Cats?

[12-34hom]

Now ya see um - now ya don't.

Feral Cats & dogs = 58 grain V-max at @ 4000fps from 6mmAI = dead.

Oh Happy Days.

12-34hom.

 

[twoblink]

If the cat is not too big, a .22 air rifle will kill it.

If you are animal lovers in general, kill all "feral" animals. The #1 reason for disease..

 

[Battlespace]

While hunting racoons one night we found a large feral cat. One hit with a .22 Jet and he went straight up and hit the ground deader than a mackeral. Feral cats and young rabbits/pheasants just do not mix.

 

[goodranger]

Cat hunting is great sport and test of marksmanship.

Used CCI Stingers for years with excellent results.

Once was out hunting, 3/4 mile to nearest home, and ran across a cat doing it's own hunting. It had a pretty blue collar which showed up very well in the scope. No more litter boxes to empty for that one!

Cats are extremely hard on the ruffed grouse population in Minnesota, especially durring nesting time.

 

[MeekandMild]

If you are animal lovers in general, kill all "feral" animals. The #1 reason for disease..

I'd agree with that for feral hogs and Trichinosis or feral cattle and brucillosis, but cats? I think that their predation of the native nongame wildlife is justification enought to remove them.

 

[JohnKSa]

You must have missed my earlier post about feline AIDS and leukemia.

 

[MeekandMild]

Feline AIDS and leukemia only affect cats if I understand them correctly. So they are not necessarily a bad thing. My undergraduate degree was in biology with an emphasis on zoology and ornithology so my thoughts on this matter are entirely prejudiced.

 

[JohnKSa]

Yes, that's my point. These diseases are a problem for domestic cats primarily because of the massive proliferation of feral cats. If the feral cat population can be significantly reduced, these diseases should virtually disappear.

Which means that killing feral cats is an excellent way to improve the overall health of the domestic cat population. Which, in turn, means that rational cat lovers SHOULD be doing their best to eliminate feral cats.

I don't know of many diseases that can be passed from cats to humans, and the ones that I am aware of are pretty benign. The exception is toxoplasmosis which is really only a problem for pregnant women.

 

[cooch]

Feral cats have impacted heavily on island fauna. Because islands are usually small and isolated, the presence and impact of feral cats is more obvious than it is on the mainland, particularly if other predators such as foxes and dingoes are absent. It is known that they have caused the extinction of a subspecies of the Red-fronted Parakeet on Macquarie Island.
Feral cats have impacted heavily on island fauna. Because islands are usually small and isolated, the presence and impact of feral cats is more obvious than it is on the mainland, particularly if other predators such as foxes and dingoes are absent. It is known that they have caused the extinction of a subspecies of the Red-fronted Parakeet on Macquarie Island.

Determining the impact of feral cats on native wildlife on the Australian mainland is more difficult. It is complicated by other factors such as introduced herbivores like rabbits competing with native animals for food and shelter, and habitat loss caused by clearing, grazing animals and urban development.
However, there are instances where feral cats have directly threatened the successful recovery of endangered species. For example, feral cats killed many of the captive bred Malas (or Rufous Hare-wallabies) that were released in the Tanami Desert of the Northern Territory during 1990 and 1991. It was also found that a single feral cat was responsible for reducing the numbers of rock wallabies in an isolated colony in tropical Queensland.

Feral cats also carry infective diseases such as toxoplasmosis and sarcosporidiosis. These diseases can be transmitted to native animals, domestic livestock and humans. In wildlife, toxoplasmosis can cause damage to the central nervous system, blindness, respiratory problems and general debilitation. In humans, toxoplasmosis can also cause debilitation, miscarriage in pregnant women and congenital birth defects. If rabies were to be accidentally introduced into Australia the potential for feral cats to act as carriers would be a high risk. This could prove disastrous for native wildlife and domestic stock.

http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/ferals/cat/index.html

As for toxoplasmosis only being of concern to pregnant women, perhaps you should tell that to a friend of mine. Not pregnant, but only just made it to the hospital and spent a lot of time under medical care.

Peter

 

[Mannlicher]

Many years back, I owned a restauant that was located by an Interstate on ramp, in North Fla. We had a huge feral cat problem. I solved it over the years, by shooting them, one at a time. I would park across the lot early in the morning, and shoot them out of the window of my Pick Up. I used a Remington 721t, with a Weaver K4 scope. The load was always a .22 Mini Mag.
My favorite shot was when one of the cats was up on the dumpster. A head shot usually tumbled them into the dumpster, end of that cat. The next morning or so, I would get another.

 

[MeekandMild]

I think that their predation of the native nongame wildlife is justification enought to remove them.

Per my previous post.

I will agree that killing feral cats will reduce the risk of diseases being spread to pet cats which are allowed to wander about outside. I reserve judgment as to the goodness of that result.


On a happier note, I spent the afternoon yesterday practicing with my Marlin 17, shooting pebbles down at the dirt pit.

 

[Gordon]

I wonder if a .25 RWS pellet gun would be effective at 50-100feet?

 

[JohnKSa]

I wonder if a .25 RWS pellet gun would be effective at 50-100feet?

Shot placement is the key. If you want them DRT, you've got about zero tolerance for error. If you just want to kill them then a lung/heart shot will still work. You might not get to witness the actual expiration though.