Shooting Stray Cats

Just saw on the news that some guy is asking the DNR to get a law pass to make it legal for small game hunters to shoot stray cats. I am a believer of indoor cats, but what about other people who’s cat just comes and goes – is the cat suppose to carry a sign saying DON”T SHOOT ME – I”M NOT A STRAY.? Now, I know there is a problem with stray/feral cats. Mainly because of PEOPLE. If you no longer want your cat, do the right thing – don’t just let it loose to fend for it’s self. Also, I am sure that these stray/feral cats help keep check the rodant pop. in check and that the other animals help keep the cats in check. His claim to shooting the cats was to cut down on the birds and other small animals they kill. Guess what – cats aren’t the only animal that eats birds/other small animals.

What are your thoughts on this (hey, not looking to make this thread into a pissing match – please behave your selves)?

I don’t think cats ought to run loose. The owners should leash them or keep them inside, same as dogs.

Personally if I had a cat problem I would trap it and put the animal down if no one claimed it after a week or so…

Cats are just like any predator, an opportunistic feeder/killer. The problem most people have with feral cats is the fact they don’t belong in the wild. They were’nt there naturally to begin with. I’ll try to kill them if I see them where they don’t belong.
I used to live in town, and the worst thing I ever smelled was where a tom cat would come and spray and poop in my flowers and shrubs. Conibear necklaces took care of that.
Don’t get mad at me for that.

My initial thought is to just blast them , but i’m not sure they are that much of a problem yet to actually hunt them.

In Australia they are a definite pest. Over populated by the thousands, and yes they do round them up.

The thought i find intriguing, but i’m undecided on the issue..i’d like to read others thoughts

If it does pass though, watch out MEOW

Any macho heman that thinks shooting a domestic animal is cool, needs to have their head examined. Cats are inherently born to hunt. Yes, cat owners should be responsible for their pets. However, shooting something doing its thing is unexceptionable. Good God, cats are not going to destroy the eco system as we know it. Cats are cool, they don’t slober and dry hump you. Plus they don’t need walking at midnight in 20 degree below weather with a wind chill of minus 50.

I’ve been shootin cats for years,not because I don’t like them,but because they are the ultimate predators of birds,including grouse,rabbits,reptiles,rodents,and babies of all of those.I even saw one attack a turkey once,though the turkey,a hen,turned the tables on it and chased it away.
There’s more cats in the woods now than I’ve ever seen before,and it seems their more wild than ever.Coyotes and fox can’t come close to controling them,and I don’t think we can either.They’ve got nine lives because they’re intelligent lone hunters.I also respect them because they are so good at what they do,but there’s just too many.

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However, shooting something doing its thing is unexceptionable

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IF what you’re saying is true, we shouldn’t be able to hunt anything

Killing something doing it’s thing is unexceptable?
Try to remember that the next time you set a mouse trap, or spray for insects. Sound a bit over the edge to too extreme? Not really if you think cats in the wild are just doing their “thing”.
And NO! I don’t think shooting cats is cool.

I think the only good cat is a farm cat, a mouse hunter. Otherwise, I have no time for them.

As for those strays that are running wild…….

Kitty Clays

Practice Practice Practice!!

Cats DO NOT belong in the wild. I own a lot of small aminals from goats to rabbits. We have two cats in out house–if they wander from my house the are fair game. I shoot any cats in the field without a collar bar none. I will not apologize and I do not need my head examined. And if a feline with a collar is hunting critters–it should go down too.

–Whitey

Sounds like some of you have bigger cat problems than I. My issue is the local cat that creeps up on my deck at night and eats my dog’s food and the cat turds in the wood chips around my trees. If I have that problem again this year I will trap the animal and only return it when the owners buy me a 40# bag of IAMs chunks.

I love cats just as long as they stay where they belong….on the road!

First of all, who the hell gets pleasure out of actually hunting stray cats? I completely understand if a stray cat is on your property and is damaging your property- then shoot the damn thing, but I’m talking about who actually goes out in the woods and specifically looks for cats. I’ve been raised a hunter in Iowa, and I’ve been shooting pheasant, rabbits, squirrels, deer, and turkey pretty much my whole life. Rule number 1- respect your what you are hunting. If you’re going to eat the cat, go ahead and shoot it, but if you go out and shoot any animal, such as a 15 lb cat, just for the hell of it- you have problems. You don’t just go out and shoot what you want- if you’re a real hunter you hunt for fun, but you damn well better appreciate your kill and eat it. If you just want to kill something to make you feel good, you’re just a sadist. Again, this is only in reference to “cat hunters” (if there is such a ridiculous thing), not those who shoot a cat that is damaging your property. Hunting season is during the fall- go out and shoot some pheasants, rabbits, deer, and then grab your pole and head out for the lakes and rivers during the summer. Do you cat hunters honestly think you deserve a season- are deer too hard for you to get that you have to go and shoot a freakin cat? Where’s the pride in that? Hunting has a long and honorable tradition, what would our hunting predecessors say to adding a cat season? They’d laugh, and so am I.

They aren’t talking about Cat hunting as a sport (even though i wouldn’t mind a siamese rug..lol..jk )..All they are trying to do is allow hunters to be able to shoot them if they see them…kind of like coyotes

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I was just getting pissed at the idea of someone going around shooting stray cats for pleasure . Still, are cats really that much a problem in the wild? I say unless they’re bothering you, leave em be. It’s not for us to say how nature should balance itself.

Message from admin >> Check the stereotypes at the door, please.

Living in rural MN on 10 acres of private land you wouldn’t believe the number of feral cats we see EVERY day! Take care of your pets or please don’t let lil’ Suzie or lil’ Johnny talk you into that cute little unresistable fur ball and then when you get sick of it you let it run down by the bridge! Hello!

Slop – you should consider a run at stand up comedy. Your humor reminds me of Larry the Cable Guy only better……

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Just a thought. I go through about five cats a year.(coyotes,highway ,driveway fatalities). We have outdoor cats so we do not have indoor mice. The population as you can see is very controlled by various methods. They are well fed and very much pets but still replaceable. Shooting a stray cat in our area cold lead to trouble with the law. shoot,shovel, and shut up is the best policy.

Domestic cats running and hunting in the wild has never been figuired into the balance of nature. I live in Iowa also and have had many a landowner tell me/ask me to shoot any and all cats I see running on their property that is away from the barnyard or house. I don’t hunt them on purpose, but I will kill all I see if I get the chance. They simply don’t belong out there’
Here’s a little more food for thought. Pheasants were never figuired into the balance of nature when this country was settled. They were imported. But we still kill them don’t we?

I’m just kiddin.They get they’re own.

Uncontrolled cats are one of the most effective killers of song birds, game birds and small mammals you will find in any ecosystem where they are present. I will attempt to find the article, it was in a Field & Stream several years ago, that placed the annual total for the USA into the hundreds of millions of animals. This spring I was picking up decapitated and mangled birds, baby rabbits and young pheasants EVERY time I mowed and just cringed each evening as I watched these cats stalking the edges of my property along the bushes knowing that by morning there would be a couple fewer pheasant chicks, rabbits or song birds.

And “nature” has no balancing powers over an animal that is kept warm and healthy and fed as much as it can eat before it is put out at night to go on it’s killing rampage.

To anyone that puts that cat out at night… think about what you’re doing, please.

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Ah, thanks for the clarification. I was just getting pissed at the idea of someone going around shooting stray cats for pleasure . Still, are cats really that much a problem in the wild? I say unless they’re bothering you, leave em be. It’s not for us to say how nature should balance itself.

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We have never claimed to be hunting pheasant to be balancing nature. Some guys here are saying they need to kill cats to save birds etc… It’s fine to shoot cats on your property and to say it’s because they’re a nuisance, don’t try to get the moral highground and say you’re doing it to protect the balance of nature. Sure they might be killing the birds on your land- but that’s kinda short-sighted isn’t it.

Mec- that’s not funny. One of my friends is a Hmong, and his Dad died last year fighting in Iraq. Be a little more sensitive about the cultural stereotypes.

How is killing a non-needed predator to protect game populations for all being short-sighted? I guess you don’t believe in coon hunting either unless you eat them? Get off the soap box and get real. Cats are killers and if they are away from the farm yard they are patroling they are a problem for all of us.

–Whitey

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fwt/back_issues/december98/cats.html

An estimated 40,000,000 (that’s 40 MILLION) birds killed by cats in the state of WI alone. Annually.

Cats stay inside. All the time. With claws or without. Even if they’ve just been fed. Allowing them to run free is the pinnacle of irresponsibility for a cat owner.

For more info just google “cats killing wildlife” and you’ll have more info on this than you could ever wade through.

Maybe central Iowa just hasn’t had this problem- so I should shut-up since I don’t know enough about it. Most of my close family friends are farmers, and cats are that big a problem for them. Sorry if I’m just basing everything I’m say on my own experiences in rural central Iowa.

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It’s not for us to say how nature should balance itself.

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Wouldnt it be out fault these cats are there in the first place? I know we arent in australia but do u think that is how nature intended to balance itself there? by having cats running around eating the native species. I also think all the cats running around can put a hurt on some of our species such as the pheasant and rabbit. I am all for shooting cats if they are a problem to somebody. I think that stray/ferel cats are pest and should be eradicated if causing a problem.

I agree with alot of what is said about cats causing problems, but many of the dog lovers would cringe if they knew how many “problem” dogs I have eliminated.

I used to raise pigeons at my home ine So. St. Paul. They used to fall prey to cats once in a while if I was stupid enough to leave the coop open over night. I trapped one once, a big ugly thing. Wanted to drown it, but the wife frowned on it. So, I gave it a bit of a nudge with my boot when I opened the cage to release it. I never saw that particular cat again. I really do like cats around the house, and never gave much thought about them being outdoors until I had the birds. What really got my pigeons were hawks. They would pluck ’em right off the house or right from the sky. I really wanted to kill those little pieces of sh__, still do… Almost had one with my bow once in the back yard, maybe in inch off it’s back. It was just standing there happily pulling the breast meat from one of favorite birds. Wish I could fire a shotgun in town…. But that’s probably not sporting, huh?