yeah i read the article about it and scientists say between 7 and 200 million songbirds are killed in wisconsin alone each year, due to cats.
wild cats are invasive species, no better than a zebra mussel.
so, you see a zebra mussel or eurasian milfoil you kill it, same with wild cats.
Hey James, that’s a nice walleye in your pic. My dad went out last weekend on the river, and caught a 20” and a 25” walleye, so it looks like it’ll be a good spring. Personally, I’d much rather be dreaming/prepping for catching some walleye than talking about shooting cats. I think I’m gonna go re-spool my reels now. Good fishing everyone.
Every spring is a good one on the river… some are just better than others. 
Tell you dad a big congrats from all of us on that 25″ ‘eye. They’re running massively fat again this year so that fish could have easily hit 7.5 Lbs or better.
Ya kinda got off the topic, James! This is a tricky issue which needs attention without bias. The fact is, feral cats/dogs/yotes are the #2 cause of death in upland game(disease is #1) hunters are #9–this according to a natural history Survey completed in 1999.
Not seeing as many pheasants/grouse/quail as you used to? Blame disease–then feral predators. How do we control them? SHOOT EM. I would never advocate shooting an obvious pet. Americans consider pets part of the family…but if there is a cat or dog (or yote)without a collar, far from dwellings, covered with burrs…the critter is gonna die. Shoot a cat–save a pheasant! If it makes you feel any better refer to this predator as a “ditch cougar” or “gravel tiger”!!! 
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I wouldn’t try shooting a hawk.
They are protected as far as I know, and you could get in some trouble.
1)Seems to me that they’re aren’t many owners of hawks letting them out to freely raom and kill what they please.
2)My mom is a cat owner/lover. The cats stay in the house. Those of you using the “domesticated” animal arguement, thats fine. If its a Domesticated pet, it should be in your house/yard. Most cities have leash laws If your cat is out roaming free, you should be fined SEVERLY. If it doesnt have a colar, then its a feral cat that should be put down. If its in the country, as long as its in the barn or house, its fine..soon as its out in the woods/feild “hunting” it is an “un-natural” predator.
I think if fluffy doesnt wanna get shot, fluffy should stay in the house/yard.
Here is another true story…I used to raise wild turkeys a few years back. The Tom was a feisty old bird and used to strut around the yard as if he owned it. He regularly took to confronting, jumping up in my face, beating me with his wings and trying to spur me. Some of those bouts used to get rather nasty and armed with a broom I lost more often than he did. Well one day the Tom turned up missing, so I went looking for him. I found him on the edge of the property in the tall grass with another Tom, this one a cat. He was crouching on the back side of the turkey snarling and defying me to try to take away his kill! Yep, that’s right he had killed the old feathered gladiator and was not going to give it up to anyone.
I had seen this old Tom often before this incident as he used to sit on a step ladder leaning up against the house and glare at our neutered male cat through the front window. One evening we let Morris out for little air…big mistake, as almost immediately the serenity of the evening was shattered with the most blood curdling screams. The old Tom cat had caught up with Morris. Morris put up a good fight for the few moments it lasted. RIP Morris! That is the last cat I ever owned. With a little imagination you can probably guess the fate of the old Tom cat!
One good thing that might come out of this.
It’ll get the Peta freaks off the fisherman for a few months!
Jo
I completely disagree with your theory Iowan. I’ve never eaten coyote and don’t plan to. Yet calling them in is as fun as it gets, to me anyway. I’m sure most predator hunters would agree with me. We used to get the added bonus from the fur sales, but that stinks so bad anymore, we just hunt for the fun of it.
I understand everyone pictures the big fat orange kitty from the neighbors house, but there are so many wild cats running the country side. Our rule back home, more than a hundred yards from any farm place, take them out. I have no remorse for shooting a cat that can whipe out several nests of pheasant eggs in one day.
I didn’t read every post carefully, but James hit it dead on. Hundreds of Millions of dead birds annually from these cats. They are no different than zebra mussels in the river or millfoil in the lake. They are exotic to the environment and should be removed.
-J.
Well said Fishahollic !
I like cats BUT cat owners need to keep them indoors !
Last year a guy on my blacktop crew had a feral cat move into his garage/woodshed. In trying to do the “right thing” in catching it and taking it to the shelter the cat bit him then ran off. A week later my coworker had this hidiously infected thumb to show for trying to do the ” right thing ” Not long after he did manage to catch that cat and it was tested for rabbies. Fortunately the test came up negative and he did’nt have to do the shot routine but it took another 6 weeks for that thumb to heal up.
In a perfect world people would be responsible pet owners and we would’nt be having this discussion but that’s not the case. What is the “right thing ” to do ? I guess that depends on which side of the fence you sit.
Do I favor a feral cat season ? Not per say but should you come across a feral cat in the field , your back yard etc I don’t think you should be penalized for taking it out.
Would cat hunting be the “right thing” to do ? Maybe , maybe not but an attempt at a “practical” solution ? DEFFINATELY ! Especialy since the anti cat hunting side is proposing catching , neutering then rereleasing these cats back into the wild as solution.
You GOTTA be kidding me !!!!!!
Legalize the shooting of feral/stray cats ? I say Yes.
Be aware that you have a right to defend your property from any animal destroying or wreaking havoc.
No, this doesn’t apply to deer, moose, turkeys, whatnot.
However, if you have a dog/cat/racoon/crow/, or anyother type of “predator” wreaking havoc on your property, you are at full liberty to exterminate.
Gary: You mean I can’t defend myself from the big Tom turkey that almost daily comes up to feed by my deck and then sees his reflection in the basement window and proceeds to attack it?? Scares the heck out of our cat. I call him a window pecker not a turkey…maybe it’s a loophole. 
my bad… 
Truth the fact is that I “had” about 15 turkeys living in my back yard for the past 2 years. They even got to be “good buddies” with my dog. They wouldn’t bother the dog and the dog wouldn’t bother them……..Very odd. 
But anyways, we also have a bunch of coyotes around my area. I haven’t seen a turkey in 2 months………
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I’ve always wanted to shoot the neighbors cat.
Alright, alright…I won’t do it James, sheesh! 
I’ll stick with fishing and not worry about hunting cats…it’s not worth my time.
I wonder if cats would be a good live bait for muskies?
Personally not much of a cat lover, BUT….some pretty bad humor and tastlessness in this post!
YUP!
That’s what I once thought Gary but in some towns that simply is’nt the case around here.
My girlfriends brother had a stray cat that used to camp out under his bird feeder , dig around in his garden droppin tootsie rolls etc. In fact a few of his neighbors had the same cat doing the same thing on thier property. People across the street owned the cat but basicaly let it run. After asking the owner of the cat to keep it at home or at least on a leash several times to no avail the brother decided to do somthing about it.
After comming home from work one day he saw that cat with a Cardinal in it’s mouth under his feeder. He got his bow out and stuck the cat which then ran off. Problem solved ? HARDLY !
To make a long story short ,he was charged with “Felonious murder of an animal” by the local DA and was facing a 2 year prison term plus a $10,000 fine. I thought he was kidding when he told me about it.
In the end, the whole deal lawyer fees , fines cost him close to $2500.
All that for defending his own property.
That’s why we NEED laws like this, to protect people such as your buddy..
Must have different laws in Iowa.
I had a problem about 5 years ago with a “bad dog” a neighbor had. After several, several communication attempts to have the owner keep the dog off my property and away from my horses and daughter, I ended up putting the dog down. The dog was becoming a harassment.
Minnesota law states that I have a right to defend my animals and property from harrassment/destruction.
Please note that wild game (from song birds to moose) on your property, are not your property………So, you may use this law to kill the neighbors cat to protect the song birds.
On another note with the law……
My old neighbor had a dog who like to chase the other neighbors cows. The dog never hurt the cows, but did chase them around. One day, that farmer got fed up and shot the dog. The sherrif was called. The owner of the dog was lucky he wasn’t sued for the cows being harassed. The owner of the dog had no claim or rights, being that he had no control over his dog and it was on another’s property causing havoc.
It all breaks down to using your head and being responsible.
I did read in a Wisconsin Magazine that cats kill more birds and other small game then all other animals combined. It is clearly a problem. So is the whole cat population.
Don’t have time to read all this but I’d like to tell everyone that on my way from South St. Paul to Princeton, MN yesterday, I say somebody’s black lab chewin’ on a deer carcass……… and there wasn’t any blood on the road.
Owner irresponsibility will often equal termination in this world. I know many people here love their cats and dogs so BE SMART! They are pets……….. not local color. Tie them, chain them, keep them in. They too have natural instincts and will follow them.
I would have felt bad doing it, but had I had a pistol, someone would have lost a lab yesterday. Dogs that run can turn wild……. and I’ve seen “little Fluffy” do it too. All it takes is time.
If you don’t let your kids run wild, don’t let your pets run wild either.
James hit it right on. There is a similar article about the number of animals cats kill in the Wisconsin Outdoors magazine and it is clearly a problem. My ex has 3 cats and you would not believe the number of dead birds, squirrels, rabbits, etc they bring home after being let our overnight.
I have to admit that I am not a big cat fan, I do love dogs mans best friend. Free roaming cats domesticated or feral are a big problem in the wild and in town. If I come across a cat while I am hunting domesticated or feral I will shoot them. I know this is not a popular with everyone here but I am being honest. I would never kill someone’s pet in town, or even where I live a bit out of town but still neighborhood cats, but here is what I do and I feel is a good way to keep peace with your cat owner neighbors. First time I see a cat roaming the neighborhood I will let the owner know and ask them politely to please keep a better eye on there pet. If I see the cat a second time I will put out a live trap for it, if I catch it I will return it two the owner and let them know that if I catch it a second time there pet will be making a trip to animal control. Usually after I catch the cat the first time and return it to the owner they get the message and are probably relived to get there pet back unharmed. In the beginning of this post I said I love dogs, however dogs lose in the wild can be just as big of problem as lose cats, the only thing I hate worse than a lose cat in the wild is a lose dog chasing down deer, 
once a dog starts doing this it is a very hard habit to break if not impossible and I will not hesitate to put one down if caught in the act. Unfortunately this is not the animals fault it’s the irresponsible pet owners who are the cause of the problem, but in the end the animal in question ends up paying the price. So if you are a pet owner please be responsible and do not let them run free.
Will someone please modify the thread title? The mispelling of “Shooting” is killing me!
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Will someone please modify the thread title? The mispelling of “Shooting” is killing me!
How’s that!
How about this for a new title “Muskie Fishing: Drop Shotting with Cats”! 
Thanks dude. 
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