Ferrel Cat Infestation-What to do?

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ben2go

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 20, 2008
Messages
2,758
Reaction score
0
Location
Upstate,South Carolina
My neighbor and I have a problem with ferrel cats.I called animal control and they simple said call us when you catch them.I thought that was what they did?Animal shelter wants to investigate before they give the ok to take them.So we are stuck.The cats have been fighting,attacking his cats and small dog.They steal food from his two cats and dog.I'm not a fan of just killing a bunch of wild cats,but I am unwilling to try to give them away.There just to unpredictable and most are unapproachable.We could trap them but we have no where to take them.Animal shelter has turned us down because we protested the idea of them investigating the infestation.There's been problems with their investigations leading to false arrests and imprisonments.So we don't have any idea what to do with them.I thought about running an ad in Craig's list and maybe a farmer would take them to keep down rodents.The cats have really become a problem this year because they are not hiding in the woods any more.They are hanging around on our vehicles,porches,and getting into our outbuildings.Anyone have any humane suggestions on what to do with them?
 
Around here several of the PetSmarts have adoption groups that show up on the weekends. Usually those groups will take kittens, but I'm not sure about grown/wild cats... maybe if they're cute :) It's worth a try.

My wife keeps every stray that shows up here so I have no hands on experience with this.
 
Saucer of milk/anti-freeze
Ferrell Dogs to take care of cats
Ferrell baboons to take care of dogs
Ferrell......well you get the point!

If your not willing to take a false arrest or imprisonment to get the Humane Society on your side then your only option is street justice.
A low powered BB Gun like the Red Rider not cocked too many times works great! Won't penetrate their hide and over time they get the point. Atleast your aim would get better.

I have seen at Petsmart or TSC or another chain store that there was a powder like Sevendust that you can put around your property to ward off dogs and cats. Don't know what it is or if it works. Other than that get you a couple of barrells filled full of water and throw the cats a "pool party!" :mrgreen:
 
I don't know how it works there, but in Dallas years ago we had a problem, and animal control loaned us a live trap. Every time we caught one, we would trade the trap in for an empty one until the problems were gone.

Is there a PETA chapter in your area? Trap them and leave them on their doorstep!
 
SSS

shoot, shovel, silence

A .22 bullet is more humane than letting a bunch of feral cats roam freely to decimate the area wildlife and potentially starve to death in the process.
 
funny you have those cats... my inlaws have a cat that I swear is the Devil - but she's only good with me. She got tore up by a ferrel cat last week, so I staked out with my rubber bullet gun and tagged it a few times. It hasn't been back since. Tiffany's mom wouldn't let me take the .40 to it, so this was the next best thing.
 
russ010 said:
funny you have those cats... my inlaws have a cat that I swear is the Devil - but she's only good with me. She got tore up by a ferrel cat last week, so I staked out with my rubber bullet gun and tagged it a few times. It hasn't been back since. Tiffany's mom wouldn't let me take the .40 to it, so this was the next best thing.
I have a friend that had neighborhood dogs getting into his trash. He was scared of making enemies by shooting them, so he would tag them through an open window with blowgun darts! I wonder how many dogs went home with a dart sticking out of it?
 
COOL, my subject and I Have the same problem in my rural area. we had at one time 9 cats hangen around. Now we are down to 3 males =D>

My experiance
The BB gun one pump works on dogs, they stay away. it only works on the cats when they see you. for instance they figured it out when they seen me(the cats) would run off, when I would be in the house they would wonder back. The dogs will completely avoid your yard when they interact with the bb gun.

Females!! get rid of them, that stops the breeding. Males will end up fighting one day, but that could be a year and a half before that happens. The dominate male will run off all competition, but he only does that to the males that get old enough to breed so you might have a few males hang around awhile, but he will run them off!

So if you can work out getting the females out and hang in there for the males to fight(which mostly be at night) you'll be solved in about a year depending on age of the males.

now back to your problem, how to get'em out and only females, which is half the work:?: To be honest if the HS wanted to help they would already done it with you so, in thier way they are telling you we don't care how you do it, which is Hypocritical of them [-X
 
I don't really wanna shoot them but animal control won't work with me.I have to many neighbors close to me,that will call the police on me if I break out my air rifle.It's pretty close to the power of a 22 rifle.I definately can't break out the real gun.Everyone will call the police thinking the dope dealers are shooting the nonpaying crackheads or prostitute.I do live in a rural area.It's crappy when the city problems move out of the city.
 
Quackrstackr said:
SSS

shoot, shovel, silence

A .22 bullet is more humane than letting a bunch of feral cats roam freely to decimate the area wildlife and potentially starve to death in the process.


I agree!

The PA Game Commission urges hunter to shoot wild cats because of all the harm they do to the wildlife. Reptiles especially get the brunt of their destructive tenancies. While I am not for killing an animal that I am not going to eat, this is pest control and I would blast those buggers.


I would also like to blast the idiots who took the poor cats into the woods and "set them free."
 
I agree with the SSS theory. Darts, rubber pellets, and paint balls, while fun, just pushes the problem off to somebody else. If you can do the SSS thing without getting into trouble yourself, that's the way to go.
 
you need you a 25 dollar drop door trap (coon/possom trap). be carefull w/ those buggers never know what kind of disease they may have.

when we trap a possom trying to eat our chickens ill eather shoot in the trap w/ rat shot, or just give them a quick boot to the head as soon as they step out from the trap
 
Trap them and use the car exhaust, or SSS. I have tons of quail around here, they even come to the bird feeder.

I figured out God does not like cats!! He keeps sending them around and I keep shooting them.

Might be why I have quail!!!
 
Hmm. I like the fact that scalping tickets is bad, but killing cats is good? Haha. I'm just playing. If you didnt do anything wrong, theres no fear of a false arrest or imprisonment right? Unless I am missing something?
 
Check out the information on this page.
https://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/Professional-Trapper/howtogetridofstraycats.htm

From his cat trapping page....
"Cat trapping is easily accomplished by setting canned or dry cat food in the back of a large steel cage trap. Some cats are wary, but most go right in after the food."

I'm surprised your HS won't work with you on this. But, from what you are saying, if you catch the cats, it seems they will take them off your hands. They support the Trap-Neuter-Return policy and have research to back up the position that trapping and killing the animals does not work.

Another thing that would help is if you stop feeding them, which you are doing when you leave food for your domestic pets outside and available.
 
a 2 liter bottle duct taped to the end of a .22 barrell is almost silent, about like a BB gun.. Maybe you should "give that theory a try " :)
 
cyberflexx said:
a 2 liter bottle duct taped to the end of a .22 barrell is almost silent, about like a BB gun.. Maybe you should "give that theory a try " :)
Kinda hard to aim...better make sure it's a semi or auto:)
 
ober51 said:
Hmm. I like the fact that scalping tickets is bad, but killing cats is good? Haha. I'm just playing. If you didnt do anything wrong, theres no fear of a false arrest or imprisonment right? Unless I am missing something?

I'm not really for killing them.There has been false arrest and imprisonment after an animal cruelty investigation.Kind of scary.Mans dog jumped out of the window of his truck on the interstate.He gets 6 months jail and 2 years probation because his dog was sucicidal.


DocWatson said:
Check out the information on this page.
https://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/Professional-Trapper/howtogetridofstraycats.htm

From his cat trapping page....
"Cat trapping is easily accomplished by setting canned or dry cat food in the back of a large steel cage trap. Some cats are wary, but most go right in after the food."

I'm surprised your HS won't work with you on this. But, from what you are saying, if you catch the cats, it seems they will take them off your hands. They support the Trap-Neuter-Return policy and have research to back up the position that trapping and killing the animals does not work.

Another thing that would help is if you stop feeding them, which you are doing when you leave food for your domestic pets outside and available.


My neighbor has outside pets and they stay right there at his house.Never had any issues.They do feed them at their outside building where the cats shelter is.They have a cat door on their outbuilding.I have no pets.We did catch another neighbor bringing cats home,setting them out,and not taking care of them.I am trying to get pictures of her doing this or better,a video.Thanks for the linky.
 
Feral cats are not domesticated animals. They are the offspring of cats that are either strays or that have been turned out by their owners. They have never had a "home" with people and have been raised wild by their mother, who has taught them to fear humans. Unless you trap all the feral cats in your area they will just continue to breed (probably larger litters because of decreased competition for resources).

It's a tough problem with no easy answers. But if you have a neighbor who is bringing strays into the neighborhood and feeding them outside it is probably an unsolvable problem. #-o
 

Latest posts

Top