# Yeah, I moved in next to the Crazy Cat Lady
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [June 12, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548 "2009-06-12T14:17:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/61 "2009-06-13T00:08:35Z")
> [@Early\_Out](#):
>
> Set up some humane traps on your property, out of sight of the neighbors. When you catch one of the little darlings, take it to the shelter. They might be too feral to adopt out, but it’s better than simply shooting them.
I’ve been doing this for the past year and a half.
I put sardines in the trap for them. If animal control takes a long time to arrive, I give them more sardines. I’ve humanely trapped (via cage trap) more than 30 cats, many of which were so feral that I don’t know if they could be tamed. Many were mangy, and some were blind. It’s a horrible life. At least when they get sent to the shelter, they will get regular food and water, medical care (I assume) and their own enclosure.
I had to do this because they were going into any back yard where there wasn’t a dog, crapping in all the flowerbeds, digging up the dirt, screaming (this would often set off the neighbors’ dogs), fighting, mating and waking me up at all hours of the morning. The neighbors didn’t like this commotion either. They knew I was trapping and supported it.
It was either this or let them turn my entire yard into a litterbox.
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### Author:  [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/62 "2009-06-13T00:53:00Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#):
>
> I’ve been doing this for the past year and a half.
> I put sardines in the trap for them. If animal control takes a long time to arrive, I give them more sardines. I’ve humanely trapped (via cage trap) more than 30 cats, many of which were so feral that I don’t know if they could be tamed. Many were mangy, and some were blind. It’s a horrible life. At least when they get sent to the shelter, they will get regular food and water, medical care (I assume) and their own enclosure.
No, if they’re as bad as you say, they get a one-way ticket to Kitty Heaven. Shelters simply do not have the resources to take care of every feral, mangey cat you trap. They especially don’t have resources for the ones that will never be adopted out because of age, anti-social behavior, or illness. I mean, it’s nice that you’re giving them a tastey meal and all before sending them to their deaths, but I think that you’re fooling yourself a little bit about what happens after you send them on their way.
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### Author:  [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/63 "2009-06-13T00:57:08Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#):
>
> I had to do this because they were going into any back yard where there wasn’t a dog, crapping in all the flowerbeds, digging up the dirt, screaming (this would often set off the neighbors’ dogs), fighting, mating and waking me up at all hours of the morning. .
I think you had feral southern rednecks instead.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/64 "2009-06-13T01:54:52Z")
> [@THespos](#):
>
> Are there other anti-cat technologies?
I understand there have been major breakthroughs in “dog” tech.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/65 "2009-06-13T03:24:50Z")
I don’t get it though, why is everyone saying it’s better for them to remain as neighborhood strays, (which is probably more miserable and dangerous), than a potentially humane death? I don’t mean to sound cold, but as pointed out, if they’re diseased and feral, they’re more likely to be hit by a car, or end up rabid, or shot, or whatever.
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### Author:  [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/66 "2009-06-13T04:04:20Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> I don’t get it though, **why is everyone saying it’s better for them to remain as neighborhood strays, (which is probably more miserable and dangerous), than a potentially humane death?** I don’t mean to sound cold, but as pointed out, if they’re diseased and feral, they’re more likely to be hit by a car, or end up rabid, or shot, or whatever.
Because then they’d be _free,_ man, free of the _man,_ free to _live,_ dig, man? Free to be the kind of cats they were \*supposed \*to be, man.
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### Author:  [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/67 "2009-06-13T04:12:49Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> I don’t get it though, why is everyone saying it’s better for them to remain as neighborhood strays, (which is probably more miserable and dangerous), than a potentially humane death? I don’t mean to sound cold, but as pointed out, if they’re diseased and feral, they’re more likely to be hit by a car, or end up rabid, or shot, or whatever.
I was wondering that, too. There’s a lot of talk of it’s Nature, it’s Natural for cats to be this way, but they’re pissing off the people and this can’t be safe for them…I can’t help wondering what the point of neutering and releasing them is. You’d think neutering and giving them to real owners would be best, and if not that, then putting them down.
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### Author:  [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/68 "2009-06-13T04:23:27Z")
Bryan Ekers is right-- you need a resident dog. It doesn’t have to be some huge Devil Dog From Hell. Pretty much any non-toy terrier will do, or a fox hound, something like that. Some breed that lives to chase vermin.
Then you can tell your neighbor how worried you are that your dog might harm their precious cats so they’d best figure out a way to keep them out of your yard. 😉
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/69 "2009-06-13T04:31:36Z")
In a few years someone else will be here pitting Crazy Dog Dude and his pack of feral hounds.
“He claims he needs them to chase away the cats,” the OP will wail. “He’s obviously nuts—I haven’t seen a single cat anywhere!”
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### Author:  [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/70 "2009-06-13T04:33:18Z")
_sigh_
I already suggested dogs.
Just skip passed everything and go straight to gorillas. 😃
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/71 "2009-06-13T04:38:30Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#):
>
> In a few years someone else will be here pitting Crazy Dog Dude and his pack of feral hounds.
>
> “He claims he needs them to chase away the cats,” the OP will wail. “He’s obviously nuts—I haven’t seen a single cat anywhere!”
Eventually someone will up the ante by building a colony of feral goats. And then feral cows… Eventually children will sing the sad tale:
_…I know an old THespos who fed a stray horse
He’s dead, of course._
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### Author:  [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/72 "2009-06-13T04:54:27Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#):
>
> No, if they’re as bad as you say, they get a one-way ticket to Kitty Heaven. Shelters simply do not have the resources to take care of every feral, mangey cat you trap. They especially don’t have resources for the ones that will never be adopted out because of age, anti-social behavior, or illness. I mean, it’s nice that you’re giving them a tastey meal and all before sending them to their deaths, but I think that you’re fooling yourself a little bit about what happens after you send them on their way.
I never thought they’d be there for very long, though the officer did say that they give them food and water when they arrive. They keep them long enough to create an impound record (I’ve checked the site), but not much longer.
I know where they’re headed, but that fate is better than for them to be scrounging in the streets for the rest of their brief and miserable lives.
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### Author:  [@AquaPura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AquaPura)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/73 "2009-06-13T07:27:31Z")
We have a similar problem on the family farm.
It being a farm, and sufficiently rural, it has a colony of feral cats. The cats just sort of seem to congregate and colonize, over the years their population seemed relatively stable. There was always about two dozen cats on the property. I assumed that the predators in the area and the highway were keeping the population down despite my Aunt and Uncle not having the resources to trap and neuter the cats.
The cats have several indoor places to live during winter including the barn and a few outbuildings and they are fed by my grandparents who also live on the property, though it is a supplemental feeding so they still keep the varmint population down. There has always been a wide variety of song birds and chipmunks and such around, so it didn’t seem to be a problem with cats preying on the wildlife, nor did I ever find a single cat doot in my grandmothers ENORMOUS garden.
However, what I didn’t realize, is that the reason that the population is so stable, staying at about two dozen cats, is that in the years where natural predation by coyotes and hawks didn’t keep down the population my uncle was _ahem_ shooting them…
I was startled to learn this, as my uncle is an animal lover, hell three barn cats have suckered their way into being house cats ,and they have always spared no expense in caring for their pet animals. However, I guess I cannot fault his reasoning, nor really his method. If there are too many cats they start preying on the wildlife, and disease ran rampant a few years, leaving dead and dying cats occasionally found by his wife or his daughter. Trapping and taking the cats to the pound puts strain on the humane society’s resources in a small rural area for cats that WILL be put down due to their temperament. Poisoning them seemed cruel and uncontrollable to him so when the population boomed, over the succession of a few days where he was alone on the farm he would take his scope and his rifle and …cull the herd… as it were.
(woah it feels squidgy even relating it)
I know he is a crack shot, and he assures me that he only takes shots that are certain kills. He also disposes of the corpses promptly. I know there is not a TNR vet or program in the area, and I know that they certainly don’t have the money to neuter a half dozen cats every time there is a population bloom. Now, this isn’t really an option for the OP of course, but I can’t really fault my uncle for his decision.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/74 "2009-06-13T10:57:35Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> I don’t get it though, why is everyone saying it’s better for them to remain as neighborhood strays, (which is probably more miserable and dangerous), than a potentially humane death? I don’t mean to sound cold, but as pointed out, if they’re diseased and feral, they’re more likely to be hit by a car, or end up rabid, or shot, or whatever.
My family is involved in our town’s TNR program, and handle a small colony of cats in the neighborhood. They’re not diseased and miserable, they’re just cats, and if you looked at them up close, they wouldn’t generally look any worse off than your average pet cat. Another thing to note, these cats don’t make a fuss or become a nuisance outside of the inevitable need to drop a deuce somewhere. Un-neutered cats make a stinking racket, fighting and mating at all hours, give them the big snip, and you don’t hear a peep.
As far as it being “natural”, being outdoors is a hard life, but their lives are not any worse than the typical squirrel or raccoon, or deer, but we don’t recommend killing those animals because their life sucks. The TNR program does provide for the cats getting a rabies shot, and managing the colony means they’ll have good food and clean water, so they’ll have a shot at staying healthy. Cats that are diseased don’t ever get to the “R” part of TNR unless they can be cured with something like a flea dip and antibiotic shot.
BTW, a dog is a great idea.
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/75 "2009-06-13T14:45:36Z")
Cats wander onto our property all the time. If they stick around too long I shoot them with my Ruger 10/22. If I lived in a suburban area I would use a 10/22 with suppressor.
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### Author:  [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/76 "2009-06-13T16:16:05Z")
Why do people keep saying they’re diseased and scrounging? There’s no evidence of that so far. The fact that there are only half a dozen after a couple years means they’re fixed. Which means they’ve gotten at least some vet care. If they’re getting fed every day, they’re pretty definitively _not_ scrounging. And if they’re eating cat food instead of potentially infectious wildlife and not fighting with other cats, their odds of being diseased aren’t any higher than those of an indoor/outdoor pet cat. Their odds are actually much lower than a pet cat who is intact and allowed to roam periodically.
That’s not to say that I approve of outdoor kitties–I’m pretty firmly on the record against it whether they’re fed strays or pets. But I understand not being able to stand the idea of watching a stray starve to death. I think there’s something seriously not right with someone who could do that, honestly. And I understand not being able to stand the idea of taking them to shelter and an almost certain death. If they’re getting decent food regularly and are getting vet care if they’re sick (which people who get these strays altered usually do, ime), they’re certainly no worse off than any other wild animal. Hell, the moles and such these cats are killing don’t have a dependable food source and vet care, and I don’t see anyone advocating putting them out of their misery.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/77 "2009-06-13T16:24:36Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> Cats wander onto our property all the time. If they stick around too long I shoot them with my Ruger 10/22. If I lived in a suburban area I would use a 10/22 with suppressor.
Yeah, we all know how you deal with stray cats, you suck fuck. Although at least, it seems, you moved on to something a TAD more humane.
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### Author:  [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/78 "2009-06-13T16:46:38Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#):
>
> Cats wander onto our property all the time. If they stick around too long I shoot them with my Ruger 10/22. If I lived in a suburban area I would use a 10/22 with suppressor.
By suppressor do you mean a device which reduces the noise made by the gun? Because I’m pretty sure those are illegal under federal law in the US.
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### Author:  [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/79 "2009-06-13T17:40:06Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#):
>
> By suppressor do you mean a device which reduces the noise made by the gun? Because I’m pretty sure those are illegal under federal law in the US.
I’m pretty sure they’re perfectly legal. You just have to fill out tons of paperwork, pay some “fees” and pay out the ass for the suppressor itself and wait God knows how long for all that paperwork to be “processed”.
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yeah-i-moved-in-next-to-the-crazy-cat-lady/499548/80 "2009-06-13T18:19:07Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> Yeah, we all know how you deal with stray cats, you suck fuck.
Whatever. :rolleyes: Something tells me you would never survive in the wilds of rural America.
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#):
>
> By suppressor do you mean a device which reduces the noise made by the gun? Because I’m pretty sure those are illegal under federal law in the US.
As stated by CIB, they’re perfectly legal if you go through the paperwork.
I have a couple buddies who installed Outback II suppressors on their 10/22s. They’re _very_ quiet with subsonic ammo. It’s the ideal tool for suburbanites who are experiencing chronic pest problems.
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