# What to shoot a cat with that won't hurt it **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672 "2024-04-23T19:57:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/21 "2024-04-24T00:57:05Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > > [@Bumbazine](#): > > > > Where we used to live our neighbors kids had these guns that shot little plastic pellets and they used to shoot each other with them. They might be just the thing, but I don’t remember what they are called > > Airsoft. One in the eye doesn’t sound like a good idea at all. And if nobody’s taking proper care of the cat, even what seems like a minor wound may kill it if it gets infected. Agreeing with a heavier-duty water pistol or better yet a sprinkler hooked up to some sort of motion sensor so the cat doesn’t associate the water with your presence and think it’ll be OK whenever you’re not in sight. – but not if the weather’s really cold. You don’t want to soak an outdoor cat in freezing weather. ---
**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/22 "2024-04-24T02:07:32Z")
A Vortex Cannon. [DIY Smoke Ring Shooter! TKOR Builds An Epic Airzooka, Air Vortex Cannon, DIY Air Vortex Cannon (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuH-hWrjZmw) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/23 "2024-04-24T11:59:54Z")
> [@Bumbazine](#): > > The other day she found the remains of a eaten bird, the head and a bunch of feathers, on our patio. Why assume a cat was responsible? We feed birds, squirrels, etc. We go through 50 pounds of sunflower seed a week. Occasionally I see evidence of a dead songbird. We have no cats. What we do have are cooper hawks, sharp shinned hawks, red tail hawks, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/24 "2024-04-24T12:11:39Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Or do what my mom did: put bells on the indoor / outdoor cats. A [jingle bell](https://www.amazon.com/Coastal-Pet-Products-DCP45105-3-Pack/dp/B00BC46JK8/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2RDVDBG43AF7S&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.LECGgjJfkz20L8vitrFTKVRBfWZFL9Cl1VhGR8zUOLW-mEspVrxu9FaghGxR6dfygT3lMVL-dwdIQrdkxkOFBRi3izb85Fd1-A804Kppqh2El0_Zje2ZhTyfDf1tbijthGT9S30P-VzgxsYOaSbtCkmaU7GSZionEo-VQjSTIaw8UzeACUfj92JpWHzkIOgih_9_Qr4twegHv_0qqWw6PuVf4gcOuzdpfNQOrOTv1m69odaecTq7VcRu6S4JyYib_lOkGn4nEzDMqtf1fpSEYCVEdhqCGuXc07seFz-ARD8.5BvsnTixcQalJuaQNijCSGicNAn5WhK0ULlwfz4TvVo&dib_tag=se&keywords=jingle%2Bbell&qid=1713905852&sprefix=jingle%2Bbell%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-6&th=1) on a length of elastic around the little beastie’s neck can work wonders. This is the right answer. Or at least, **a** right answer. The wrong answer is attacking your neighbor’s cat, which genuinely will not work unless your in the back yard 100% of the day. The cat will only learn to avoid you, not your property. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/25 "2024-04-24T12:18:15Z")
I imagine a hawk could be deterred with a Super Soaker too. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/26 "2024-04-24T12:21:24Z")
Hawk gotta eat. I love watching the songbirds at our feeders. But I do not begrudge the hawks that need to eat also. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/27 "2024-04-24T12:47:18Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Why assume a cat was responsible? We feed birds, squirrels, etc. We go through 50 pounds of sunflower seed a week. > > Occasionally I see evidence of a dead songbird. We have no cats. What we do have are cooper hawks, sharp shinned hawks, red tail hawks, etc Good point. Several years ago, my wife was trying to tame a feral kitten that would come around our porch. She’d show up every day, and gradually learned to eat the food my wife put out, even when **Mrs. SMV** was on the porch. One day, my wife scared away a red-tailed hawk that was stalking Porch Kitty. A few days later, Porch Kitty stopped coming around for her daily meal; we never saw her again, but we did see the hawk several times. We made the obvious inference. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/28 "2024-04-24T13:05:48Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > > > There is still going to be a lot of spillage from the feeder, and a lot of birds will eat that on the ground. > > Maybe birds are more cautious on the ground, but removing low feeders worked when it was my cat and my bird feeders causing problems. And I’ll say it more explicitly. When my cat brought me the third gold finch, i decided i had created a hazardous situation. I moved the feeders, and she never brought me another bird. Some baby bunnies, a snake, some voles and mice, but no more birds, even though she loved watching the bird feeder, and i made sure to keep it well stocked when she was dying, that being one of the few things i could do at that point that made her happy. I doubt she gave me every one of her kills, and i wouldn’t swear she never killed another bird. And i get some ground feeders eating spilled seed, too, as well as birds feeding on naturally occurring stuff within a cat’s reach. But moving the feeders made an enormous difference in her hunting success. And this is something you can do. It doesn’t hurt your neighbor’s cat. You don’t get a reputation as that crazy person who is stalking cats. It works 24/7, you don’t have to be there. The only cost is that now i use a small stool when i refill the feeder. It’s worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/29 "2024-04-24T13:11:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Hawk gotta eat. I love watching the songbirds at our feeders. But I do not begrudge the hawks that need to eat also. You got a full spectrum bird feeder. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/30 "2024-04-24T13:45:41Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > You got a full spectrum bird feeder And I’m cool with that. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/31 "2024-04-24T13:47:42Z")
That’s kinda my feeling too. I love me some raptors, and I love me some songbirds, and I love me some fried chicken, and the only way I can reconcile all that is to be okay with raptors having their dinner. Cats of course are different. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/32 "2024-04-24T14:00:05Z")
> [@2\_More\_Bits](#): > > There are motion-sensing sprinklers made just for this purpose. Yup. I’ve used these in the past to protect fruit trees from deer. [This is the best one.](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009F1R0GC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1) Pricey, but they work great. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/33 "2024-04-24T14:29:18Z")
Whatever you shoot it with you’d better be prepared to sit out there constantly and shoot it over and over again. With my bird feeder I am battling squirrels. I’ve moved it far enough away from the fence that he used to leap from, and put a catch basin (to collect dropped seeds) under the feeder. There is also an alleged squirrel-repellant cone in place that the little shit just jumps over. I have ordered a new, much larger cone that should arrive today. There is also a rat that hangs around there. I laid down some rat repellent and I saw him scurrying right over it. mmm ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/34 "2024-04-24T14:33:28Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Cats of course are different. In the US cats yearly kill 1.5-4 _billion_ birds. Cats are great, but belong indoors. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/35 "2024-04-24T14:40:50Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > With my bird feeder I am battling squirrels. Ours has a lever mount for the perching area; if a squirrel gets on the perch, it lowers a cover and the squirrel cannot get to the seed inside. They can still eat the spillage, which I don’t mind as much - as that reduces the number of ground-feeding cat snacks, as well as sprouting seed. We used to have a suet feeder, which brought different birds entirely. The first time we put a suet cake out, the holder had been torn open and emptied within 48 hours. We took to getting suet laced with hot peppers (birds cannot detect the capsaicin; squirrels do not like it). We’ve been slack about the bird feeder, the past few years; this is inspiring me to get back into it. Our indoor birds are free-flighted and have access to windows where they could see the feeders; might be entertaining for them. Rio (Indian Ringneck) already likes to hang out on the window and yell at the outside birds. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/36 "2024-04-24T14:58:18Z")
Here I was going to suggest a [low-power BB gun.](https://www.daisy.com/product/buck-model-105-youth-bb-air-rifle/). Just don’t aim at their heads, and they’ll be fine, and learn their lesson quickly. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/37 "2024-04-24T15:19:16Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > With my bird feeder I am battling squirrels. I’ve had excellent luck with this feeder [![](https://www.duncraft.com/common/images/products/large/360N_zoom.jpg) ](https://www.duncraft.com/common/images/products/large/360N_zoom.jpg) Which, WOW had gotten expensive. I bought it twice, replacing the first one when it broke. It’s sized perfectly for cardinals, and the larger birds find it uncomfortable. So while the blue jays will eat some, they don’t hang out on at and harass the smaller birds. And it’s completely squirrel proof except when crusty snow sticks to the top, giving them purchase. When they are really hungry they sometimes jump at it, and then eat the seeds that spill to the ground, but that’s not common. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/38 "2024-04-24T15:30:57Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Here I was going to suggest a [low-power BB gun.](https://www.daisy.com/product/buck-model-105-youth-bb-air-rifle/). > > Just don’t aim at their heads, and they’ll be fine, and learn their lesson quickly. Everybody has perfect aim, and cats never move at the last moment? Don’t shoot at the cat; at least, not anything other than plain water. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/39 "2024-04-24T16:42:51Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’ve had excellent luck with this feeder My squirrels shimmy up the poll, they don’t drop from above (at least, not since I’ve moved it). Anyway, I have this set-up: [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/ZDb1yMg.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/ZDb1yMg) mmm ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672/40 "2024-04-24T16:47:18Z")
My feeder hangs from a chain (included) far enough out from the trunk that they can’t successfully make the jump. It’s important to use a chain, and not a rope. They gnaw on that chain all the time. It rusted a bit, but held up for many years. The plastic lid cracked at some points when a chunk of ice fell off the limb onto it, iirc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-shoot-a-cat-with-that-wont-hurt-it/1000672.md?page=3)