What to do with aggressive feral cat?

In My Humble Opinion
1

There is a feral cat who showed up a couple of years ago and is living on our property. We have several outdoor cats* which means that there is cat food outside of which feral cat has been partaking.

Unfortunately, he has resisted all attempts to tame him; he runs away if you get within 10 feet of him. We did trap him and take him to the vet to be neutered (he already was, as it turns out) and vaccinated for rabies and tried to confine him to the screened porch to be tamed, but he escaped almost immediately, and no further attempts have been made.

The real problem is, he is aggressive to the other cats. At first it was only hissing, but today my younger brother caught him fighting with one of our cats, who got bitten. My parents have decided that he must go and I agree that something needs to be done, but I find their solutions unacceptable, so I thought I’d ask you fine people.

My mother wants to cut off the food supply in the hopes that he’ll go away on his own, and there is also talk of taking him to some other neighborhood (far enough away that he can’t find his way back) and just dumping him. (Don’t worry - as far as I’m concerned, this will happen over my dead body. I’d rather see him humanely put down.)

They reject the idea of taking him to a shelter that euthanises animals, since they figure that since he isn’t really adoptable, he’ll just be put down. As for a no-kill shelter, I read (here, actually) that the quality of life of animals in these shelters is very poor.

So, my question is, what should I (we) do? I live in central Maryland. Do you know of any good shelters that accept feral cats in this area? I’ll do some searching myself online, but first-hand experience is invaluable, especially since I physically can’t check out more than maybe a couple of shelters in person (I don’t think my parents would be willing to make an extensive search). And if the kindest thing to be done is to have him put down, I will make sure that that is what happens, though I hope it doesn’t come to that.

Thank you. And since this is my first post (I’m more of a lurker than participant), hi!

*You don’t need to convince me that for their own well-being they should be indoor cats. I agree, but although I am an adult (23 years old), I am chronically ill and am too sick to live on my own, so I live with my parents. Their house, their rules. To be honest, if I really pushed the issue and took charge of the situation - making all the necessary changes to the household - I would probably win, but I don’t have much energy to spare and frankly, aside from this feral cat issue, it doesn’t bother me all that much. We live on 5+ acres, mostly wooded, off of a road that doesn’t have much traffic, and the cats seem content.

2

Have the feral cat put down. It is a wild animal that adds nothing to your home. Your other outdoor cats are performing the function that outdoor cats perform – mainly, keeping the vermin under control. You don’t need the wild child. Here in the country we do that with a judicious sniping (I prefer a .30-30 Winchester lever action myself, but a well-placed .22 long rifle will do the job.) If you’re not hankerin’ to bring smoke and can get the little fella’ captured, there isn’t a self-respecting veterinarian in the world who wouldn’t gladly take your $35 and rid the world of a mean cat.

And “hi” back at’cha! Welcome.

3

If the feral is terrorizing your cats, I have to agree that having him put down is probably the most humane thing to do. If he is dumped somewhere else he just becomes someone else’s problem, and they might not be as kind as you are. Once feral cats get to be over 9 months old it is very difficult and time consuming to socialize them, and even the most patient efforts are not always successful. Since you mentioned the cat was already neutered it is possible he was an abandoned/abused former pet who doesn’t like anyone, other cats included. If he was neutered by a feral cat TNR group, the tip of one of his ears will most likely have been snipped off.

Feral cats can carry diseases that will affect your cats, and cat bite and claw wounds get infected easily. For the safety of your cats, having him euthanized is probably the best solution.

4

It’s an unpleasant thought, but the feral cat should be put down. He’s a danger to your cats, as you’ve already seen. My professor had several cats killed by a feral cat a few months ago. His wife insisted it couldn’t be the cat, until he kept coming back.
-Lil

5

Put him down. It’s the best thing. Did you have him tested for FIV or FeLV? Either of these are a deal breaker regardless of his personality (or lack thereof). And he could harm/kill your other cats. Sorry.

6

The only other idea I can think of to suggest would be to post something on your local Craig’s list or in a feed store if you’re anywhere near a rural setting, to see if anyone wants a feral cat to be a mouser at their barn or something like that.
In that sort of setting, his feral and anti-social ways might be a bonus since he probably is better at hunting mice than a cat that has been coddled by people would be.

7

Talk to animal control to see if they´ll supply you with a humane trap. Put it down, it´s the only thing to do.

8

That he could be a carrier for other illnesses - even rabies - was my first thought. He presents a terrible danger to your other cats.

9

Craigslist does not accept any ads in their classified section for animals.

10

I hope you guys mean ‘put down’ in a rat infestation way and not in a paid trip to the vet way.

11

There was a family down the street (when I was growing up) that had a problem with squirrels (not the same, I know). The homeowner would trap them (one at a time), put the trap inside of a hefty bag. He’d then wrap an old towel around the outside of his car’s exhaust pipe, and then he cinched the hefty bag opening tightly around the towel. Then he’d turn on the car engine and take his dog for a walk for a 1/2 hour.

I thought he was very cruel at the time…but when you think about how animals who must be put down get put down, I guess I have to give him some credit. That’s easily in the top 5 least cruel ways to be euthanized.

12

Yeah, this was stated in response to my suggesting no kill shelters to someone getting rid of a pet cat. The criticism was provided with no cites (not that I doubt some bad no kill shelters exist) and painting with a very broad brush. I probably should have responded back in the old thread at the time, but I didn’t realize people would accept the other statement uncritically. I suggest you judge your local shelters on their individual merits. We have at least one good no kill shelter locally, that also places some FIV/FLV+ cats, and even cats with more serious health problems.

That said, you’re talking about an aggressive feral cat that has resisted your attempts to socialize it–not a pet. Animal control sounds like an appropriate course of action for you.

13

Some shelters will shelter an asshole cat (we found one that took TWO!) but in absence of that idea, I vote for dirt nap.

14

“Put down” generally means kill or have killed. Nothing wrong with paying a vet to administer the Big Needle – it’s fast, humane and certain, and vets aren’t squeamish about euthanizing a worthless or dangerous animal. I’ve used the rifle described in my first post (not my cat, but a pest that spoiled our flower gardens, yowled under the living room windows, and attacked our outdoor cat); a handgun (my cat, barely survived an encounter with a coyote, need a quick and merciful end) and The Needle (wife’s cat, old and ill, she wanted him to die with dignity not afforded by a .22 to the back of the head.)

15

I think animal control to have the animal put down is your best option in this situation.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m an animal fan and have a couple of cats of my own, but an adult feral cat is a danger to your cats - and an aggressive one is doubly so.

In fact, given that he’s already known to be aggressive with other animals, I wouldn’t personally feel comfortable arranging another situation for him. A no-kill shelter would of course have other animals around who’d be in danger from him, and even in a situation where he was being allowed to stay as a mouser, he’d be a danger to other animals in the vicinity (as well as being a continuing disease vector).

I’d regret the necessity, but I’d make the call to animal control all the same (or trap it and take it to my vet for the Needle).

16

If one of your pet cats was aggressive and dangerous to your other pets, you’d probably have him put down. I had my previous dog put down for that reason. It isn’t easy, but it’s the right thing to do. :frowning:

17

Thank you for all for your replies. You’re right; he needs to be put down. I’ll talk to my parents and try to arrange for him to be euthanized as soon as possible.

Sigh. I wish there was a better alternative for him. I feel so badly for the little guy. I’ll do a bit of poking around on the internet on the off chance that there’s a shelter he could go to instead, but I’m not holding out much hope on that one.

Thanks again.
Edited to add: Aangelica, I agree about the danger of putting him in another situation - I’ll make sure that any shelter I contact knows that he’s aggressive and has hissed at/bitten other cats.

18

Yeah I’m just saying, you grow attached to Fluffy but need to put her down, the money is worth it to ease the creatures suffering and your own guilt, but a feral cat…