head. It was stunned, but still snarled and spit, and poured blood out the entrance and exit woulds. I shot it again. And again. Five shots in total, and it still held its head up until it bled out. I was not happy - it was not a clean death - it still bothers me to think of it.

I have had better success other times, but comparing that and other house cats to the bulls I have seen killed instantly with a .22 to the head, and the deer I have seen shot with a .22 - I even know someone who hunted and killed a polar bear with a .22 - I would have to say cats are pretty tough.
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by 1894 »

We had a tough cat . The second time he had a bad encounter with dogs he came home mostly soaking wet. There was a dry strip roughly at the back of his front shoulder and another just in front of his back legs , he was in a ( or several ) dogs mouth(s) and shaken at least three times. The puncture wounds didn't hit any vitals but the holes in his skin ranged from dime sized to nickle sized and there were at least a dozen of them .
He lived through that but, the three dogs we had over the next years gave him a very wide berth :wink:
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Re: Question About Feral Kittens----No Cat Haters May Answer

Post by Mike Armstrong »

Alley cats ARE tough. When I was a teenager we had a number of spayed and neutered Siamese house cats. A big old stripy feral tom started attacking them whenever they went out in the barnyard. I finally found out he was shacked up in a little rock shelter on the side of the mountain above the barn and fed him a load of .22 hollowpoints from my Bearcat. It took all five to kill him and he took quite a while to die even at that. Now I'd use a .22 WRM, at least.

One of my neutered toms came home limping one day and I took him to the vet. He had a perfectly mushroomed .22 hollowpoint inside his left thighbone. It had gone all the way thru the right side and lodged there. Many $$ later, he was back in business, for many years.

Another time the "dumped" tom that I had tamed tangled with something even meaner than him, probably a fisher or a coyote, and his left hind let was dangling by a tendon that looked like a thick white cord. Again, many $$ later, he was good as new except that he couldn't flex the claws on the foot of that leg from then on. Lived about 15 more years. Vet said that alley cats are so tough that you could run one thru a blender, dump the contents into a warmed dish of culture medium , wait a week, and you'd have a whole new cat! Possible exaggerating a tad, but they ARE tough.

Anyplace that has many coyotes won't have a feral cat problem for long. The "big fish" eat the "little fish," just like wolves do with coyotes.
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