How Bad Are Feral Cats?

[1911 guy]

The problem with fixing.

First off, the goal is admirable and the thought is is the right place. Unfortunately, as soon as you take care of one in any way, word gets out and your place becomes the dumping ground. You've heard that no good deed goes unpunished?

Like Doug B said, it's a shame we can't pepper the folks who dump their pets, but the reality is they dump and run, we're left to make the best of a bad situation. You can either adopt them, shoot them, or trap them and make them someone else's problem. Kinda circular logic on that last one.

 

[Doug b]

The person that runs this adoption thing here makes a pretty good living at it thanks to a lot of hard work and some volunteer help and some Gov. money.
Gov. money requires nuetering.


the cat that is.

 

[TimboKhan]

well, for what it's worth, I worked in one of the largest humane society's in the nation for a couple of years (And I am a hunter... Imagine how popular I was!), and we had a very strict policy of NOT adopting cats out to people if they planned on letting them go outside. This annoyed lots of people, but studies indicate that cats that spend time outside have a signifigantly shorter lifespan than those that don't. Plus, our mission was to adopt out buddies, not rat-catchers. I know it sounds a little bleeding heart of me, but the fact is that domesticated animals were domesticated by us, and I feel that we have a responsibility to care for them properly, and so I had no problem with the indoors only policy.

At our shelter (www.ddfl.org, if your interested) we actually have the resources to spay/neuter ourselves. Every animal that left our shelter was spayed and neutered before it left. Period. There was absolutely no flexibility in that policy. Additionally, there is a hospital in Colorado called Harrison Memorial Animal Hospital (http://www.hmah.org/) that has a program in which you can get your pets spayed or neutered for just about next to nothing.

I guess the relevance of this post to the topic is just that feral cats are a problem. Like I said in my earlier post, I have no idea how bad they are here, although Art Eatman has come up with some good info. I grew up on a farm, and I know that sometimes you have to shoot wild cats to keep them out of the chickens or the rabbits or whatever. Another way to battle the problem is to get your own cats (and pets in general) spayed or neutered, and to volunteer at a humane society and learn how to educate others on how to properly care for pets. Plus, most humane societies will let you walk and play with the animals to keep them socialized, and frankly, its fun. Another benefit is that if you happen to live in a college town, volunteering at the humane society is an excellent, excellent way to meet extremely hot chicks. Trust me.

 

[batch]

In the mid 70s I was assigned to Germany. After many hours of class and testing I got my hunting license. One of the major points made was that we were part of the wildlife management team, as such, when hunting, I was REQUIRED to kill any cat or dog that wasn't with a human. It didn't matter if it had a collar, if it wasn't under the control of a human I was to kill it. The reason given was that feral dogs and cats killed far more game than hunters, with cats being the worst killers of the two. I doubt our cats are inferior killing machines, even if they don't have the accent.
batch

 

[bowfin]

I agree with the spaying and neutering of all pets. There are a ton of perfectly good dogs and cats already are in need of homes

My wife had an "indoor-outdoor" cat that passed away last spring at the age of 24 1/2, which goes to prove the old adage about averages. I wonder what the lifespan was of the cats and kittens that weren't adopted out because of this "indoors" only policy.

As for our part of the country, any cat found farther away than 200 yards from an inhabited house is usually considered feral on grounds that that are public or one has permission on, unless the landowner says otherwise. I am absolutely amazed (or horrified) at how many feral cats there seem to be, now that I adopted a coonhound out of a shelter. This dog takes pretty good inventory of them and puts them up in a tree when we are out and about, and she has put more of them on display for me in the last two months than I have seen in ten years of frequent hunting.

 

[Doug b]

Thanks Timbo you said it much better than I could. (by the way stay away from my colleage age daughter she volunteers at animal shelters, unless you have lots of money, daughters are expensive!!!!!!)

 

[tube_ee]

Though, as a cat person, it pains me to say this, kill it. Unless you choose to care for that animal for the rest of it's life. Don't dump the problem on someone else's doorstep.

And they are a problem. Consider the effect feral cats have had in places like Hawaii, where they've exterminated several unique native bird species. Extinct. Gone. Killed and ate every last one of 'em. These cats are not all discarded housepets. Many are descended from animals brought to the islands by British sailors, as most ships had cats aboard.

And oh, by the way, if you ever want to see what a real hunter looks like, watch your average suburban house cat stalking a bird. It's amazing. If you could teach them to point and hold, they'd put every champion bird dog to shame. Silent, efficient, blindingly fast, with senses we can't even imagine having... They're killing machines. In my opinion, the most highly-evolved land predator since the dinosaurs. They're also the only animals I know of (except us) that kills when not hungry. Hunting is expensive, calorie-wise. Most animals won't bother unless they're hungry. Cats, large and small, do it for fun.

--Shannon

 

[Geno]

Very Destructive!

These nasty animals should be viewed as varmints. They kill rabbits, ducks, squirrels, birds of many kinds (mice I'm okay with). The only thing worse than ferel cats would be foxes.

Doc2005

 

[JohnKSa]

Truly feral cats are damaging to wildlife, but at least they are subject to the predator/prey balance which will control their population to some extent.

What is really devastating is the cats that are fed by humans but allowed to roam free. Since they receive subsistence from other means than the prey they kill, they can literally exterminate species in fairly large areas. Unlike the truly feral cats, they will remain healthy and the population levels will not change since they have an alternative food source--provided by humans.

Simply feeding an animal that otherwise roams free doesn't automatically make it a pet and offers the animal no protection in my eyes. It certainly doesn't make it harmless to the environment--in fact, just the reverse is true.

I know what you're thinking--but you're wrong. I have a cat. And because I care about its welfare as well as the welfare of the environment in my area, I don't allow it to roam freely--it's an exclusively inside cat. That way it won't get run over, injured by other animals or humans, catch diseases from ferals, kill wildlife, crap in the neighbor's flowerboxes or the kids sandboxes, or be trapped/killed by an environmentally conscious human or animal control officer.

 

[Geno]

Comical, yet Sad.

What I decided to tell about here instead better tells how dangerous these cats are, and how truly serious it can be. While this is some what comical (now), it truly happened. The quotes are honest, yes, emotional, but accurate to the best of my memory.

It was 5 years back, that my daughter "LilSureShot1994" was attacked by one of these cats, then it tore me to shreds when I caught it. If I had not caught it to be "tested", she would have gone through the series of shots (rabies). So, to avoid her getting these shots, I had to hold it for 45 minutes, waiting for the police to arrive.

1st call:

Me: “I need someone to come get a feral cat that attacked my daughter and I.”

Them: “Sir, this is 911.”

Me: “I know.”

Them: “Sir, 911 is for emergencies.”

Me: “I know. I standing here, I'm holding a frigging wild cat with my bare hands, my arms bloody, literally with skin torn open, freaking scratched and bleeding over 1/2 of my body (stomach, chest, both legs, both arms, neck and even face).

Them: “Don’t call 911 again without an emergency!” (Click)

2nd call after about 20 minutes waiting, holding the cat:

Me: “Hello, I called 20 minutes ago about the cat…”

Them: "...If you call back again, we're going to arrest you! You got that? Now get off the line!"

Me: “Good, get off you lazy @$$ and come arrest me! While your here, I suggest you bring some long, leather gloves, because when throw this $@#& cat at you, you are going to be in for a #$@# of a time! Oh, and you better bring a cage!" (Yes, I admit, I did say that. God later forgave me.)

3rd call, after an additional 25ish minutes holding this twisting cat:

Me: “I'm standing here bleeding over most of my body. This is the 3rd time I've called. You’re here in 5 minutes, or I’m calling the television station. They can film you arrest me!!"

Them: “Do you have a mental condition? Did you not understand what an emergency is? It means send an ambulance! Do you need an ambulance?"

Me: "No. I’m fine in the head, but…"

Them: "Then it's not an emergency." (WT Crap?)

Me: "So, you want for me to let it go so some other kid and some other adult can be attacked?"

Them: "Animal Control closed at 3:00 (It was about 5:00). We don't have anyone who can handle it."

Me: “I can get my .45 pistol and shot it, or I can break its neck. Is that what I should do? I didn’t want to discharge a pistol in the city. But, I can if you give me permission!”

(Pause)

Me: “Don't worry. My neighbor just got home and brought me his dog's cage and I threw it inside. Now, I need to go to the hospital to get sowed up, and get antibiotic IVs within an hour. I DO HAVE an implant. It can't get infected. Oh, and if you’re not here in 3 minutes, I’m calling the TV."

After about 2 more minutes (total of 45ish minutes) in pull the police. With gloves...and no cage. No warrant either.

HERE IS WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING:

My daughter and I get to the emergency room. A father and his daughter are in the emergency room for the same thing! We are side-by-side, getting IVs (all 4 of us). I ask them, "What the heck happened to you?"

They were attacked about 1 hour earlier, by the same freaking cat that my daughter and I, but about 3 blocks away from our house!!!

Tests came back, the cat did not have rabies, but was a mean little devil! They eventually put it down. I bought animal traps, cat food and that next 12 months, I trapped nearly 32 feral cats. ALL of them were put down by policy.

Perhaps I could have spoken more calmly, if I were in a fight with the devil himself, as I was talking with the police.

Doc2005

 

[Shootcraps]

Shootcraps maybe all this time and money could be better spent teaching adults how to care for there animals.

Never happen. The people just don't care. If they did, we wouldn't have this problem.

Kept in the house and treated well a cat is a very good pet and companion.

And left in the wild, it becomes a destructive predator. Put 'em down. I'll even donate a case of 22lr ammo to help.

It doesn't cost much for a parent to teach a child to read.

Explain that to all the poor kids who can't read.

 

[Panthera Tigris]

I've had cats all my life and love them. But feral cats are as wild as tigers. If a kitten is not held by human hands within the first few weeks of its life, it will never like humans around it. If they grow up wild, they stay wild. Almost impossible to tame them. I'd rule out trapping them to take to the vets, and it's highly likely if you ask any veterinarian clinic they'll tell you not to.

As much as I love domesticated pet cats, I'm am not opposed to hunting feral ones.

 

[langenc]

I dont understand the difference between 'feral' and someones pet hunting night and/or day. They are all killers.

I recently heard a discussion between a fellow from Greenpeace and sorry I did not get the others affiliation. The subject was alternate energy and esp windmills and it was mentioned that they are a BIG killer of birds esp migrating. One of them pointed out that is no longer true with new designs and then stated "the biggest killer of birds is CATS." To that the other fellow said "horrah for the coyotes."

I to drove 30mi to work mostly thru uninhabited state land. I often say cats and I would wonder "how far is it to the nearest house?" and it was ofter in excess of 5 miles. The cat is only out there for one reason....shoot them.

 

[trickyasafox]

i agree some need to be shot, don't get me wrong guys. i know they hunt and can be destructive. i just am always afriad i'd hurt someone elses pet the same way i worry about someone hurting mine.

not saying i disagree with it, just saying it ain't for me

 

[JohnKSa]

i just am always afriad i'd hurt someone elses pet the same way i worry about someone hurting mine.

No need to worry about that--people who really care about their pets control them so they don't cause problems for anyone or anything else, but MOST OF ALL so they stay safe.

I mean, no one who worries about their pet's welfare would let it run loose where it could be killed or injured by other animals, run over by a car, shot by an environmentally conscious person, trapped by animal control, catch diseases, etc., etc.

Right?

 

[pete f]

We used to call them Toonyr's pronounced tuner's, it stood for Targets Of Opportunity Not Yet Realized" Round here, cat shows up uninvited and unwanted, pretty soon a .22 casing hits the ground. People get them for the little girl, then the cat either starts spraying or scratching and they either throw it out or take a drive out of the city and think that it is just fine finding a home at the friendly country house. we shoot them on sight. so do all the neighbors.

 

[EatBugs]

Positive ID!!

some jerk shot and killed my cat last year. I found him in the field while walking the dog. There was absolutly no mistaking him for a feral cat. He had a hot pink collar. Yes, I put a hot pink collar on a male cat, his name was Butch too. The collar even had those fake diamonds on it. Coolest cat you'll ever meet just as long as you don't leave the butter on the counter. I was devastated when I found him. I have no problem with people killing feral cats- just make sure it's a feral cat. And just because it's outside doesn't mean the owners don't care for it. Many owners don't realize the damage the cat is doing by letting it outside. In my case, Butch would hide and run between my legs when I let the dog out and not stop till I stopped chasing him. There was no keeping that cat in the house but I tried to make sure no one mistook him for feral.

Speaking of Feral Cats killing wildlife such as squirrels

Mother's day at the park in Avon, Indiana(I think), me age around 10 or 13 or so.....

My brother chased a wild kitten into a large tree. It being a cute kitten and my sister and I cat lovers, we hung around the tree trying to call the cat down with "here kitty, kitty".... A fox squirrel suddenly appeared and jumped on the kitten and ripped its throat out.
I don't remember much after that other than watching the kitten's limp body slide from the branch and land with a thud on the ground. One point for the wildlife I guess.

I dislike feral cats but everytime I hear a squirrels limp body hit the ground I think of that kitten and am secretly satisfied with my revenge.

 

[hps1]

Doc2005 :
LMAO......but, know from whence you speak!

Several years ago, my wife was scratched by an alley cat that hung around our house (within city limits). I had asked the wife and mother in law not to feed the cat, as I didn't want it hanging around. Long story short, the cat was fed and it wound up clawing the wife.

Rather than risk her having to take rabies shots, I shot the cat, placed it in a plastic grocery sack and took it to the city operated animal shelter. (Had previously delivered this cat's litter of kittens, which she delivered in our flower bed, to the same shelter and was told they would be euthanized, as it was their policy not to adopt out stray cats.)

I entered the animal control office and the only one present was a secretary, who was on the phone. She motioned for me to have a seat opposite her desk and I did so, placing my grocery bag on the floor beside my chair.

When the secretary got off the phone, she asked if she could help me and I replied, "I have this cat in the bag which scratched my wife and I need for you to have it tested for rabies." She asked my address and, looking over the desk at the plastic bag on the floor, asked if the cat was deceased.
"Yes mam", I replied, wondering just exactly how she might have thought I could get a live cat in the bag in the first place.

About that time an animal control officer entered the office. The secretary and the officer had a pow-wow; the officer came over and asked, "who euthanized this animal?" I replied, "I did". He replied, "you know you could be fined $200 and spend --- weeks (have forgotten exact term) in jail for cruelty to animals, don't you?"

Well, I lost it about that time and informed him that he should do whatever he felt appropriate, but that I needed the (^&%$# cat tested for rabies and that if it happened again, I would bring him another cat in a sack!

He cooled off a bit and advised that the wife should see a Dr. to check for "cat scratch fever" and get proper treatment and that he would send the head off to be tested. Two or three days later, we received the good news, the cat was not rabid.

Dealing with the beurocracy is sometimes more difficult than dealing with feral animals. :banghead:

Regards,
hps

 

[CZ 75 BD]

They ain't half bad if you simmer 'em in crab boil for a while before roasting.

 

[Geno]

Live Trap

It is always best to live-trap them. I did once trap someone's pet cat, forunately it had a collar and that one was returned to the owner, who had to pay "bail" to get their critter back safe and sound. Someone said they didn't understand the difference between feral and pet gone out to hunt...big difference. Most feral cats tend to be more hyper, wild-eyed, and will usually scat at a hint of human interaction.

What varied in our case was the cat came running from across the road, over the yard and jumped on my daughter as she played with her little friends. No provocation, no collar, just the devil himself came out Hades and attacked my daughter, me and previously two other people. For certain, something was not right with that animal.

What shocked me was the comment that only if an ambulance was needed was it an emergency! That's just silly! Oh well, all turned out well and we moved out of that city. Way too many wild animals there. But, in closing, the only way to know fact-firm if domesticated or feral, is to live-trap them, then get them observed and tested. If they belong to someone, sue them for failing to control it, including put it down if/when it turns mean.


Doc2005

 

[dakotasin]

that's too much work... a 300 win mag is quick, painless, effective, and a good problem-eradicator. good practice for deer season, too. popping a feral cat at 300 yards across an empty field is more effective than sitting on a bench w/ sandbags all day. there are so many ferals out here, and they need eradicated anyway.

 

[Clipper]

...Most states (including mine) are leash law states. The courts in Michigan have decided this includes cats (thank goodness), so ANY cat outdoors without a leash is considered feral. I have absolutely no sympathy for anyone who lets their cat or dog wander loose. I have always had cats, but mine get declawed at all four corners and never leave the house. When I lived in farm country, I had a problem with people dumping cats & dogs in the area, and eventually losing livestock to them. Many of the locals also thought it was perfectly OK to let their animals roam around loose. I eventually dug a 6x6x6 behind the barn, and in 5 years, filled one and 1/2 of them with strays & other varmints. I also added many local bird & rabbit dogs who's owners didn't care enough about them or my goats, ducks and chickens to keep them under control, and forced me to control 'em with a bullet. And around here it goes without saying that shooting any dog seen running deer is mandatory...

 

[trickyasafox]

i disagree with the statement 'any animal being outside as a feral animal'
I'd need some pretty convincing evidence to believe that wild cats are more destructive than wild dogs, but i don't see posts popping up every other day about shooting them. clipper is one of the few who even mentioned wild dogs.

 

[JohnKSa]

i disagree with the statement 'any animal being outside as a feral animal'

Me too. The key is whether or not they are controlled or allowed to roam unrestricted. IMO, putting out food for an animal that otherwise roams as it pleases doesn't make it a pet or elevate its status. No matter how pleasant the animal may be to the person feeding it.

I don't know of any sources comparing the destructiveness of feral dogs to feral cats. I think the reason that feral dogs have not been mentioned much on this thread is because this thread is about feral cats.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I forget the exact show, it was either the Animal Planet or Discovery Top 10 most extreme "whatever". The show was something like top 10 killers.

The "house cat" was NUMBER 1!!!! Kills over 1000 different species, kills for no reason, and kills over 1 billion critters each year in N. America. Now this was on a channel that I wouldn't expect to be anti-cat so it seems believable to me.

I like cats. However, feral/outdoor cats I have no tolerance for, they need to go in my mind. No one would tolerate a dog running loose and killing everything in the neighborhood.

Some people have blamed amphibian decline to pollution only to later find it's the freaking cats.

They kill everything and need to go. "Owners" need to keep them indoors.