Cat Problem! How to fix it?

[black-ice]

[/qu
ote]

Sorry i own dogs and goats only good cat is no cat , this subject could get touchey!!

[Lee Borgersen]

If a few more people would take the time to adopt and train those feral cats the world would be a better place and we could live in harmony together.

[DDSBYDAY]

    Lee he wasn't holding it right and thinking happy thoughts.

   

[mahmoodmahi]

Is there really a feral cat problem? I have spent years hunting and fishing in Northern Mn, Northern Wisconsin, Central and Southern Minnesota, and I have never seen a feral cat except on farms. Seems to me like they need a bit of civilization to compete, I really doubt a feral cat would last long in the woods outside of international falls.

[Cody Gruchow]

joe im not gonna argue with you, thats completly off topic. but to answer your question if it happened alot and i said something about it, the law would get involved. again it comes down to being a responsible pet owner and having your pets at home! i realize animals get away every now and then but feral cats are pretty much strays, and the animal shelters are so over run with strays and abondoned pets that they have no room for more stray cats. so i get some practice with the .22

[naturalistmn]

TNT,

You are right about me asking for opinions and not everyone has to like my work.   If everyone liked what you did, how could you ever become better.   With that being said, I thank you for the feedback.

However, I agree this could really turn into a pissing match.   Some of the things you have said just confirms my thoughts.   You seem to know exactly what to do in every situation.   You can even predict the unpredictable.   You are 100% set in your ways and have plateaued as an outdoorsman.   

[HD]

I have been reading this thread, and trying to stay as objective as possible. From where I sit, I believe you both are set in your ways. You both have your views that don’t match. Each has their own opinion on how things should be handled. I’m not saying that either one of you is correct, nor is it my job to do so. But the subtle name calling has no place in a public forum.

[Misky]

I am not a cat person but I am a dad, we own a cat that can not be kept in the house. She will hide until the kids open the door and shes gone for a few hours.  We have bought many collars for her but she never comes back with them on.
So what I did is went to all the neighbors and told them what she looked like and that I was sorry if she has been in there yard but please don't shoot her, all understood that I was trying to keep here contained and had no problem letting her slide. They then told me what strays were around (by description) and what ones were there's and the problem was solved.

I know this will not work for everyone but I believe a little communication will go a long way.

[Go Big Red!]

I have been reading this thread, and trying to stay as objective as possible. From where I sit, I believe you both are set in your ways. You both have your views that don’t match. Each has their own opinion on how things should be handled. I’m not saying that either one of you is correct, nor is it my job to do so. But the subtle name calling has no place in a public forum.

My thoughts exactly.

[HUNTER2]

I don't mind other people shooting the cats. I just have a hard time shooting domestic animals. I keep telling myself I could probably shoot a dog chasing a deer. But if it came up, I don't know if I could. I saw a cat on my property this year when I was bow hunting. Never came in range. Not sure if I would have shot or not. I wouldn't mind one for the mice but I wouldn't want it killing the pheasents or song birds. I'm sure my dogs wouldn't like it either. I guess I'm to soft. I know my nephew wouldn't have a problem with it.

[jkcmj]

Cats are a mega problems in my business.  Some of the large grain processors that I do work for have had 3 or 4 hours shut downs do to power outages from cats getting into transformers.  Last summer I had to go retrieve the pieces from a pregnant female cat that blew a transformer.  Mostly the identifiable parts were front halfs of the kittens.  Each power outage usually costs hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost porduct.  Sometimes over a million dollars can be lost from one incident depending how long it takes to get the power back up.

I have seen kittens a half mile in from any farm building on our land, so I assume they were born out there to some degree. 

When I lived in town, I had cats going in my garage pissing on a regular basis.  It had a part dirt floor, so I suppose they figured it as a litter box.  My ice fishing shack would absorb the smell of that piss so nobody wanted to fish out of it.  I ended up "removing" 32 cats with a live trap over that summer before things were noticeably better in the garage.  The animal control shelter where I live took the 1st couple, but wouldn't take them after that.  They told me to leave them alone, so I had to dispatch the rest.  It gets easier to do after you take care of the first few

[TNT]

But the subtle name calling has no place in a public forum.

hunter, you are right,
and that is why i sent nat a pm, instead of another post, but he choose to post back instead of pm me. and nat you are mistaken, i'm not 100% set in my ways, nor have i neared my full potential. and as said before, you asked ,i answered, i guess my straight forward answer, which was my opinion, should have been more sugar coated and warm and fuzzy so it would not  damage your fragile personality or perfect image.
ok, let the site gestapo put a fork in me, i'm done.

[snow]

Interesting subject and glad we have some convo on it because infact "feral cats" make a huge impact on our songbirds today.I have a friend who is a professor of ornithology at the UofM (Bob Zink,check his blog) that has done extensive studies on this subject and has written many articles and has come to the conclusion that feral cats are the perfect hunters and need to be dealt with whenever possible with lethal force,I tend to agree after watching these critters in action.

Keep them locked up inside or its open season in my neighborhood or anywhere in the field 24/7 12 mos,all year long.

[FireRanger]

I have been reading this thread, and trying to stay as objective as possible. From where I sit, I believe you both are set in your ways. You both have your views that don’t match. Each has their own opinion on how things should be handled. I’m not saying that either one of you is correct, nor is it my job to do so. But the subtle name calling has no place in a public forum.

My thoughts exactly.

X2

[UplandObsession]

Collar or not, if there is a cat trying to be all stealth like on my property or in the wild I have no problem taking cats out... For example, 3rd week of 2010 grouse season Im walking back to my truck and not even 10 yards from my truck something caught my eye in a tree, it was a grouse, was able to bag that bird, but sitting right under the tree a feral/domesticated cat sat waiting for the opportunity to catch the bird. It ended up being a good day for tasty and nusence animal control. 2-grouse, 3-timberdoodles, 1-porcupine (take as many as i can due to the fact I would hate to see a good Gun dog get into one), 1-domesticated cat (collared) with feril insticts (after shooting the cat I had found another mangled grouse 15-20 ft away from the tree that the cat was sitting by)

How often do you see feral cats? I see one almost everytime I leave my house. If there are so many around does it really hurt to try to help upland bird population or to keep the beautiful sound of song birds around? NO...

[22lex]

As I understand it, feral cats are different than "tabbys" roaming around with collars on. As for someone saying what if it was your child whose cat was shot....well, if it were me that would be a great life lesson to teach my child to keep them indoors if they are your pet, or get a dog.

As a kid I used to help bail hay for a farmer. He would shoot every feral cat he saw from his tractor while we were working, and he cared nothing of upland game or songbirds for that matter. These were the cats that would not come near you, hiss at you, and just roam around. He would always say those are the no good cats....whatever that means.

A friend of mine in a small town has caught 25 cats the last year, right in the middle of town after discovering they were using his sandbox. Took a couple to the "big house" for adoption like a previous poster commented, then they told him to take them somewhere else. Same story, different town...he just has been dispatching of them.

[nic53]

But the subtle name calling has no place in a public forum.

hunter, you are right,
and that is why i sent nat a pm, instead of another post, but he choose to post back instead of pm me. and nat you are mistaken, i'm not 100% set in my ways, nor have i neared my full potential. and as said before, you asked ,i answered, i guess my straight forward answer, which was my opinion, should have been more sugar coated and warm and fuzzy so it would not  damage your fragile personality or perfect image.
ok, let the site gestapo put a fork in me, i'm done.

TNT, everyone understands you gave the answer you believe but when you go bashing the late season bow hunt, that had nothing to do with this post. If you came out like that at me I would have a serious problem because what he did in that video is exactly what I would have done and many other hunters I know would have done. So yes give your answer on the topic. And keep personal things and other B.S. to yourself.

[naturalistmn]

Wow, these are some great stories!   32 cats, 25 cats, and 87 CATS!!!   It's funny, you set a trap to catch, what you think is one or maybe two, and end up catching over 20!   That's amazing and I must say good work.   My Gramps was the same way.   An old .22 behind the seat of the rusty Scottsdale.   There is a fenceline along our drive at our property and this is where a lot of cats tend to hang.   I had shot one in there on my way out.   I got out to get rid of him and was blown away at how huge he was.   Old nasty tom.   He was a mounter for sure!!!   That brushy fenceline was long and held a ton of pheasants.   The cats would patrol that line like they owned it.   Here kitty kitty kitty!!!!

[Dan R.]

Wow, these are some great stories!   32 cats, 25 cats, and 87 CATS!!!   It's funny, you set a trap to catch, what you think is one or maybe two, and end up catching over 20!   That's amazing and I must say good work.   My Gramps was the same way.   An old .22 behind the seat of the rusty Scottsdale.   There is a fenceline along our drive at our property and this is where a lot of cats tend to hang.   I had shot one in there on my way out.   I got out to get rid of him and was blown away at how huge he was.   Old nasty tom.   He was a mounter for sure!!!   That brushy fenceline was long and held a ton of pheasants.   The cats would patrol that line like they owned it.   Here kitty kitty kitty!!!!

    

[naturalistmn]

But the subtle name calling has no place in a public forum.

hunter, you are right,
and that is why i sent nat a pm, instead of another post, but he choose to post back instead of pm me. and nat you are mistaken, i'm not 100% set in my ways, nor have i neared my full potential. and as said before, you asked ,i answered, i guess my straight forward answer, which was my opinion, should have been more sugar coated and warm and fuzzy so it would not  damage your fragile personality or perfect image.
ok, let the site gestapo put a fork in me, i'm done.

TNT, everyone understands you gave the answer you believe but when you go bashing the late season bow hunt, that had nothing to do with this post. If you came out like that at me I would have a serious problem because what he did in that video is exactly what I would have done and many other hunters I know would have done. So yes give your answer on the topic. And keep personal things and other B.S. to yourself.

nic53,

I've PM'd you but I was experiencing some troubles so I'm not sure if  you got them.   I just wanted to say thank you and I appreciate the comment.   Thanks again!

[naturalistmn]

I have to say the photo's posted on this topic have definitely made me laugh!   And the Youtube video of the man that was bitten in the groan.... I think I pee'd a little!   Did you hear him scream!?!   Too funny.   Again, here kitty kitty kitty!!!!!!!!!!!   Nice work everyone!

[JoeFisherman]

I would have agree that feral(wild) cats are a problem and have no problem with their eradication.  However, any man that would would knowingly and willingly kill another's family pet is a sick man.  Even worse that a moderator of this site would publicly state he condones such activity, apparently practices this activity, and others on this site support this.  I have no more time for mnoutdoorsman.com.  Consider this my last post.

[kenhuntin]

Say it aint so Joe. Please stick around. You are the only person that can offer your opinion. What I mean is you cannot shed light on a subject by being silent.

[Mayfly]

I would have agree that feral(wild) cats are a problem and have no problem with their eradication.  However, any man that would would knowingly and willingly kill another's family pet is a sick man.  Even worse that a moderator of this site would publicly state he condones such activity, apparently practices this activity, and others on this site support this.  I have no more time for mnoutdoorsman.com.  Consider this my last post.

Sorry to hear that.

I do not know the post that you are referencing but I agree that I would not shoot my neighbors cat but try and find another way to resolve it. Feral cats on the other hand.. I personally have never shot one and when it came down to it not sure if I could but would not frown upon another if he/she did. I guess we are taught to love and care for domesticated animals, that is why its such an interesting topic. Most people do not even know that feral cats exist and are thriving in some areas.

As far as you taking a hike because of ones own opinion... I guess we are all entitled to our own opinions. I think if you sat down with a few people from the site and went from subject to subject you would find something you disagree on. Is that a reason not to continue to share and grow?

I think the worst thing that could happen to this site would be someone afraid to express their opinion in fear of what others may think or say.

[Bobby Bass]

This string was a hand grenade waiting to go off from the beginning. When I first read it I thought exactly that. A post tossed out to start an argument not to really bring an old problem to light. My second thought was that it was tossed out just to bring some traffic to someone's web site. I put my two cents in early that feral cats are a problem but just going out and shooting anything with fur on is not the answer. I know several dairy farmers who always have feral cats on their property, dozens will live in the barns and never be seen but are heard. They are tolerated because they keep the rodents under control.

Comments of live trapping are to be applauded but when you have so many the shelters will not take care of them just because they can't. There are more non solutions to the problem than there are answers. I have read several options which at the best are poor answers. For a site that caters to people who call themselves outdoorsmen shooting cats to "Teach a child a life lesson" may at best be a poor choice of words.

"As I understand it, feral cats are different than "tabbys" roaming around with collars on. As for someone saying what if it was your child whose cat was shot....well, if it were me that would be a great life lesson to teach my child to keep them indoors if they are your pet, or get a dog."

Posts of riding in trucks

"Load up in the back of acouple pick ups with some good buddies and go ditch cougar hunting. they normally turn out pretty productive nights. Thats my strategy, not exactly legal though but it works... "
I don't know where I am taking this but I hope Joe Fishermen reconsiders his leaving. I think I share your disgust with this response to a problem.

As for the cats here are just a few sites with information about feral cats and the problems they create, Note also the growing problems with wild dogs.  Bobby Bass

http://Http://www.catsunlimited.org/feralcats.htm
http://Http://www.extension.org/pages/Feral_Cat_Damage_Assessment
http://onlygunsandmoney.blogspot.com/2010/12/ted-nugent-on-feral-cats.html

(edited for spacing not for content)

[Outdoors Junkie]

Well said Bobby!

[HUNTER2]

Dogs are supposed to be on leashes and so are cats. I guess if you want to keep them safe, you better use a leash. When I met my wife she had 2 cats. One of them dissapered. I found out later the old man down the block had shot a couple cats in his garden. It was our fault for not having it on a leash. We just let them come and go as they pleased. After the other one finaly passed away, I talked her into not getting any more. Now we just have the 2 dogs and we will be building a new fence at our new place for them in the spring to keep them from running. You would think the yotes would help keep them ferals in check.

[FireRanger]

Well said Bobby!

Yes... very well said.

[22lex]

"As I understand it, feral cats are different than "tabbys" roaming around with collars on. As for someone saying what if it was your child whose cat was shot....well, if it were me that would be a great life lesson to teach my child to keep them indoors if they are your pet, or get a dog."

I will admit this is very poorly worded, but I'm not gonna lie and fluff it up about how I feel about this. If my child's cat was wandering around and he/she wasn't taking care of it and keeping it inside and it turned up dead or trapped, I would use this as an example in order to teach them to take care of their animal. Would I like it if my kid was all bent out of shape because their cat went missing.....of course not, and I would support them as a father would.

I agree with everything else you said and will retire from this thread, because you are right...nothing good besides pissed off people is coming from this.

 

[lentz]

my dads friend had a neighbor with a cat that would go around the neighbor hood and kill birds one day he bought a collar and left a note if i see this cat without a bell on its collar it will be on your steps in a brown bag

next day the cat had a big bell on it every step you could hear it (he never saw it kill a bird again )