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Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: fightingquaker13 on March 20, 2010, 07:46:15 PM

Title: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: fightingquaker13 on March 20, 2010, 07:46:15 PM
I'm throwing this topic out here largely because I'm bored, but also because its something I've gone back and forth on (kind of like my seemingly endless AR/AK debate ::)). Anyway the deal is this, do we shoot feral cats in the field, or let them be?
Pro:
They are non-natives, destructive of local wild life and present a clear and prent danger to the environment. Rational answer: shoot on sight in the field.
Con:
I like cats. Its one thing to say, they are a threat, another to unload two barells of 20 gauge 7 1/2s and watch a cat bleed out. Emotional answer: Don't shoot, figure we've screwed up the natural balance pretty badly as humans and no one's shooting us, so why shouldn't  I extend a hard working cat the same courtesy?
I'm (semi) torn, and would like your input.
FQ13
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: Big Frank on March 20, 2010, 07:49:10 PM
If I ever have the opportunity I'll exterminate them like any other pest. I don't let warm and fuzzzy feelings overcome my logical mind.
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: TAB on March 20, 2010, 08:41:24 PM
if I know for sure they are feral, then yes I will shoot.  they are a none native pest
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: jframesmith on March 20, 2010, 08:48:01 PM
Feral cats are a big problem for me. They beat up on my barn cats, dig under my sheds to make a "litter" box, and various other atrocities .

Ruger 10/22 with Aguila SSS rounds will dispatch them  in a humane matter.
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: ske1eter on March 20, 2010, 08:52:57 PM
If I ever have the opportunity I'll exterminate them like any other pest. I don't let warm and fuzzzy feelings overcome my logical mind.

+1
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: Pathfinder on March 20, 2010, 08:57:16 PM
Shoot them.

My only regret was whacking them in a "Hav-a-Heart" trap. Too dangerous to shoot them in the yard or garage where they went - along with the 'coons - so I had to trap them then whack them. Didn't much like that, but the fact they were a cat didn't bother me much. The coons didn't bother me at all. All of them tore the heck out of my garage where the ranch cats lived which is why le morte was visited upon them.
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: Solus on March 20, 2010, 09:37:41 PM
Anyone have a recipe?   :D :D :D
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: fightingquaker13 on March 20, 2010, 09:46:07 PM
Anyone have a recipe?   :D :D :D

I hear they taste like Iguana ;D
FQ13
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: Fatman on March 20, 2010, 09:56:44 PM
Any feral animal presenting a clear and present danger should be shot.  Two legged ones included.
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: Bic on March 20, 2010, 10:40:52 PM
I have chickens, I'm with Fatman.
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: Texas_Bryan on March 20, 2010, 10:56:55 PM
Just like feral dogs, dangerous and destructive, get rid of them.  Try and be humane about it, but in the end, they're just cats.
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: tombogan03884 on March 21, 2010, 12:13:24 AM
If they don't bother me, I have no reason to bother them.


If they DO bother me though.......  ;D
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: philw on March 21, 2010, 01:38:58 AM
man  this is an easy one don't need to think about the answer on this one..


Shoot the buggers.


I have a grey one that sighed it's death warrant when it pissed on the stainless doors of my BBQ       just got to catch the prick  as I am not allowed to shoot it where i live    then it is going for a "swim" 

over here they have caused the extinction of some native species and also have contributed to the disappearance of many ground-dwelling birds and mammals around the place...   


Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: fightingquaker13 on March 21, 2010, 02:59:33 AM
man  this is an easy one don't need to think about the answer on this one..


Shoot the buggers.


I have a grey one that sighed it's death warrant when it pissed on the stainless doors of my BBQ       just got to catch the prick  as I am not allowed to shoot it where i live    then it is going for a "swim" 

over here they have caused the extinction of some native species and also have contributed to the disappearance of many ground-dwelling birds and mammals around the place...   



Phil
I know that you suffer under insane gun laws. BUT, if the buggers haven't gotten around to regulating airguns yet, may I suggest a Diana Werks RWS 34 in .22 caliber? 850 feet per second in .22. It will shoot through a 1/2" plywood board at 50 yards. Plenty enough gun for possums, cats and iguanas at thirty paces or less if you can place your shots right. Quiet, and with a descent scope (either go high dollar or disposable, as a spring piston airgun will eat scopes. I have an airgun designed Weaver at about $40 and its worked fine for years). Its a sweet rifle at a low price, and findable for about $150 USD used. Its a bargain. I have used it to bag legal game, like squirells and rabbitts, and rumor has it, other critters for twenty years ;). Can't say enough good about it. Buy the rifle and a can of "packed in oil" tuna, and its game over for Toonces the driving cat. ;D Airguns don't get enough play on this board, but a good spring piston airgun will kill a varmint just as dead as a .22 LR inside of 30-50 yards, pus they don't  make much noise to keep you out of trouble with the neighbors. ;)
FQ13
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: philw on March 21, 2010, 03:19:04 AM
yep  they have  >:( >:(


have thought of the belly ache tuna    ;)

the "alleged" plan  is to get a trap     catch the little bugger  then it is going for a swim in a wheely bin full of water   or it is going to have it's neck opened up  with a knife  ;)

Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: fightingquaker13 on March 21, 2010, 03:42:03 AM
yep  they have  >:( >:(


have thought of the belly ache tuna    ;)

the "alleged" plan  is to get a trap     catch the little bugger  then it is going for a swim in a wheely bin full of water   or it is going to have it's neck opened up  with a knife  ;)


I shudder to ask, but what sort of restrictions have they placed on airguns? I mean honestly, its not like you're going to hold up a liqour store with a single shot air rifle. :o I've said it before and I'll say it again, because it bears repeating. A government that fears an armed populaton should be feared by an unarmed population. Its just that simple and no politics involved. Left right or center, it's all the same. Give me a gun and I'm a citizen, deprive me of one and I'm a subject.
FQ13
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: philw on March 21, 2010, 05:02:17 AM
I shudder to ask, but what sort of restrictions have they placed on airguns? I mean honestly, its not like you're going to hold up a liqour store with a single shot air rifle. :o I've said it before and I'll say it again, because it bears repeating. A government that fears an armed populaton should be feared by an unarmed population. Its just that simple and no politics involved. Left right or center, it's all the same. Give me a gun and I'm a citizen, deprive me of one and I'm a subject.
FQ13

if you missed it  have a read of this.....

http://www.downrange.tv/forum/index.php?topic=4280.msg49932#msg49932

just like a .22   can get charged with discharging a firearm in a residential area if caught  even with an air rifle
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: Fatman on March 21, 2010, 08:38:36 AM
Phil! Broaden your horizons, mate! $19.90 US

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DCAQ7XSTL._SL500_AA280_.jpg)


http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=wrist+rockets&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4386144645&ref=pd_sl_1b6jd8ngn8_b (http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=wrist+rockets&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4386144645&ref=pd_sl_1b6jd8ngn8_b)
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: Rastus on March 21, 2010, 09:01:10 AM
I never heard it called belly ache tuna...magic meatballs maybe.  These things are terribly destructive.  The wild turkey populations on the edge of suburban areas are decimated by them...and fox.

Fatman has your answer, but I suspect there are regs on those too.  A nice heavy round rock or a big chunk of lead about 3/4" around (cut back fishing sinker) in one has some real knockdown power. 

With a good center of mass hit and they don't run, they don't holler, they just lay there for pickup and distribution.  Now, I don't know if they are good to eat, but I've a friend who says mountain lion are delicious...the other white meat.  If I wasn't dearthly allergic to them.....naw, Haz...I wouldn't really.   :-X
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: ericire12 on March 21, 2010, 01:26:05 PM
Anti freeze
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: TAB on March 21, 2010, 02:01:45 PM
Anti freeze


that actually will get you in deep doo doo in just about every part of the country.
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: brosometal on March 21, 2010, 02:51:13 PM
Not if there is a "hole in your radiator".  Just be careful.  The anti-freeze in indiscriminate and is like kool-aid to most animals.
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: philw on March 22, 2010, 04:19:47 AM
Phil! Broaden your horizons, mate! $19.90 US

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DCAQ7XSTL._SL500_AA280_.jpg)


http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=wrist+rockets&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4386144645&ref=pd_sl_1b6jd8ngn8_b (http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=wrist+rockets&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=4386144645&ref=pd_sl_1b6jd8ngn8_b)


cool part is in SA  I can get one  and have,   we can not have the arm brace though   :(

this is what I can get
http://www.adelaidegunshop.com.au/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,399/category_id,34/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,26/ 
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: JSC3ATLCSO on March 22, 2010, 04:57:42 AM
Yeast or Rat poison in hamburger is how it is done in town around here.  Here in the midwest cats dogs turkeys deer whatever is an over populated nuisance.  Deer and turkeys are extremely hard on crops cats and dogs are hard on small wildlife along with the huge burst in red tailed hawks and owls all of the sudden.
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: crusader rabbit on March 22, 2010, 08:54:41 AM
I love my big ol' gray cat, Chico.  That's why he lives indoors with the rest of the family.  The wild ones that live outdoors spread disease, decimate the wild bird population and really mess up flowerbeds.  They are not just fair game, but I consider it an obligation to help neutralize the threat of a feral pest.  I kill rats, too. 

As to the "recipe" angle...  I spent some time in China where one of the historically significant dishes is called Dragon and Tiger Fighting.  Two ingredients are cat and snake.  I enjoyed this dish and mistook the small pieces of meat for the proverbial "chicken."  Don't know how it would taste in larger pieces or roasted.

We had a joke here in Florida about an Everglades dweller caught for shooting a cougar.  When asked why, he said it was food for his family.  When asked what it tasted like, he told the judge is was, "Kinda a combination of bald eagle and manatee." 

Me?  I never liked eagle--too tough.
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: shooter32 on March 22, 2010, 09:27:12 AM
Feral = shoot!!!  ;D
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: Wheelgun Dunn on March 22, 2010, 11:16:12 AM
A friend of mine has a farm he lets me shoot on and he has a terrible fc problem.  I have shot several and like someone else posted attempt to dispatch them as humanley as possible as I take no real joy in taking out ole' fluffy but tey are a terrible nuisance to his property.  I use a 22 mag with 30 grn hornady V-max.  I have never seen anything I have shot die harder than a cat.  They are very resilient and hate to give up those nine lives.  They leap into the air and take off even when I make good clean kill shots.  I have read somewhere the ballistic tip bullets don't expand at close range they need to slow down some before they expand properly but I don't know if it is true.

Wheelgun
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: Fatman on March 22, 2010, 06:33:49 PM

cool part is in SA  I can get one  and have,   we can not have the arm brace though   :(

this is what I can get
http://www.adelaidegunshop.com.au/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,399/category_id,34/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,26/ 


Of course you can't have the wrist brace, that would make it effective. Man, I feel bad for you guys. Hope things turn around soon. 
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: philw on March 22, 2010, 08:30:55 PM
Of course you can't have the wrist brace, that would make it effective. Man, I feel bad for you guys. Hope things turn around soon. 

doubt it 

can only hope though....

Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: texcaliber on March 22, 2010, 09:21:33 PM
FQ, go out and buy yourself the Gamo Whisper then sight it in. After that your internal monologue which is  worried,  will turn from: " poor fluffy-kitty" to "cool this is one silent air gun. I should see what those gold pellets can do. I can't believe the permanent exit wound diameter!!!! I should post PICS on DRTV." or something like that.

tex
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: fightingquaker13 on March 22, 2010, 09:32:57 PM
FQ, go out and buy yourself the Gamo Whisper then sight it in. After that your internal monologue which is  worried,  will turn from: " poor fluffy-kitty" to "cool this is one silent air gun. I should see what those gold pellets can do. I can't believe the permanent exit wound diameter!!!! I should post PICS on DRTV." or something like that.

tex
But how will it do for rogue iguanas crouched in the long grass (or medium long hibiscus bushes)? They're vicious beasts when cornered. ;D Seriously, how is the gammo? I've all ways leaned .22 vs .177 in air guns because of more foot pounds, even at the expense of a less flat tajectory. Does the gammo come in .22, and if not, what is your experience with it? It really does seem very cool. And as you know, when it comes to cool guns, I,m so easy its a good thing I wasn't born a girl. ;D
FQ13
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: texcaliber on March 22, 2010, 09:48:45 PM
I have only experienced the Gamo in the 177 cal. on the tree rats. It was impressive. If you must have a 22 then: http://www.gamousa.com/family.aspx?family=Whisper%20Series&familyID=71
they got you covered. I can not for the life of me figure out even at muzzle f/s how the entrance hole was 177 and the exit hole, which I stuck my #2 pencil in to lift to move toward the road for which ever animal to feast on, was that large. No joke.

tex
Title: Re: Feral Cats, Shoot or Don't
Post by: PABLO DEL NORTE on March 23, 2010, 07:42:23 AM
MY .02 IS THAT IF THEY ARE FERAL THEN THEY ARE NOT " A CUTE KITTY-KITTY".  THAT MEANS THEY ARE MORE AGRESSIVE & FULL OF WHO KNOWS WHAT KIND OF DISEASES. LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COUPLE IN GA. FROM THE FERAL DOGS IN THAT AREA. 
I JUST SAW ON THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL OR NAT GEO. THAT NOW FLORIDA HAS A "REPTILE SEASON" FROM ALL THE PYTHONS & MONITORS RUNNIN' AROUND OVER THERE. (SIGN ME UP  ;D).
 NOT TO MENTION ALL THE FERAL HOGS RUNNIN'  AMOK EVERYWHERE.