Do You Know the Value of Stray Cats ?

[HereWeGoAgain]

I honestly believe cats are the world's most perfect animal. I've always had cats, rescued, fostered and placed cats and kittens. I used to believe that ferals should be trapped and put down. I believed that because, if they're not cared for, they can fall prey to disease, dogs, idiot kids, traffic and assholes like this one:

Hmmmm...what're .22 rounds going for these days?

What I have come to however is that if they are altered and if people do feed them, their colonies become very stable and they cease hunting for birds and other wildlife to subsist on.

I have to admit that TNR works.

Trap, Neuter, Release.

Just make sure the vet also notches an ear so you don't end up trying to do surgery again!

As for the asshole quoted above, we all need to be aware that slime like this exists. Its against the law in most towns and cities to shoot other people's pets but anyone who would shoot the neighbor's cat or dog would also poison them. Indeed, some prefer poison because they like knowing the animal suffers.

I once had a cat get out. He was gone for a while and when he came back, he had a shiny liquid on his back. It turned out that an especially sick bastard in the neighborhood was spraying antifreeze on any animals he could find. its a horrible way to die - causes the kidney to crystallize. He was caught but I'm sure he's back to his vile poisoning again. I wonder how many children he has killed.

Keep your cats inside.

You can always count on Dudley to be an easy mark.

 

[farmer]

We get stray cats showing up a lot. Mostly it's assholes just dropping them off on the road. We normally have 12-15 barn cats so I shoot the strays to keep the pop. at a managable number.
I feed my cats just enough to keep them here ,they have to hunt for the rest of their food. They kill rats,mice,bugs and a lot of birds. They don't get all of the pests but they do help.

 

[DriftingSand]

The Mean Kitty Song: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qit3ALTelOo]The Mean Kitty Song - YouTube[/ame]

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

We get stray cats showing up a lot. Mostly it's assholes just dropping them off on the road. We normally have 12-15 barn cats so I shoot the strays to keep the pop. at a managable number.
I feed my cats just enough to keep them here ,they have to hunt for the rest of their food. They kill rats,mice,bugs and a lot of birds. They don't get all of the pests but they do help.

Dudley would expect you to corral all the cats and have them spayed and neutered.

I had to thin out the cats at my place,they were killing all the native wildlife many of which are endangered.
I treat em the same as feral hogs.

 

[farmer]

We get stray cats showing up a lot. Mostly it's assholes just dropping them off on the road. We normally have 12-15 barn cats so I shoot the strays to keep the pop. at a managable number.
I feed my cats just enough to keep them here ,they have to hunt for the rest of their food. They kill rats,mice,bugs and a lot of birds. They don't get all of the pests but they do help.

Dudley would expect you to corral all the cats and have them spayed and neutered.

I had to thin out the cats at my place,they were killing all the native wildlife many of which are endangered.
I treat em the same as feral hogs.

No hogs around here-to damn cold. I do shoot every stray dog I see. Had one about ten years ago chasing my cows and I will not put up with that.

 

[alan1]

When I was a wee lad of about 9 years in age we lived out in the country. Mom and dad both worked full time jobs but we also had a garden and raised sheep, goats and fowl for food on the table (when I got older, we had hogs to). Dad didn't like cats because he thought they would mess with the fowl. One day, a pregnant cat showed up. She wasn't feral because she was people friendly. Dad wanted to get rid of her, but he couldn't resist the pleas of four children wanting to keep her. We named her Mama Cats.

She gave birth on my sisters bed at 2:00am, it was the first time I ever witnessed live birth. She had five kittens. The runt of the litter died within 24 hours. It was the first time I experienced death with enough comprehension to understand it. 4 kids, 4 kittens, we all had our own favorite and our own pet. Over the next few months, Mama Cats taught her kittens to hunt, and guess what they hunted. It was the mice and rats that were getting into the feed for the goats and sheep that were hunted, never the fowl. Even a well fed cat will hunt mice and present them as a gift to the family. Dad didn't have such a negative outlook on cats after that.

When the kittens were about 9 months old, Mama Cats disappeared. Was she a gypsy that trained her progeny then left? Did a coyote bring about her demise? Was she run over by a car on the country road? Regardless of that, she delivered four kittens to four kids that loved them, and she delivered a rodent control solution. The kittens became cats, dead mice and rats appeared regularly on the doorstep although fewer offerings as the population of rodents dwindled.

It was about year after Mama Cats disappeared that she reappeared again. Checking up on her kids perhaps. But she showed up at the homestead. We were all surprised to see her. Where had she been? Why did she leave? She was healthy so obviously somebody had been taking care of her. A cat shows up, gives birth, sticks around for about 9 months, disappears, than shows up again a year later acting like she was never gone. Quite the mystery.

A few months later, my parents decide to host a cookout for our distant neighborhood. A whole goat cooked in a pit, kind of a Hawaiian luoa style. Kids running around being annoying, adults enjoying some adult beverages as they solve the worlds problems and eat good food. We're all eating and enjoying company when Mama Cats wanders into the party.
This is where it gets real fun.
The Davis's lived 2 miles from us and Mrs Davis looked at the cat and says, "Mama Cass, where have you been? I've missed you."
The Stead's lived a mile in the other direction, Sarah Stead (13 years old) picked up Mama Cats and said "Cassie, Cassie, your alive, I love you, we'll take you home.

Three families, one cat. Cassie, Mama Cats, Mama Cass, how crazy is that that we all gave her similar names? She also delivered kittens to each family. The Davis's were the ones that had her spayed after she delivered a second litter of kittens to them. The adults decided that kitty Cass would decide where she lived. Mama Cats remained the eternal gypsy, traveling from family to family, staying a few months, then moving on to the next family. She did that for a few years then nobody saw her again.

I still have a soft spot in my heart for cats.

 

[Mad_Cabbie]

When I was a wee lad of about 9 years in age we lived out in the country. Mom and dad both worked full time jobs but we also had a garden and raised sheep, goats and fowl for food on the table (when I got older, we had hogs to). Dad didn't like cats because he thought they would mess with the fowl. One day, a pregnant cat showed up. She wasn't feral because she was people friendly. Dad wanted to get rid of her, but he couldn't resist the pleas of four children wanting to keep her. We named her Mama Cats.

She gave birth on my sisters bed at 2:00am, it was the first time I ever witnessed live birth. She had five kittens. The runt of the litter died within 24 hours. It was the first time I experienced death with enough comprehension to understand it. 4 kids, 4 kittens, we all had our own favorite and our own pet. Over the next few months, Mama Cats taught her kittens to hunt, and guess what they hunted. It was the mice and rats that were getting into the feed for the goats and sheep that were hunted, never the fowl. Even a well fed cat will hunt mice and present them as a gift to the family. Dad didn't have such a negative outlook on cats after that.

When the kittens were about 9 months old, Mama Cats disappeared. Was she a gypsy that trained her progeny then left? Did a coyote bring about her demise? Was she run over by a car on the country road? Regardless of that, she delivered four kittens to four kids that loved them, and she delivered a rodent control solution. The kittens became cats, dead mice and rats appeared regularly on the doorstep although fewer offerings as the population of rodents dwindled.

It was about year after Mama Cats disappeared that she reappeared again. Checking up on her kids perhaps. But she showed up at the homestead. We were all surprised to see her. Where had she been? Why did she leave? She was healthy so obviously somebody had been taking care of her. A cat shows up, gives birth, sticks around for about 9 months, disappears, than shows up again a year later acting like she was never gone. Quite the mystery.

A few months later, my parents decide to host a cookout for our distant neighborhood. A whole goat cooked in a pit, kind of a Hawaiian luoa style. Kids running around being annoying, adults enjoying some adult beverages as they solve the worlds problems and eat good food. We're all eating and enjoying company when Mama Cats wanders into the party.
This is where it gets real fun.
The Davis's lived 2 miles from us and Mrs Davis looked at the cat and says, "Mama Cass, where have you been? I've missed you."
The Stead's lived a mile in the other direction, Sarah Stead (13 years old) picked up Mama Cats and said "Cassie, Cassie, your alive, I love you, we'll take you home.

Three families, one cat. Cassie, Mama Cats, Mama Cass, how crazy is that that we all gave her similar names? She also delivered kittens to each family. The Davis's were the ones that had her spayed after she delivered a second litter of kittens to them. The adults decided that kitty Cass would decide where she lived. Mama Cats remained the eternal gypsy, traveling from family to family, staying a few months, then moving on to the next family. She did that for a few years then nobody saw her again.

I still have a soft spot in my heart for cats.

I think cats are yummy.

they're better slow cooked.

 

[Vandalshandle]

Hmmmm...what're .22 rounds going for these days?

I got mine on the internet for $.19 per round, but out here in the desert, feral cats are culled by Javalinas, so I could have saved my money....

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Hmmmm...what're .22 rounds going for these days?

I got mine on the internet for $.19 per round, but out here in the desert, feral cats are culled by Javalinas, so I could have saved my money....

And there you have it...the value of a feral cat.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

We get stray cats showing up a lot. Mostly it's assholes just dropping them off on the road. We normally have 12-15 barn cats so I shoot the strays to keep the pop. at a managable number.
I feed my cats just enough to keep them here ,they have to hunt for the rest of their food. They kill rats,mice,bugs and a lot of birds. They don't get all of the pests but they do help.

Dudley would expect you to corral all the cats and have them spayed and neutered.

I had to thin out the cats at my place,they were killing all the native wildlife many of which are endangered.
I treat em the same as feral hogs.

I have often posted in favor of putting down excess dogs and cats rather than warehousing them in so-called "no kill shelters". Its a matter of money. It is always a matter of money. You can spay/neuter many more with the same amount of money that would feed only a few. So while I would prefer they all be born to a world that wants them, I am not in favor of letting unwanted animals starve.

Having said that, its simply a fact that not all "stray" dogs and cats KNOW they are strays.

They don't know how inhumane, inhuman and how utterly UN-christian human beings are.

Yes, I will always advocate for those animals and children who cannot do for themselves.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

We get stray cats showing up a lot. Mostly it's assholes just dropping them off on the road. We normally have 12-15 barn cats so I shoot the strays to keep the pop. at a managable number.
I feed my cats just enough to keep them here ,they have to hunt for the rest of their food. They kill rats,mice,bugs and a lot of birds. They don't get all of the pests but they do help.

Dudley would expect you to corral all the cats and have them spayed and neutered.

I had to thin out the cats at my place,they were killing all the native wildlife many of which are endangered.
I treat em the same as feral hogs.

I have often posted in favor of putting down excess dogs and cats rather than warehousing them in so-called "no kill shelters". Its a matter of money. It is always a matter of money. You can spay/neuter many more with the same amount of money that would feed only a few. So while I would prefer they all be born to a world that wants them, I am not in favor of letting unwanted animals starve.

Having said that, its simply a fact that not all "stray" dogs and cats KNOW they are strays.

They don't know how inhumane, inhuman and how utterly UN-christian human beings are.

Yes, I will always advocate for those animals and children who cannot do for themselves.

You seem to think I enjoy shooting cats when in actuality it's just something that has to be done. Same with the feral hogs,I would prefer they just go away because they are a pain in the ass to dispose of.

 

[farmer]

I don't like shooting strays either, but it's a job that needs doing. Mainly I do it for disease control, when you get to many cats around pretty soon they get sick and it wipes out most of them at once. I wish people would quit dropping them off on the road.

 

[Truthmatters]

put up a sign that says you will shoot cats on sight.

people will stop

 

[Spiderman]

I paid 3.99 for some questionable orange chicken the other day so I would say that's what a stray cat is worth.

 

[Two Thumbs]

Do Not Feed stray cats

give them water only

why?

If you want them to hunt down vermin, hunger motivates them.

 

[editec]

I lost my companion cat last week.

He got killed in a tragic car v cat event on US route one. He was about ten years old

My poor dog is in mourning. They were best buds.

The life of stray cats is typically brutish and short.

The life expectancy of feral cats is less than one year, I am informed.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Dudley would expect you to corral all the cats and have them spayed and neutered.

I had to thin out the cats at my place,they were killing all the native wildlife many of which are endangered.
I treat em the same as feral hogs.

I have often posted in favor of putting down excess dogs and cats rather than warehousing them in so-called "no kill shelters". Its a matter of money. It is always a matter of money. You can spay/neuter many more with the same amount of money that would feed only a few. So while I would prefer they all be born to a world that wants them, I am not in favor of letting unwanted animals starve.

Having said that, its simply a fact that not all "stray" dogs and cats KNOW they are strays.

They don't know how inhumane, inhuman and how utterly UN-christian human beings are.

Yes, I will always advocate for those animals and children who cannot do for themselves.

You seem to think I enjoy shooting cats when in actuality it's just something that has to be done. Same with the feral hogs,I would prefer they just go away because they are a pain in the ass to dispose of.

Please stop deciding that I am saying things I am not saying.

I agree with control but I know that shooting doesn't really address the problem. I have explained that s/n feral populations tend to even out but you like shooting them so you defend shooting them. I also know that most crack shots can't hit the broad side of a barn with both door standing open so spare me the crap about clean kills.

And, for Pete's sake, do you really believe that feral cats do the same damage as feral hogs?

Please.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I lost my companion cat last week.

He got killed in a tragic car v cat event on US route one. He was about ten years old

My poor dog is in mourning. They were best buds.

The life of stray cats is typically brutish and short.

The life expectancy of feral cats is less than one year, I am informed.

As I said above, a colony that is cared for does well.

Stray cats (and dogs) are indeed horribly sad, hungry, diseased. Really, no excuse for it but we're not even willing to take care of our own species so dealing humanely with other species isn't likely to happen any time soon.

 

[specklebang]

I'm pleased to find a few fellow cat people here. I have 3 (indoor only) of my own and an extended cat family that live with friends or temporarily at no-kill shelters I support.

Building a relationship with another species is a challenge and I've invested a lot of time, money and effort in learning how to communicate with them. They've repaid me with constant affection and they guard me when I sleep. Could they protect me from harm? Probably not - but that at least one keeps their eyes open is just one of the many ways they express their love for me.

Meow from the new guy.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I'm pleased to find a few fellow cat people here. I have 3 (indoor only) of my own and an extended cat family that live with friends or temporarily at no-kill shelters I support.

Building a relationship with another species is a challenge and I've invested a lot of time, money and effort in learning how to communicate with them. They've repaid me with constant affection and they guard me when I sleep. Could they protect me from harm? Probably not - but that at least one keeps their eyes open is just one of the many ways they express their love for me.

Meow from the new guy.

Welcome to the board.