Feral cats

gim

gim

Well-known member
What is your opinion of wild/stray/feral cats out in the upland bird countryside? I don't believe they belong out there and when I see one within range, I shoot it. I've done this for 15 years. I haven't seen any recently, but I believe they can decimate bird populations, including upland birds. They aren't a natural predator on the landscape either - they're a house pet and that's where they should be.
 
I had to get rid of our cat because she wouldn't leave my bluebird houses alone. They're efficient predators of birds.
 
Yea , So , I got my degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology in the early 2000's. We used to get a little extra credit to attend when masters and phd students would present or defend their Thesis and research projects. One of the ones I sat through was done on feral hose cats effects on songbirds basically in suburban areas. Was UNREAL how many known kills weekly and sometimes daily these tracked cats had. That would certainly transfer over to more rural settings. Very efficient predators. Im not saying to kill them all but certainly they are chick killers.
 
gimruis said:
What is your opinion of wild/stray/feral cats out in the upland bird countryside? I don't believe they belong out there and when I see one within range, I shoot it. I've done this for 15 years. I haven't seen any recently, but I believe they can decimate bird populations, including upland birds. They aren't a natural predator on the landscape either - they're a house pet and that's where they should be.
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I assume the cats that you shoot are on your property. How do you know whether they are feral or cats doing their job of keeping the farm rodents under control.
 
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haymaker said:
I assume the cats that you shoot are on your property. How do you know whether they are feral or cats doing their job of keeping the farm rodents under control.
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I dont think that matters. If a cat is on public land then it is obviously hunting wild animals. If there are no nearby houses I wholeheartedly agree to someone's right to shoot it. I've had chances to shoot ferals at my cabin but I couldn't pull the trigger since there actually were nearby houses.
Do you realize even dogs can be shot on public land in Mn under the right circumstances? People are not out hunting dogs and cats because most people use discretion and are civilized but most of us understand when its appropriate.
 
I agree that cats are effective hunters and there are wild cats that have no home. I assume that you are correct about public land. My concern is that there are folks that think they can shoot whatever offends them, this can become a property rights issue. I just don't want anyone to shoot anything that belongs to me when it is on my land. It has happened.
 
Ok, here is my opinion. I know they kill pheasant, but I wont shoot a cat.Owls kill tons of pheasant, but I wont shoot one.I like owls, cool birds.
 
An owl is a natural predator. A feral cat is not.

They are legal to remove when you are hunting as long as its not considered someone's "pet." Its pretty easy to tell if its someone's pet too. If it has a collar or if it walks right up to you like its been around people a lot, its clearly not a stray. If it bolts or hides when its spots you, its obviously not anyone's pet.

I'm not anti-cat as a house pet. I would never have one in my house, and if someone wants to have one as a pet and they stay in the house, that's fine. Its when they are let loose and start roaming the countryside killing birds and upland birds is when I have a problem. Potentially a big problem if there are a lot of them. And if you have a lot of them, you don't have as many birds.

I believe that at one point, the state of Wisconsin actually had an official season on them because there was so many feral cats.
 
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haymaker said:
I agree that cats are effective hunters and there are wild cats that have no home. I assume that you are correct about public land. My concern is that there are folks that think they can shoot whatever offends them, this can become a property rights issue. I just don't want anyone to shoot anything that belongs to me when it is on my land. It has happened.
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Can you be more specific Haymaker? Did someone shoot a dog, horse, or cow that was on your property because it offended them?
 
I have seven cats that I feed everyday. none of them have collars. Two of them I can pet. They all were born here, I consider them mine. I have seen them a quarter mile from home. If they are mine and on my property they should be left alone just like my cattle should be.
 
gimruis said:
what can or can Can you be more specific Haymaker? Did someone shoot a dog, horse, or cow that was on your property because it offended them?
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I am not sure if the cow offended them or not. They did not hang around to tell me about that. They may have been shooting at a cat and ended up shooting the cow. The point is if you are hunting pheasants shoot pheasants. As far as I know there is no season on cats and I don't believe that anyone but me gets to decide what can or cannot live on my land. My point is not about cats it is about property rights.
 
My present dog has not had an encounter with one yet....my previous dogs have all killed them.....feral cats are vermin.
 
I was listening to a trout podcast, and interesting story. A guy from USA was fishing with a guide in new zealand. They saw a cat and the fishing guide called him over real friendly like, and then stomped him to death very quickly when the cat was in range of his foot. All cats are considered kill on site in NZ due to their destruction of native species.
 
So I did some digging just to try and figure out where and when it was legal to shoot a feral cat and this was the best I could find. Its a few years old but there really isn't much out there to be honest. I am not sure if Wisconsin ever did legalize it or not.

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I would have to say, if you don't want your dog or cat shot, keep it on your land or in your control. Other than that, all bets are off. If Karen doesn't want her cat dispatched, Karen should keep it at home where it belongs.
 
Dan_O said:
I would have to say, if you don't want your dog or cat shot, keep it on your land or in your control. Other than that, all bets are off. If Karen doesn't want her cat dispatched, Karen should keep it at home where it belongs.
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That is what I am saying if it is on my land don't shoot it, whatever it is.
 
Looks like we agree. Never had an issue with what you posted. I was just saying the same thing, but I was standing on the other side of the fence. Comments were made about some cat might belong to somebody, well if you care about your cat keep it at home.
 
I agree. If it is on my land it is at home. Not trying to upset anyone just want folks to respect what is mine.
 
You can't ethically shoot anything on on anyone's private land without permission so that's not the question. On public land or right of way roads/ditches, how do you make the decision to remove an invasive species? If I roll up on a cat and it stands there looking at me and I can visually see a house, I pass it up. If it darts to cover like a wild animal and I'm in the middle of nowhere, I take it out. Feral acting cats near a homestead are a tougher call. Friendly cats miles from home are going to end up as feral soon enough or are predating like a feral cat so that an easy call to shoot. There are plenty of SD locals who will take out any cat anywhere outside of the legal shooting boundary beyond the house whether it acts feral or not. They have a code of ethics for predator control that is widely followed and shows in their bird numbers. In addition to cats we are instructed to take out fox, racoon and badger with shoot on site. We are expect go further to chase down coyotes as best we can get access to them. For many locals where I hunt, it come down to weather, winter cover and then predators as the third most significant factor in bird numbers. It's why I think SD has the numbers that IA/MN/KS and similar topologies don't.
 
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