Feral Cats...

[RobSmith]

I'll look at it thru my scope .... monitor him closely ... If he gets within a 2 yard "safety margin" of any one of my cousin's greenhouses, goodbye kitty.

I may even be nice and give him a warning shot at the 3 yard line, maybe, if I feel like it.

"cute little kitties" have caused somewhere around 15 000$ worth of damages to the cousin's farm one winter, scratching in and out of greenhouses, digging up and killing precious "mother plants" urinating and defecating in the cab of equipment between destroying the seats, chewing wires, and the list goes on.

If it wears a collar, in the summer I'll leave it alone, and if anybody else catches it it gets a one way trip to the rain barrel, in the winter, it better be wearing a collar when I'm around. If it looks like it is even thinking about clawing it's way into a greenhouse (ruining 5000$ sheeting in the process), it gets dead, and I won't bat an eye.


I'm the softie ... The one guy that kitty would rather run into than anyone else. Yet when things need to happen, they happen.

I just don't like the idea of killing unless strictly necessary when it comes to reasons other than food.

Here's a thought... keep ALL your pets in your own yard. And livestock. And kids. And opinions. And trash. etc

Granted, I used to feed the neighbors dog from the farm a mile over whenever he came to visit at the old place. Poor thing was always lonely... and hungry as hell. But if it's a cat, I don't care if the damn thing is wearing a flashing neon sign six feet high with a special letter of commendation from the Queen pinned to its ass, the damn thing's goin down.

 

[canuckgunny]

So RobSmith, will you not be swatting at mosquitos this spring or have you actually started snacking on the tasty toasted flies under the bug zapper yet? Killing pests is killing pests. Doesn't matter what size they are or who might put a collar on one or who might think its evil. Whether it's for a pair of boots or a burger, or if you're just trying to keep the rats from chewing the wiring out of your new truck, there's plenty of reasons... and legitimate justifications to kill something. Few things are as illogical as say, people who'll eat a fish but not a chicken and claim some kind of higher moral ground because of it. Now I'm not saying havin' a double standard of some sort is wrong by any means, cuz like I said, I wouldn't shoot someones pet dog if it was there to visit, but pests are pests are pests- and the cat with a collar is there to do the same job as a cat without. The argument against killing it because 'its a pet' or 'someone loves it' means absolutely nothing, something I think you fully grasp, but only if you witness it doing damage. What do you think they're doing there when you're not looking? Having a ####in tea party?
Swat mosquitos, kill flies, shoot cats. You're ancestors helped put you at the top of the food chain. Remind all destructive trespassing #### rats of that.
A dead cat can't piss and #### and kill as it pleases. You won't have to monitor it. It won't come back for seconds.

And don't feel bad if you don't eat it afterwards.

 

[elimsprint]

Thanks canuckgunny, couldn't have said it any better myself. I'm usually the bad guy in these threads. If it is in my yard I figure that it is killing the birds I attract to my feeders and it dies
Kim

 

[RobSmith]

Part of my "logic" has to do with a critical part of living out in the country, maintaining good relationships with the neighbors.

If your neighbor's pets start "disappearing" on a regular basis, people are going to start asking questions....

In the summer a handful of cats are actually quite useful to have around on a fruits/veggies farm since they keep crop-destroying pests at bay to a certain extent, which means you get to use less pesticides and also less labor, which helps your yearly bottom line. A farm is a business after all.

Being the family's de-facto "gun guy" I sometimes get called to dispatch a few problem critters here and there during the summer, since I do the "work" for free, and even pay for the ammo, I get my share of the crop which gets reserved for the family every year in exchange .

Now if a neighbor's pet misbehaves, there will usually be a casual visit made to that neighbor to make him/her aware of what is going on. If the pet in question misbehaves again, well, it goes away, permanently, and the neighbor doesn't get pissed off.

The cousin also warehouses my boat and canoe for free since there is no room here for them, small yard. When they need to test a potential new crop, I'm the guy they bring the test plant(s) to so if things go horribly wrong it doesn't cause any damage. When a gun starts going click instead of bang, I fix it for them.

Sweet deal really.

Food is food, and vermin is vermin, but the line gets blurry sometimes between pet and vermin, so you have to be a little more careful there.

Funny story regarding me, my boat, and vermin. There is that one particular groundhog that likes to make it's way on top of my boat, which is covered in a tarp, and sun itself, the little bugger in question never caused any known damage. Every time I see the little bugger, either I'm there for a casual visit and don't have a gun with me, or I don't have an angle to shoot. It has been going on for a few years now and I know it's the same one because of a clearly identifying feature. It's burrough still has not been located but is suspected to be somewhere inacessible at the back of the garage. I'm gonna get that little bugger eventually, because these things reproduce like crazy and do cause problems for the farm. Shot a couple of them over the years, but this one still eludes me, when I do get it, I'm getting it stuffed LOL. Kind of a "Caddyshack" situation by now.

So RobSmith, will you not be swatting at mosquitos this spring or have you actually started snacking on the tasty toasted flies under the bug zapper yet? Killing pests is killing pests. Doesn't matter what size they are or who might put a collar on one or who might think its evil. Whether it's for a pair of boots or a burger, or if you're just trying to keep the rats from chewing the wiring out of your new truck, there's plenty of reasons... and legitimate justifications to kill something. Few things are as illogical as say, people who'll eat a fish but not a chicken and claim some kind of higher moral ground because of it. Now I'm not saying havin' a double standard of some sort is wrong by any means, cuz like I said, I wouldn't shoot someones pet dog if it was there to visit, but pests are pests are pests- and the cat with a collar is there to do the same job as a cat without. The argument against killing it because 'its a pet' or 'someone loves it' means absolutely nothing, something I think you fully grasp, but only if you witness it doing damage. What do you think they're doing there when you're not looking? Having a f**kin tea party?
Swat mosquitos, kill flies, shoot cats. You're ancestors helped put you at the top of the food chain. Remind all destructive trespassing s**t rats of that.
A dead cat can't piss and s**t and kill as it pleases. You won't have to monitor it. It won't come back for seconds.

And don't feel bad if you don't eat it afterwards.

I stopped filling my feeders a few years ago because of the cat problem, but I live in a "no hunting/no shoot" area so there isn't much I can do about it. Bought an airsoft gun to "gently" convince any cat I see to get the heck off my lawn, but there is still way too many of them for me to refill the feeders in an ethical manner.

Thanks canuckgunny, couldn't have said it any better myself. I'm usually the bad guy in these threads. If it is in my yard I figure that it is killing the birds I attract to my feeders and it dies
Kim

 

[canuckgunny]

I don't mind bein the evil one once in a while... especially if its just the magpie or cat thread.
Rob, I used to live in such a 'zone' myself, they should have a free catch/trap program... if they don't talk to your council. I, being evil and all, never took advantage of it back then, but they're a good idea. Then the owners get fined and the strays get dealt with.
Have a good weekend folks, hope it warms up soon so we can get out and do some shooosting.

 

[Tuco Pike]

Have you tried closing your garage door?

Or, how about being nice to the kitty. I am sure a creative fellow like you could round him up and drop him off at the Shelter yourself. That's much better than killing him (unless you plan to eat it) or encouraging the coyotes to stay around by giving them a food source.

 

[elimsprint]

but there is still way too many of them for me to refill the feeders in an ethical manner.

I fill my feeders all I want and I have no "cat" problem. I am certainly not going to waste $20+ in gas taking a trapped cat to a shelter so some irresponsible cat owner can keep letting it roam free to kill indigenous wildlife and breed willly-nillly.
Kim

 

[elimsprint]

Or, how about being nice to the kitty. I am sure a creative fellow like you could round him up and drop him off at the Shelter yourself. That's much better than killing him (unless you plan to eat it) or encouraging the coyotes to stay around by giving them a food source.

I like keeping the coyotes around, they get recycled also and no, I don't eat them either. They attract the turkey vultures which are way cool I now have way more deer around and I am starting to see turkeys on my property. I did have a bobcat for a couple of weeks and as he was indigenous it was great fun watching him stalk quail at the ground feeder.
Kim

 

[canuckgunny]

....the turkey vultures which are way cool

Waaay cool indeed. Ya gotta post pics if you got any.
It's been awful cold with so much hard blown snow cover here lately that the coyotes have taken to eating straw. (Perhaps they're out of kitties?) Got a call this morning to come up the road and i.d. some 'odd colored scat'. (People call me for the wierdest things.) Maybe I could use this particular food shortage opportunity to pick up some of those precious 'pound kitties' and introduce the local Wile E's to what you folks claim is good eatin for them. If there's one thing I just ain't seen to date is anything 'round here eat a dead cat. I guess I learned something from this thread

 

[Krazed]

There is an unwritten rule in the country though : If it wears a collar or any other identifying mark, it ain't feral, let it go.

Keep your uncollared pets on your own yard.

there are more than a few people on CGN (none showed up in this thread though) that are borderline foaming at the mouth to kill anything that comes onto their property, collared accidental roamers included. plenty of which flat out said they would shoot it and bury it, and lie about it to the owners


not much you can do with feral cats wrecking stuff though they can be some violent little a-holes too... have the scars to prove it


citiots often do pet dumps... that's how i got my last dog and two cats

 

[RobSmith]

I just don't like the idea of killing a critter, wether it's fishing, hunting, or getting rid of vermin. I can rationalize killing for food, or even for business purposes, I simply cannot rationalize killing for fun. I guess that makes me weird.

there are more than a few people on CGN (none showed up in this thread though) that are borderline foaming at the mouth to kill anything that comes onto their property, collared accidental roamers included. plenty of which flat out said they would shoot it and bury it, and lie about it to the owners


not much you can do with feral cats wrecking stuff though they can be some violent little a-holes too... have the scars to prove it


citiots often do pet dumps... that's how i got my last dog and two cats

 

[canuckgunny]

I just don't like the idea of killing a critter, wether it's fishing, hunting, or getting rid of vermin. I can rationalize killing for food, or even for business purposes, I simply cannot rationalize killing for fun. I guess that makes me weird.

This is completely OT and perhaps a dumb question, but I'm trying to wrap my head around what you've been saying. If it's ok to kill for food, and it's not okay to kill for fun.... is it ok in your books for someone to have fun killing for food? Or are they supposed to feel guilty? The business purposes bit is a little odd too. If you're a hired gun to take out groundsquirrels to save the cattle's legs, is that justifyable and right, or does the farmer have to do it himself- as it is his business, not the kid who comes out to shoot. If the kid who goes out squirrel shooting does it just for fun, and it happens to help the business... is that ok? Right? Wrong? For who?
I shoot cats because I hate what they do to things I love and think should be left alone to a cat-free world. I happen to love doing it. Which part is wrong or right? Would it be more right if I did it only to save the wild birds and hated myself afterwards? Or should I not kill at all and let the cats kill with impunity in a habitat they don't belong. As a human is it perhaps not my responsibility to correct the wrong action of other humans who have done wrong and introduced the cats to an environment unable to purge them and without my intervention will continue to do considerable damage? At what point do I become evil, when I start to smile? When I look forward to it? When I go out of my way to train to be a better kitty killer, or when I buy a dedicated kitty calibre rifle? When I go on and on in a cgn thread about it?
Just wondering.

 

[RobSmith]

The way I look at it, anyone whom claims to "enjoy" killing needs to have their head checked.

I don't "like" it and never did, wether it's slitting a critter's throat, shooting at it and then having to finish it off manually or whatever. Food is food, and vermin is vermin.... I just don't "enjoy" the act of killing.

This is completely OT and perhaps a dumb question, but I'm trying to wrap my head around what you've been saying. If it's ok to kill for food, and it's not okay to kill for fun.... is it ok in your books for someone to have fun killing for food? Or are they supposed to feel guilty? The business purposes bit is a little odd too. If you're a hired gun to take out groundsquirrels to save the cattle's legs, is that justifyable and right, or does the farmer have to do it himself- as it is his business, not the kid who comes out to shoot. If the kid who goes out squirrel shooting does it just for fun, and it happens to help the business... is that ok? Right? Wrong? For who?
I shoot cats because I hate what they do to things I love and think should be left alone to a cat-free world. I happen to love doing it. Which part is wrong or right? Would it be more right if I did it only to save the wild birds and hated myself afterwards? Or should I not kill at all and let the cats kill with impunity in a habitat they don't belong. As a human is it perhaps not my responsibility to correct the wrong action of other humans who have done wrong and introduced the cats to an environment unable to purge them and without my intervention will continue to do considerable damage? At what point do I become evil, when I start to smile? When I look forward to it? When I go out of my way to train to be a better kitty killer, or when I buy a dedicated kitty calibre rifle? When I go on and on in a cgn thread about it?
Just wondering.

 

[tactical870]

Or, how about being nice to the kitty. I am sure a creative fellow like you could round him up and drop him off at the Shelter yourself. That's much better than killing him (unless you plan to eat it) or encouraging the coyotes to stay around by giving them a food source.

The shelters around here charge you to drop off cats as they have way too many of them. Lots of people just release them in the country. The moment an unidentified cat becomes a nuisance on MY property, and there is a financial risk to me (scratches on the hood of the car, cats in my shed urinating etc.) I will eliminate it as required.

 

[canuckgunny]

The way I look at it, anyone whom claims to "enjoy" killing needs to have their head checked.

I don't "like" it and never did, wether it's slitting a critter's throat, shooting at it and then having to finish it off manually or whatever. Food is food, and vermin is vermin.... I just don't "enjoy" the act of killing.

I have no doubt that to the vast majority of the population my opinion and actions are despicable. I am not trying to change your mind, but as I said before trying to understand it. I listened to a fascinating radio show not long ago interviewing a woman (professor I believe she was) from Holland. She listed some of the thousands of products you yourself have probably used at one point or another... including ammunition, whose source components were derived from slaughtered pigs.
What I can't figure out is why it is that my head needs to be examined for being logical and honest about my stance on cats, while yours doesn't, cuz as I see it- you're either in denial or at least complacent about killings you've partaken in... just because it was done at arms length?
From a very basic mathmatical level, does it really make any difference if one 'enjoys' a kill or not? If it's done its done. I'd be more worried about whether it was reasonable under the circumstances, morally right or justifyable etc.
Vegitarians etc who pretend they don't have blood on their hands are like Al Gore saying he believes in being Green. It's bulls**t, and I'd rather be labelled a redneck a**hole layin beaten in the mud justified in my stance on kitties than be completely full of it on up a pedestal claiming some sort of moral high ground and telling other people to get their heads examined for enjoying something the moral high rollers themselves are essentially involved in and one way or another also responsible for, albeit under slightly different circumstances...

 

[RobSmith]

You are right in the sense that there is no logical reason to my position. I just don't "enjoy" killing ...

I have no doubt that to the vast majority of the population my opinion and actions are despicable. I am not trying to change your mind, but as I said before trying to understand it. I listened to a fascinating radio show not long ago interviewing a woman (professor I believe she was) from Holland. She listed some of the thousands of products you yourself have probably used at one point or another... including ammunition, whose source components were derived from slaughtered pigs.
What I can't figure out is why it is that my head needs to be examined for being logical and honest about my stance on cats, while yours doesn't, cuz as I see it- you're either in denial or at least complacent about killings you've partaken in... just because it was done at arms length?
From a very basic mathmatical level, does it really make any difference if one 'enjoys' a kill or not? If it's done its done. I'd be more worried about whether it was reasonable under the circumstances, morally right or justifyable etc.
Vegitarians etc who pretend they don't have blood on their hands are like Al Gore saying he believes in being Green. It's bulls**t, and I'd rather be labelled a redneck a**hole layin beaten in the mud justified in my stance on kitties than be completely full of it on up a pedestal claiming some sort of moral high ground and telling other people to get their heads examined for enjoying something the moral high rollers themselves are essentially involved in and one way or another also responsible for, albeit under slightly different circumstances...

 

[canuckgunny]

You are right in the sense that there is no logical reason to my position. I just don't "enjoy" killing ...

Fair enough. But for ####s and giggles, go buy a bug zapper. They're the greatest things ever. Come fair weather, when the mosquitos begin to once again become active.... and one somehow finds it's way into your bedroom late in the evening and is driving you nuts cuz you can't sleep with it buzzing around your ear, turn the zapper on and within seconds it'll head for that fabulous blue glow. After the echo of the snap has been absorbed by your surroundings, and as you realize your world has been once again returned to a state of perfect tranquility... tell me then you don't enjoy killing.

Start small. Work your way up. Call me when you're ready and we'll do a squirrel hunt.