Stray and Feral Cats
Stray and feral cats are a huge problem in the United States. Strays are simply cats that have wandered off, but feral cats may have bred for a generation of more in the wild and know how to survive without the care of humans. The problem is that they may carry diseases, fight with house cats and spread those diseases. Left uncontrolled they breed more and more cats. They can however perform a useful roll in local rodent and pest control.
Don't walk up and try to pet it. Strays are not always friendly or immunized so there the possibility that they man carry rabies. If you do get bitten, either the cat gets trapped and tested for rabies or you will need a full series of rabies shots, which are not pleasant. A bite or scratch from a feral cat should have you on your way to the doctor immediately.
If the cat happens to be friendly, do it favor and take it to the vet. Get it immunized, spayed or neutered and try to find it a good home if you don't want to keep it yourself. You should also read up on how to deal with cats that have behavioral problems.
Getting Rid of Stray Cats
Most of the products for sale that claim to keep stray and feral cats away don't work at all. It couldn't hurt to try them if you have the money to spend, but there are many tried and true methods below.
- Don't feed the kitties and remove any food sources that you can find. Leaving food out can also attract other animals such as skunks.
- Block entryways to places feral cats like to live. The get under homes, decks and into shed. Make sure you do not have a haven for feral cats next to your home.
- Call you local animal control center and see if they will come out and catch them or let you borrow or rent a trap to catch the cats.
- Buy your own trap and catch the cat yourself. Take it in to the closest animal control. Releasing elsewhere is just condemning it to a worse life. Take care though - this isn't a tamed cat, but a snarling scratching ball of menace.
- Use pepper spray liberally in the areas the cats frequent. It will bother their sensitive noses and the cats may stay away.
If you've got a heart of gold, trap the cat, take it the vet and have it immunized then spayed or neutered. Release back on to your property and provide it with food. Perhaps you could use a great mouser? Regardless, the important thing is that the stray doesn't continue to breed.
Mark explains how to keep stray cats away at HowToGetRidOfStuff.com; the place for getting rid of things.
The law in the USA is that it is perfectly legal to destroy any animal, someone's pet or not, that is threatening the health, well-being, and safety of yourself, your family, your animals, or even your property. Also true even in most densely populated cities, firearms laws permitting, if not then 700-1200fps air-rifles are commonly used. The only animals exempt from you taking immediate action, legally, are those listed on endangered or threatened species lists, and any bird species under protection of MBTA (the Migratory Bird Treaty Act). Even then variances can be given should there be sufficient problem but this requires further study by authorities. Since cats are listed in the TOP 100 WORST invasive species of the world in the "Global Invasive Species Database", this means they have no protection whatsoever from being shot on sight, they are not on any protected species list anywhere in the world. Quite the opposite as a matter of fact. (This is precisely how I managed to clear out every last one of hundreds of these invasive species vermin cats from my own lands. On the sound advice of the sheriff. Even he found that trying to reason with cat-lickers did no good. Shooting every last cat finally worked! My lands have been 100% cat-free for 3 years, for less than the price of a couple cups of coffee for the ammo.)
ReplyDeleteShoot to maim is punishable under laws that define animal-cruelty (these are the ONLY cases that cat-lickers cite to manipulate and scare everyone from shooting their only favorite animal). But shoot to kill is a perfectly legal way to humanely destroy an animal. The same laws and principles that apply to methods of humanely hunting animals also applies to cats. (Outfit your rifle with a good scope and laser-sight. This will ensure a totally humane, instant, and LEGAL kill each and every time. Though use a fatal chest-shot, a head-shot is not always a sure thing.) Unlike cat-lickers' psychotic beliefs, the reality is that a cat is just another animal. It's NOT their baby, their child, their offspring. Even if they do view their cats that way, letting them roam free is no less criminally irresponsible than them telling their child to go play in the freeway and then blaming the cars for their child's death. If they let their cat roam free, NO MATTER HOW IT DIES, that is THEIR fault and they can be charged with all laws that clearly define animal-neglect, animal-abandonment, and animal-endangerment. Not to mention being in direct violation of all international invasive species laws in existence.
In fact, here's a publication from the University of Nebraska on the best ways to HUMANELY deal with a feral-cat problem. This INCLUDES the best firearms, ammo, and air-rifles required to HUMANELY destroy cats. deenawinter.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/ec1781.pdf
Besides, what difference does it make if the cat gets shot or ran over by a car, attacked by another cat or animal, drowned, or poisoned by plants animals or chemicals (inexpensive 1-adult-strength generic acetaminophen pain-relievers gaining in popularity, for being so species specific, far far safer than antifreeze and rat-poisons that cat-lickers have forced everyone else into using lately). The result is the same. The cause is the same -- the criminally irresponsible pet-owner that let their invasive species pet roam free. They've already proved that their animal is 100% expendable. You can either destroy their cat for them humanely, or let their lack of care cause it to inevitably die inhumanely. They don't care one bit how their cat might cruelly suffer to death if they let it roam free. Humanely destroy their cat for them before that can happen. A well aimed bullet is the MOST humane death that ANY stray or feral cat can ever look forward to. Any other death that they WILL eventually face is all inhumanely downhill from there.
Google for this complete string, as-is, including all quotes:
ReplyDelete"Licensing and laws do nothing to curb the problem." AND "I don't see anyone dumping cats where I live anymore." AND "irreversible consequences"
Therein you'll find a humane answer that works 100%, is affordable by any individual or size of community, and the cat problem is completely resolved PERMANENTLY in less than 2 seasons. Guaranteed.
People who let cats roam free only do so because they think their disease-ridden INVASIVE SPECIES cats are going to live idyllic lives chasing and torturing animals (valuable native species) or someone else will take care of their vermin cat for them. If they realize that that cat will die within hours or days from them having dumped it or letting it roam free, the dumping and free-roaming of cats stops 100%. They can't just believe it MIGHT happen, they have to KNOW that IT WILL HAPPEN. It worked where I live.
Did I mention that you have to ignore every last thing these deranged invasive species lovers are spewing to the world? That's the most important part. Asking them for advice and help to solve the problem that they created and are hellbent on perpetuating is just as foolish as asking your local career thieves for their advice and help to hide your valuables from their daily motives, goals, and activities.
If anyone is plagued by criminally irresponsible cat-lickers, following is a link describing some of the most effective methods that I invented to accomplish eradicating hundreds of these destructive invasive species vermin, by myself, on large tracts of land, in heavy brush and dense woods. The eradication so complete that I've not seen one cat in over three years. All done in only a couple of seasons, all for less than the price of a couple cups of coffee. (If you too also get your ammo on sale, I got 5000 rounds of .22s for $15, that's 3 cats per penny!): www.americanhunter.org/blogs/arkansas-will-trap-feral-cats
For nighttime the scented trails along all roadsides and infra-red surveillance system was best [you can get excellent IR video cameras on ebay for only $15 today, the 48LED ones being best, use this search string there: CCTV (IR, infra-red) ]. For daytime (believe it or not) learning the predator-alarm calls of local Gray-Squirrels was best. They would never fail to alert me to the presence of, lead me directly to, and even point out the exact location of every cat each time.
In areas where there are firearms ordinances, then check into any air-rifles with ballistics speeds of 700-1200fps and using pointed vermin pellets. The newer ones even come with their own sound-suppressors built right-in, being specifically designed for shooting vermin cats in urban areas, the demand for them is that great.
Shoot to maim is punishable under the laws that define animal-cruelty, and rightly so. (These are the ONLY cases that cat-lickers' cite to try to scare everyone from shooting their vermin cats.) But shoot to kill is a perfectly legal way to humanely destroy an animal. The same laws and principles that apply to methods of humanely hunting animals also applies to cats. Unlike cat-lickers' psychotic beliefs, the reality is that a cat is just another animal. It's NOT their baby, their child, their offspring.
You MUST take direct relentless action against ALL feral and stray cats, collared or not. For collared stray cats are the very source of every last feral cat. If you don't destroy them too then you have done NOTHING to solve the problem. No trapping program in the world has been able to catch-up to cats' breeding rates, this is precisely why Trap & Kill failed as well as Trap, Neuter, Re-abandon (TNR) is an even bigger failure. Actively and aggressively hunting them down, employing "hunted to extirpation" methods, is the ONLY way to get ahead of and stay ahead of cats' breeding rates and the rates at which criminally-irresponsible cat-lickers let more cats be born and dumped outdoors.
Good luck!
I also found a perfectly 100% natural solution for those who don't want to take more direct and more effective measures against free-roaming invasive species cats. Anyone who has criminally irresponsible cat-lickers in their area need only plant lilies on their properties. (Must be from the Lilium species, not just with "Lily" in the common name, see notes.) Cat-lickers always want their more responsible neighbors to grow plants around the perimeter of their properties that will repel their cats for them (from the cat-owners' own criminally negligent and criminally irresponsible behaviors and values). Well now you can brighten up your yard AND repel cats naturally! -- PERMANENTLY
ReplyDelete(WARNING: If these plants are not native to your region don't plant these if they cannot be contained, or risk introducing yet another potentially harmful invasive species!)
Google for: lily toxicity cats
It has been reported that a cat even licking a little bit of Lily pollen from their fur will be fatal in short order. A cat even drinking some of the water in which a bunch of lilies has been kept is also fatal to them.
Everyone happy! You get to have the kinds of plants that you want, they get to have the kind of pets that they want -- if they take care of it like any responsible grown-up would. Or are cat-lickers now going to demand that you can't plant flowers on your own property? That would be their next and usual move, wouldn't it.
A perfectly natural solution to an invasive species animal that didn't evolve with Lilium species around. Plus it's a good incentive plan for cat-lickers to finally educate themselves all about ecology, native species, and evolution. :-)
Doing a little research on ASPCA's toxic plants lists (Family: Liliaceae).
Lilies (Lilium species) that are deadly toxic to cats ONLY, in even small quantities (even the pollen will do):
Common Name | Scientific Name
Asian Lily (Asiatic Lily) | Lilium asiatica
Easter Lily | Lilium longiflorum
Red Lily | Lilium umbellatum
Rubrum Lily ** | Lilium speciosum cultivar
Stargazer Lily ** | Lilium orientalis
Tiger Lily ** | Lilium tigrinum
Wood Lily | Lilium umbellatum
(not of the Lilium species)
Orange Day Lily | Hemerocallis graminea
( ** see notes below)
Lilies (Lilium species) that may be toxic to dogs if the dog ingests enough:
NONE!
Be sure they are from the Liliacea Family, has "Lilium" on the plant label or are common N. American Day Lilies. Many plants with "Lily" in the common-name are not of the "Lilium" species, and are in fact toxic to other species of animals besides cats. Double check. On further investigation I also found out that all plant-parts, the blossoms and pollen being the most toxic, if harvested and dried (for year-round use) are just as deadly toxic to cats (if not more-so because of the unknown toxin being concentrated), and the drying makes them even more palatable to cats. What a great mulch for gardens! (Or a ground-up additive for a special outdoor can of tuna.)
** There have been some anecdotal reports of some free-roaming cats that have spent many years around some of these particular species of plants and still survived. So it is best to harvest, dry, and grind-up the plants and mix them into any appropriate bait-foods to be most effective.