Are Feral cats a major problem in the rural US?

[whm1974]

The reason I ask is that I found a feral kitten that kept hiding under two other people's cars in the apartment buildings I live last week. I manage to sort of tame it by simply giving it food and water and leaving that out for him on my porch...

Anyway I was just wondering if Feral Cats are a problem in some areas on the US mainland like they are on some islands where they are an invasive species killing off native birds.

How do people living there deal with them?

 

[Bfh_auto]

They were a problem when I bought my small farm. There were no birds.
Now there is only my neighbors pet cat that occasionally visits. Quail, meadow larks, and scissor tails are a common sight now.
If I had a dairy, cats would be a good thing.

 

[whm1974]

They were a problem when I bought my small farm. There were no birds.
Now there is only my neighbors pet cat that occasionally visits. Quail, meadow larks, and scissor tails are a common sight now.
If I had a dairy, cats would be a good thing.

So what did you do with the feral cats?

 

[LoonWulf]

They are an issue here. The humane society does spay and neuter programs for both walk in, and roundups.
Ive made friends with the ones that are around here, and some of my best cats have been ferals. We have two kittens living around the house right now.

Some genius decided that letting a pile go at one of state parks was a good idea. I see them in the hunting area now where i never had before. Also see them dead on the road pretty regular like.

 

[whm1974]

They are an issue here. The humane society does spay and neuter programs for both walk in, and roundups.
Ive made friends with the ones that are around here, and some of my best cats have been ferals. We have two kittens living around the house right now.

Some genius decided that letting a pile go at one of state parks was a good idea. I see them in the hunting area now where i never had before. Also see them dead on the road pretty regular like.

How does the State Park management deal with feral cats or worse pets that people dump there?

 

[.308 Norma]

Anyway I was just wondering if Feral Cats are a problem in some areas on the US

The best answer I can give is sometimes feral cats are a problem where we live. If there's two or three of them hanging around our property, they fight (which sometimes wakes us up at night), steal our own domestic cat's food, and occasionally beat up on it. We have seldom had a female cat for a pet, and when we have, we've had her "fixed," so feral cats getting our female cat pregnant has never been a problem.
That said, we generally like having at least one feral cat hanging around on our property. They keep the gopher and vole (field mice) populations in check. And if the feral cat(s) that hang around our property get to be a problem (beating up on our pet or stealing its food instead of hunting voles) the solution is simple - the .17HMR standing by our back door. A new feral cat, or drop-off will show up before too long anyway.

 

[Bfh_auto]

So what did you do with the feral cats?

I made Mongolian beef

 

[LiveLife]

How do people living there deal with them?

You put out traps with food to catch them and have them spayed/neutered and release them back in the wild.

Are Feral cats a major problem in the rual US?

We live in rural country and rescued two brother feral kitchens from a local shelter (They were already fixed) to hunt mouse/rats in our pole barn but since the feral cat that came with our property purchase returned to have a litter, the brothers have been great companion hunters with our three dogs for gophers (cats sleep with the dogs).

 

[whm1974]

You put out traps with food to catch them and have them spayed/neutered and release them back in the wild.


We live in rural country and rescued two brother feral kitchens from a local shelter (They were already fixed) to hunt mouse/rats in our pole barn but since the feral cat that came with our property purchase returned to have a litter, the brothers have been great companion hunters with our three dogs for gophers (cats sleep with the dogs).

Well I suppose they could keep mice and rats out of your house and barn...

 

[LoonWulf]

How does the State Park management deal with feral cats or worse pets that people dump there?

they will sometimes trap or poison, but theres no specific program im aware of.

 

[Laphroaig]

The best thing about coyotes is that they keep feral cats under control.

 

[LiveLife]

Well I suppose they could keep mice and rats out of your house and barn...

No more mouse/rats in the pole barn since mama feral cat returned and no mouse/rats/gophers/mole/possum around the property since our dogs/cats hunt them as pack.

And our chickens (Remember, they are descendants of dinosaurs) eat everything else that moves ... After dogs/cats have fun with the kills, they give them to chickens to eat ... We have a great recycling program ... no waste.

Karma the huntress (Her kill number is way over 30 gophers and loved by neighbors) hunts with cats and likes to show her kills to my wife ... not necessarily to her delight.

And here's Karma's hunting buddy Johnny - Yeah dogs sleep with us ... and of course, cats had to join the dog pile.

 

[huntsman]

Not since the coyotes showed up

 

[Offhand McFlan]

When I first moved out into the hills one of my new neighbors told me that back in the 80's a senile old lady ended up with like 100 feral or semi-feral cats that spread into the hills and hunted along the banks of the creek. After awhile people just started shooting them and law enforcement and town officials looked the other way.

My neighborhood is a small rural subdivision built in the 1930s to support some local mines. Lotsa guns out here. I think houses are a little close to be using rifles but that neighbor said that is in fact what many people used to get it under control.

I recently gained interest in purchasing a .22 short or maybe a silencer for my Shield to deal with pests at night. I wouldn't take shots where I wasnt right on top of what I wanted to shoot. Some of my neighbors already do discharge firearms sometimes late at night. I'm on the fence about it. I know vermin can sometimes really get out of hand and become a major health hazard.. As long as people take precautions I'm not completely against it but it does keep me a little on edge sometimes when I hear it at 1:30am three houses away (about 50 yards). Its hilly with lots of trees and barriers, but like I said its still pretty iffy unless you have a good reason. If an animal looked rabid I'd probably just do it but I'd go out of my way to explain to neighbors and I'd present a carcass too if possible.

 

[748]

I see them as more of a solution to a problem than as a problem.

 

[whm1974]

No more mouse/rats in the pole barn since mama feral cat returned and no mouse/rats/gophers/mole/possum around the property since our dogs/cats hunt them as pack.

And our chickens (Remember, they are descendants of dinosaurs) eat everything else that moves ... After dogs/cats have fun with the kills, they give them to chickens to eat ... We have a great recycling program ... no waste.

Karma the huntress (Her kill number is way over 30 gophers and loved by neighbors) hunts with cats and likes to show her kills to my wife ... not necessarily to her delight.

And here's Karma's hunting buddy Johnny - Yeah dogs sleep with us ... and of course, cats had to join the dog pile.

Where's the pictures???

 

[LiveLife]

Where's the pictures???

The chickens ate them ... all of them.

 

[bikerdoc]

Not rural but suburban here near a strip of riverbank woods. Bozo' S dump kittens and they mix with the ferals. I shoot those that disturb my dogs and cats and encourage the yellow beak hawks to get them by feeding the Hawks down by the river .

 

[rabid wombat]

Three “S”?

 

[whm1974]

So how do I tame a feral kitten? It has been a week since I started feeding it, and comes up to to me wanting to be petted and played with, it is really skittish around other people.

 

[dh1633pm]

I see them from time to time at my dad’s. He lives out in the country. I shot one last year. Had a broken leg and a torn off ear. Maggots in his head. Coyotes help and sometime we have to. Sometimes you tame and other times you use mercy.

 

[whm1974]

I see them from time to time at my dad’s. He lives out in the country. I shot one last year. Had a broken leg and a torn off ear. Maggots in his head. Coyotes help and sometime we have to. Sometimes you tame and other times you use mercy.

Unfortunately you are right. I live in a city...

 

[CraigC]

I would say absolutely. Feral cats and even pet cats are devastating to small mammals and birds. Anywhere they're allowed to flourish is virtually devoid of small critters.

You put out traps with food to catch them and have them spayed/neutered and release them back in the wild.

At $100 a pop, I don't think so. I would say it's extremely irresponsible to let them or any other non-native species go back into the wild.

 

[Jim Watson]

The gamekeeper walking around M'lord's estate with a shotgun is there to deal with feral cats and protect the grouse.

But a friend hand raised a kitten from a feral cat. The critter imprinted on him and is a congenial housecat.

Another friend had yard cats and house cats. I think one of the yard cats has moved in after the last house cat died.

 

[Meeks36]

They can be a huge problem. They kill everything small birds, squirrel, lizards, snakes, and chipmunks. And they kill for fun. Feral dogs are worse. But that's for a different post.