I’m sorry if this gets some folks riled up. But there are 3 “semi-feral” cats in my area that I’m looking to bump off.
These cats “sort of” belong to a house down the street - they occasionally get fed there. They mostly fend for themselves, and at this time of year their diet starts to consist of more and more birds. Last year I observed them killing or having killed at least a dozen birds each (one munched at least four one day). The actual number they account for is surely much larger. I like birds and resent their wholesale slaughter by these feline interlopers. I have decided that it falls to me to take action.
I asked a trustworthy neighbor to sound out the cat family as to whether they’d take any action. The answer wasn’t at all promising: they like cats but don’t regard these as “theirs” - they merely feed them. They feel that cats are desirable because they kill mice (why outdoor mice are a problem wasn’t specified). They feel these cats are “nice” and probably kill just a few birds - mostly the sick ones.
In the interest of neighborhood tranquility, I need to terminate these cats surreptitiously. They often roam around my property, but not on much of a schedule. I’ve considered shooting them through an open window, but this would probably require that I lie in wait for quite some time, and might still attract attention. I’ve considered getting a trap, but this would have to be placed in such a way that it can’t be seen from the street (and thus raise suspicion). I might possibly set out food for long enough to get the cats coming, then lace it with some poison.
I’m quite willing to do ths job humanely, if a way can be found. But the cats are far from humane with their feathered victims, and my sympathies lie with these.
If you know a good way to achieve my goal (or, I suppose, an argument to dissuade me from my plan), have at it.
Since you are aware of the existence of traps and seem to know how to use them, why don’t you? If the cats aren’t owned, you won’t have a problem. You can trap them and then bring them to any open-access shelter, where they will be humanely euthanized.
Killing them yourself may be considered a form of animal cruelty (which, of course, cops and courts frown on). Call your local humane society and see what their rules are. Generally, if you trap 'em, they’ll take 'em. They just won’t come out and do the trapping themselves.
The live traps that I’ve seen are fairly large and would be somewhat conspicuous. I think it’s desirable that these cats are believed simply to have disappeared - wandered off - evaporated. (I don’t want to provoke a conflict with the cat family if it can possibly be avoided.)
I’ve checked, and it seems clear that what I’m calling “feral” animals - pets that have “gone wild” are not legally protected and can be killed (though obviously not tortured). I would be on slippery ground if the cat family actually claimed to own them.
Poison would be a terrible idea - the cats would die in agony. There’s a current pit thread about dogs who were poisoned and how terrible their last minutes were.
Why not just call animal control to come and get them? At the very least, trap them and take them to a humane center.
As an owner of a cat who was killed last year by me neighbour (but I can’t prove it), I understand the problem of domestic cats with careless owners and what that can do to the local ecology, but I also wholeheartedly say, “I catch you so much as touching one of my cats and your face will meet the pavement”.
Don’t kill the cats. Report the owners, do what you have to do, but it’s not the cats’ fault. Once you kill the cats, you become the bad guy, and I’d have no hesitation to turn a blind eye if the owner came looking for you.
There is no “cat family.” If those people feeding the cats claim they don’t belong to them, then they don’t belong to them.
You don’t need to hide the traps, since the cats aren’t owned. If they were owned, you have no right to be trapping them and having them euthanized, and you certainly have no right to kill them because you feel they are killing too many birds.
You don’t believe that poisoned cats simply wander off and disappear, are you? Their bodies don’t magically evaporate. What would you be planning to do with their bodies after you illegally kill them? If you’re afraid of someone seeing you trap them, aren’t you afraid of someone seeing you bury them? Or are you just going to leave their bodies out in the neighborhood to rot?
I’d also be worried about setting out poison. Sometimes it gets its intended victims, other times it doesn’t. Imagine how you’d feel if you put out poison for the feral cats and some dogs or other animals ate it and died.
Yep, my cat was poisoned. That’s why I’m touchy about this. I’d like to try my neighbour out on rat poison too, and see how he likes it when he’s frothing at the mouth in agony, but of course I can’t prove it, and the law tends to frown upon feeding one’s neighbours rat poison.
There are proper reasons that animals must sometimes be killed. That killing should be done humanely, QUICKLY, and preferable by a professional. “Bumping off” neighbourhood cats just because you don’t happen to like them does not qualify, I’m afraid.
I think it’s obvious that this is your goal. To cause an argument and get people “riled up”. Otherwise, why would you start a thread like this, in a forum that has an average of 20 cat threads per month.
If you’re serious about wanting help with this problem, you should have chosen a title asking for help.
Wild cats killing wild birds, isn’t much of a problem. If you try to shoot them, or poison them, you’re likely to accidently kill someone’s beloved pet. Then you’ll have a REAL problem on your hands.
But it’s fairly clear that they will resent it if I trap, kill or otherwise cause these cats to be gone.
I think you are probably right, and it raises an interesting point: The birds in question are all native species that are fully protected - a human who deliberately killed even one of them would be subject to fines and jail. But if that human instead owns a cat who kills dozens of them, not much can be done. Who speaks for the birds in this?
If I resorted to poison, it would have to be something that I was convinced was fast-acting. I certainly want to be the one to dispose of the bodies (the local landfill should work). I suppose I could say that I don’t want to be more inhumane to the cats than they are to the birds.
I agree that I probably should have chosen a less provocative title. But I truly am looking for useful suggestions.
If you’re talking about native cats (e.g. lynx, bobcat) I’ll agree. But wandering pets are a serious problem to birds, especially those that nest on & near the ground. The field behind me had bobolinks in it last year! The thought of one of these cats devouring baby bobolinks makes my blood boil.
I’m absolutely determined that the only victims will be these 3 cats.
It doesn’t matter if they resent it, since they don’t own the cats. If you think they will retaliate against you, then let the proper authorities handle the removal of the cats.
Also, the cats are not being “inhumane” to the birds. They are killing some birds because birds are their natural prey; and if they are unowned and being fed sporadically, they are hungry. Aren’t you concerned about those birds who tear apart worms and eat them while they are still alive and wiggling?
It sounds like you think the cats are deliberately going around murdering birds just to be cruel. That’s not how it works.
And who speaks for the cats who are going to be poisoned to death by people who think just like you do?
Just bait a live trap on your own place and take them to the pound where they will kill them for you or fine the irresponsible pet owner. The pound will usually have them and let you use them for free. Killing them with poison or by shooting them might be illegal or not. Be careful, as you can see some cat people have already went off the deep end when it comes to logic, truth, or deceny, and these types of unstable, disturbed individuals can be quite dangerous.
In studies of feral cats in Wisconsin and domestic cats in the UK, it was found that, while they do kill birds, 80% of their prey is mice and other small undesirable rodents. So, if your neighborhood cat killed four birds in a day, you can bet he killed sixteen mice, too. Don’t go pretending there aren’t any mice in your neighborhood. Even the ritziest areas have mice. If there aren’t enough mice for you to notice, swallow your hate and thank the cats.
I’ve seen the direct opposite numbers on bird watching sites. More like one million domestic and feral cats killing up to 26 million birds a year according to a VA study.
Well, I’m quirky enough to not want to see cats eat (outdoor) mice, either. A pair of kestrels nested in the eaves of a nearby barn last year, and I think there’s a lot to be said in favor of keeping the mice available for them.
