i8godzilla wrote:I bought a trap at Tractor Supply for about $25.00. I just relocate them. There are plenty of farmers and ranchers around, with barns, that will welcome the addition. If I am going into town, they get dropped at a shelter. I really see no need in just killing them. Once in a while, we will come across a really aggressive one and they are addressed one an individual basis. If you live in the city the Animal Control may have cages you can borrow at no charge.
Rex B wrote:....A lot of those feral cats come from the unwanted pets that urbanites have disposed of by driving them out to the country....
EXACTLY!
I had to deal with this myself for about 10 years until my road got cut off by a new highway about 15 years ago. It seems that everyone from "town" that wanted to "relocate" their sick, dying, pregnant or otherwise unwanted pets had decided that us folks outside the city limits would welcome them with open arms.
It's not gun control that we need, it's soul control!
I forgot to mention that trapping is indeed a great solution- to the first 1 or 2 cats... these cats have all seen the trap and won't go near it even with fresh tuna in it.
Rex B wrote:....A lot of those feral cats come from the unwanted pets that urbanites have disposed of by driving them out to the country....
EXACTLY!
I had to deal with this myself for about 10 years until my road got cut off by a new highway about 15 years ago. It seems that everyone from "town" that wanted to "relocate" their sick, dying, pregnant or otherwise unwanted pets had decided that us folks outside the city limits would welcome them with open arms.
You mean like this train of thought?
i8godzilla wrote:I bought a trap at Tractor Supply for about $25.00. I just relocate them. There are plenty of farmers and ranchers around, with barns, that will welcome the addition.
Feral cats are unnatural and damaging to the native environment. Shoot em for coyote bait.
Trapping and relocating sounds impractical, and it's just passing the problem on to someone else. Taking them to the pound will most likely lead to the same end result of dead cats anyway. Why make an easy solution tougher than it has to be?
I'd think that .22 mag would do the trick. But, I'm a bit of military surplus fan and you can get 7.62 x 54 pretty cheap. A Mosin 91/30 would be my personal choice. Course...you'd be burying cat parts instead of actual cats.
I'm surprised to see all the condemnation and second guessing for the OP about this...it seemed pretty clear right in his first post that he's not in a city, that he's not trying to get rid of people's pets, and that there are a large number of them. If he were asking about castle laws and trespassers he'd get at least a few responses to just take back his land guns ablazin.
If you have that many cats nearby and that are that sick/starving - I bet you have a cat hoarder nearby. Very unusual to find 30+ different cats as completely feral and sharing that tight of a space. They are probably getting some food and shelter very close. Call the animal control folks first please. You still might have to resort to trapping or even shooting - but don't post and make it sound like fun.
“Only at the end do you realize the power of the Dark Side.”
couzin wrote:If you have that many cats nearby and that are that sick/starving - I bet you have a cat hoarder nearby. Very unusual to find 30+ different cats as completely feral and sharing that tight of a space. They are probably getting some food and shelter very close. Call the animal control folks first please. You still might have to resort to trapping or even shooting - but don't post and make it sound like fun.
there is no animal control out here. We trapped a few in the past but they won't go near traps anymore. I think this year's problem is that the coyotes haven't been keeping them thinned out as well as past years... and they've had about 6 litters this year that I know of. (I don't mind them when the numbers are low as they keep snakes and rodents away from my house as well.
They do get fed some from neighbors that feel bad seeing starving cats. As for shelter- they stay under/in sheds, barns, deer blinds, and in a couple natural caves around here.
Shooting them is a last resort. Maybe my posting that it's a good excuse for a new rifle made it sound "sporting"- that wasn't my intent.
I suggest .22 LR CBees for shots under 40 yards, you can get a few shots off without scaring the cats off.
Out past that a 17 or 22 mag should work fine.
I would try a pellet gun with a FPS rating on the low end at first, it's mostly non-leathel and I would think it would be good to keep them away as it would be very painful.
American by birth Texan by the grace of God
Not to be a republican at twenty is proof of want of heart; to be one at thirty is proof of want of head.
-Francois Guisot
We've worn out the bb guns, which shoo's them away for a few minutes, until you go back inside. They scatter when I come outside... and stop just outside bb gun range... which is about 40-50 yds for mine.
They are just overpopulated, no two ways about it.
