Forget About Shooting Dogs, Let's Talk About Cats

[Alpha Male]

We've pounded the dog thing into the ground. Sure we've all got our opinions on that. My problem is with cats. Yes, cats.

It's actually not so much of a problem, more than an annoyance. Sometimes the appearance of the cats is a welcome diversion from an otherwise empty and lifeless landscape. But, I am also a bird hunter, bird watcher, and small game hunter. These feral felines can raise hell with an ecosystem as they are such efficient predators.

It is lawful for cat owners to allow their cats to roam, and they cannot be held personally accountable for any "damages" caused by cats even proven to be owned by them.

In more wild areas, I've not hesitated to pull the trigger or launch an arrow at the critters. When hunting in agricultural areas or in suburbia, I just let them walk.

In one of my stands, I have a long haired siamese female and a dark tabby that 'hunt' the corn I scatter one in awhile, along with the owls. They haven't dented the local squirrel population, but I've got those squirrels so fat right now I doubt the cats could take one down!

Let's hear about your experiences with housecats while hunting.

Thanks for reading! :D

[FishinJoe]

I myself have been known to take out a cat or 2 while in my deer stand.


Joe

[beagleguy]

CATS .....those arent a game animal well shoot coulda fooled me



Leon Madden

[Bwana]

I dream of shooting both a Lion and a Leopard. With a required 21 day trip ($1,100.00 per day) and a trophy fee approaching $5,000 the Lion is a ways off but I will be meeting with ole Mr Spots in 2006:evil: ...oh...you meant housecats. Why waste the round unless they are chaseing deer:rolleyes: .

[trotterlg]

I really enjoy the threads on the boards here, lots of wisdom and knowledge. I think some times the right (eastern) half of the country just makes things too complicated, out west where I am (the left half) we just take care of what is in need of taking care of. Most people I know would just Shoot, Shovel and Shut up. Life is not that complicated. Larry

[Tecumseh]

I admit that I live with a cat at the moment but when I was growing up I was told often that the best cat in the woods is fox bait during trapping season. A lot of the old timers swore by that and absolutely hated cats for what they do roaming around in the fields and woods. They are very capable killers and cause a lot of damage to wildlife, including gamebirds, small game, songbirds and the like. They should not be roaming as ferals but man there are just so many of them.

[ArrowHawk]

just Shoot, Shovel and Shut up

:yeahthat:

[Alpha Male]

Like I said, house cats can be destructive to an ecosystem and I've whacked a cat or twelve when I see them roaming outside of a 'reasonable' distance from a farmers barn or a suburban neighborhood.

I wouldn't want to upset a farmer by killing one of their barn cats who do them the favor of keeping vermin away from their buildings and livestock. And killing Mrs. Soccer Mom's cat in a suburban setting could lead to a PR nightmare that's just not worth it, considering the ecosystem has already been compromised by man.

Instead of the "I'd shoot that sumnabeyotch and bury it" responses, I was interested in hearing howm many others have experienced pussies in the wild (watch it...) and what you did in you particular circumstance.

The deer don't seem to mind the cat's presence. A typical response from the cats is to scurry off just into a brush line.

I have had coyotes come running to investigate the cat's bawling, which at the time sounded like someone was strangling an infant. Very creepy sound in the grey woods!

[MIbowhntr]

I like to drill any pussie I see in the woods....

[drwink]

one neighbor started feeding a stray, I know it had at least 3 litters this year.
We have live trapped some & took them into the shelter, if they are kittens & adotable its ok. Soem of the older ones are not freindly & not adoptable & the shelter dosen't want them.
Trying to get them to get the cat fixed, after the three litters they are getting receptive to the idea.

On another note I have seen a deer stomp a house cat to death once over at my buddies house looking out the window at his feeder.
It was a doe, with 2 fawns and don't know why but she didn't stop till the cat was almost in 2 pieces. Very strange.

[GVSUKUSH]

I bought my dad a new Red Rider for Christmas to help pelt the neighborhood cats that kill his birds at the feeder. They're all over the place, if you don't want to dig a BB outta your cats ass, keep them inside.

[Garden Bay]

My wife likes cats, I like dogs. When I was restoring my Chevelle, her cat pizzed in my interior for the umpeenth time. I grabbed the furball rubbed coarse sandpaper across its rectal area, then rubbed some laquer thinner on his newly roughed up behind. I never laughed so hard in my life watching that cat run around my shop, dragging its butt on the concrete floor, jumping up on toolboxes, sprinting the distance of the shop, then licking his butt...funny as heck until the wife walked in.....she was not amused.

[GVSUKUSH]

My wife likes cats, I like dogs. When I was restoring my Chevelle, her cat pizzed in my interior for the umpeenth time. I grabbed the furball rubbed coarse sandpaper across its rectal area, then rubbed some laquer thinner on his newly roughed up behind. I never laughed so hard in my life watching that cat run around my shop, dragging its butt on the concrete floor, jumping up on toolboxes, sprinting the distance of the shop, then licking his butt...funny as heck until the wife walked in.....she was not amused.

Steve, you're my hero :)

[Ed Michrina]

By my place up north, The Owls take care of the cat problems. :) ... Otherwise Cats have no place in the Woods, or neighborhoods as far as I'm concerned.

[Alpha Male]

Four years ago during a late season bowhunt in a snowstorm, I had a cat come through my theater of operations. I was perched 25 feet in the pines, and the thinnest black cat I had ever seen walked right up to the corn without hesitation. I've never seen a cat eat feed corn, but further observation through my binocular revealed untreated mange. I pinned it to the ground.

Neighborhood cats suck. The jackass two doors down had two, but is down to one now. The first one ruined three screens trying to get at my wifes cats. I caught it, had a nasty confrontation (I DID try to play nice...he decided to let it get all sideways). They took that one to the pound. The older one still there is unkillable. Trust me on this one. Target specific and indiscriminant methods alike have been deployed against this target unsuccessfully.

My wife has two cats. One has the personality of a snake. The other is an insatiable attention whore.

[Buddy Lee]

By my place up north, The Owls take care of the cat problems. :) ... Otherwise Cats have no place in the Woods, or neighborhoods as far as I'm concerned.

:lol: Yep. As I said before on this site I used to have feral cats in the neighborhood until the yotes moved in. Then for some reason all the cats disappeared!

[Adam Waszak]

I think I suggested this earlier about the wolf population as well. If you do not want any cats around, let Rod Clute manage them for the state :lol:

AW