Feral felines - in South Dakota

[Caimlas]

So, I was thinking. South Dakota allows us to shoot feral cats ('wild cats'), and as I'm both not terribly fond of cats (they poo and pee in our garden, the stinkers!), they're one of the most destructive species out there to small game (birds, rabbits), breed faster than rabbits, carry lots of nasty diseases, and look like they'd make a decent target - why not? The feral hog thread got me thinking about it.

Only problem: I have no idea how to go about hunting them. The only remotely pertinent thing I could find was Buckstix's martar cat hunting which is a bit over the top (and likely quite illegal, but still funny) - I'm thinking .223 or something, anyway.

He seems to suggest bating them with milk, and spritzing the surrounding area to create a scent. This seems reasonable.

Any thoughts on the matter?

 

[swampdog]

There are several recent threads about this. Some have fairly strong opinions. I own cats and keep them in the house. I know most of the local, domestic cats by sight and don't mess with them. Feral cats are another story.

I've found baiting with fish carcasses to be effective. Feral cats will come right to a predator call like a rabbit scream or mouse squeak. Some cheap, dry cat food on your back porch will quickly have every cat in the neighborhood dropping by, including your neighbors. A .22 LR is really all you need. A .17 HMR or .22 mag would give you some extra range.

I don't make a habit of shooting my neighbor's animals, unless they are really creating a nuisance and I've talked to the neighbor about it. It can quickly lead to problems. The techniques mentioned above will also attract feral dogs, foxes, coons, opossums and just about every pet in the neighborhood. I don't know if you have any of these in SD, including neighbors , but it's something to think about.

Have Fun

 

[Ditchtiger]

Drive around at night and watch for their eyes, use a spotlight to see what it is for sure, then paste it. Used to keep a .222 in the car when roadhunting pheasants, I could reach a cat at 300 yards easy.

 

[Caimlas]

I'm mostly interest in the prospect of hunting over bait out in the country. In-town cats meet a quick demise, it seems.

I've got nothing against someone's Fluffy, but when the damn things are stinking up my yard and making a mess...

(I'm already intimately familiar with the topic of trapping cats, but that gets dull after a while.)

 

[1911 guy]

I'm no cat lover, but...

Use a .22 WMR or .17 WMR at least. I snuck up on a cat out in the boonies once and popped him with a Ruger MKII. The whole magazine. The first two shots went into the base of his skull, the rest went wherever I could connect to put him down faster. Even nuisance animals deserve to be put down qiuckly.

 

[dakotasin]

i use whatever i have on hand. i've busted 'em w/ about everything i have. my custom mauser's first kill was a feral cat, and the 300 win mag takes 'em apart much like a 22-250 disassembles a prairie dog.

as for how to hunt them, it isn't hard - keep a rifle handy and drive a couple roads on a nice, sunny day. you'll see them napping along fencelines or walking down ditches.

be very careful w/ the spotlight thing... it is mostly illegal here to spotlight except under some very specific conditions.

 

[X-Rap]

This thread takes me back to my misspent youth. While growing up in Iowa I trapped a lot and also hunted. Some times it seemed I would have to catch a dozen cats in an old barn or farmstead before they would make room for the coons. After I got my drivers license I would catch them in my headlights in the ditches or laneways, I drove more gravel than pavement and knew were people lived in my neck of the woods. Here in Colorado the coyotes keep the cats down so I leave em alone.

 

[scout26]

Winchester 12 ga Platnium Slugs at a range of about 25 yards pretty much guarnantees that there won't be much to clean up. Especially if it's a straight on head shot.

I "took" one while heading to my stand out deer hunting last week. No collar, very remote area. Had to go to a different stand though, as I'm pretty sure I scared off all the deer in the area.

 

[.45Guy]

Well, this weekend's events have shifted my views on feral kitties a bit. I've gone from protecting the cute little kitties, to terminating them with extreme prejudice. This massive shift in John/ Feline relations began when I decided to feed the outside cats. This was all well and good, all my fuzzy little cat buddies running around my feet meowing. However, there were two sisters of my housecat "Feralina" present. They looked friendly enough, so I went to pick one up. Big mistake. It was like an old Looney Tunes cartoon....a cloud of dust with the occasional cat paw sticking out with claws extended.


Needless to say, thatoneguy's Marlin model 60 with CCI stingers worked beautifully.

 

[langenc]

Be esp careful with cat bites/scratches. They have a high infection rate and are considered on of the dirtiest bites. If bitten wash quickly with hot water and Hibiclens and that may not prevent infection. Any swelling/redness should be a docs visit and do NOT wait till a week from Fri for an appt.

 

[NailGun]

Caimlas, Leave the feral cat control for the land owners that know which cats are which.

they poo and pee in our garden, the stinkers!

This statement indicates that you must live in a city or town. Stay there and practice your fantasy.

Question: Does your license plate start with a 1?

Plan B: Drive to Wisconsin, consume a case of Miller, and shoot cats to yer hearts content.

 

[Caimlas]

Question: Does your license plate start with a 1?

Unfortunately; as soon as I can afford it, I'm going "remote". If for no other reason, I enjoy being outdoors away from people.

Truth be told, I don't have the motivation to undertake the extermination of cats. I don't hate the things enough to go through that much effort, and honestly, it's a bit cruel hearted in terms of target practice. I had the opportunity to shoot three cats this deer season when I was "out of the field" for the day, but didn't, simply because they may have been someone's pet.

 

[rich636]

I think maybe you should invest in a Red Ryder or something rather than killing them. Give the cats a good sting that will give them a bad association with your garden.

 

[Art Eatman]

Between here and TFL,. I guess there have been over a dozen threads about feral cats. The summary is that they are extremely destructive of songbirds and such game birds as quail.

Art