Americas war on feral cats

[BilletHead]

America’s War On Feral Cats | MeatEater Conservation (themeateater.com)

[snagged in outlet 3]

The girl next door has 3 cats she lets out to run free.  I've seen them on my cameras trying to kill birds.  One even jumped into the top of a shrub to get at a dove nest.  I asked her if she had seen these cats around and she said they were hers.  I said your cats bird eaters.  She said WHAT!?.  I said your cats are eating birds and I have them on video doing it.  She wouldn't even look at the video and was in denial.  I told her to at least put a bell on their collars so they don't keep getting the birds.  She wasn't having any of it.  It's a real shame...

[Gumboot]

My old wife had an all white cat named Snowball that spent a lot of time outside.  That cat brought her 1-3 birds daily for many, many years. How the heck does an all white cat catch that many birds?  When bird hunting I've encountered cats in woodlots miles from civilization, and they were very healthy...WERE.

My new wife is a dog person...

[Johnsfolly]

1 hour ago, BilletHead said:

America’s War On Feral Cats | MeatEater Conservation (themeateater.com)

I have looked at this issue for a long time and have always felt that feral cats and dogs were a huge problem to the local wildlife populations.

I had some thoughts and then rejected them of offering to help trap feral cats from several areas around Columbia. I rejected those thoughts due mainly on thoughts of push back from the city council on the cat removal. I despise the trap-neuter-release program for all of the reasons provided in this article, still kill birds, etc. for another 10 + years, spread disease, etc. As a family that has had a bad unowned cat issue around our house in Columbia and having gone through a couple of worm treatment programs, we have no love for these creatures. I found out just this week that back when we had a high number of these cats around, we had a neighbor threaten to report us to the police since "our" cat kept attacking him as he ran past our house. That stopped after I began my trap and "relocate" program for these cats. I believe that I caught all seven of the ones that were abandoned in our neighborhood (these were mean cats and only the first caught went to the shelter), also 2 neighbors pets, a couple others that went to the shelter, and the rest (another 9 or 10) that went on a one way trip.

I've said all of this before on this site, but during that time there was such a wave of released cats that the local shelter went from trying to place before euthanasia from a week to down to a 24 hr period. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

17 minutes ago, Gumboot said:

My old wife had an all white cat named Snowball that spent a lot of time outside.  That cat brought her 1-3 birds daily for many, many years. How the heck does an all white cat catch that many birds?  When bird hunting I've encountered cats in woodlots miles from civilization, and they were very healthy...WERE.

My new wife is a dog person...

My mother in law had a bird feeder at the farm right out the kitchen window.  They were inundated with feral cats "dropped off" from town.  As soon as a cat even looked sideways at a bird she would have it shot right away.  The barn cats rarely came out and she left them alone.  She said they were mousers (rats) and good to go.  I'm sure they are hard on quail.  

[MOPanfisher]

What war, cats that wander often meet with accidents.  I don't feel bad about it in the least, just management.

[Johnsfolly]

5 minutes ago, MOPanfisher said:

What war, cats that wander often meet with accidents.  I don't feel bad about it in the least, just management.

You must be feeling better to chime in on this feral cat discussion. I hope that is an accurate assessment 😉

[BilletHead]

           All I can say is the .25 cal air rifle works very well out here. Oops did I just say that? 

  Very much an issue here but seem to be under control at the moment. Strays which in actuality are dumped near out buildings and barns on farms for others to take care of.  Dogs the same. 

[Terrierman]

There has been a feral cat meet with an untimely demise in the neighborhood occasionally.  Honestly not as often lately as it used to be.  Not sure why.

[Flyfisher for men]

2 hours ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

The girl next door has 3 cats she lets out to run free.  I've seen them on my cameras trying to kill birds.  One even jumped into the top of a shrub to get at a dove nest.  I asked her if she had seen these cats around and she said they were hers.  I said your cats bird eaters.  She said WHAT!?.  I said your cats are eating birds and I have them on video doing it.  She wouldn't even look at the video and was in denial.  I told her to at least put a bell on their collars so they don't keep getting the birds.  She wasn't having any of it.  It's a real shame...

 

This is all too common. Kitty is a killer, and people live in ignorance and denial about it.

 

A few years ago, Wisconsin, I believe, did a study on how many songbirds were getting killed by feral cats. It was something like fifty million every year. Yet, when they suggested a program to eliminate feral cats, the public blew a gasket over cruelty to poor kitties.