Feral cats

Holy cats. This thread took off like a rocket ship. Didn't realize so many people were so passionate and opinionated about feral cats.
 

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gimruis said:
Holy cats. This thread took off like a rocket ship. Didn't realize so many people were so passionate and opinionated about feral cats.
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Now you know. Pretty safe bet that I'm not the only one with an opinion on something. But yes, this became pretty popular.
But the cat shooters aren't really coming 100% clean on here. I've been around a few years. I've been around cat shooters. Sure, they think they're helping a cause, whether that be preventing reproduction, protecting other wildlife, or whatever. And on some tiny level, they may be. But the root explanation seems to be that they feel cats are worthless & don't deserve to live. The same way I feel about skunks & mosquitoes. They're convinced killing cats is the right thing to do, & they enjoy it. My experience has been that it's killing for the joy of killing, just because you can. No sport. No reverence. Just killing a cat & leaving it lay. Every time. I didn't get it then. And I don't get it now. And most of the cat shooters I knew 30 years ago grew out of it. I guess it all depends on your opinion of where a cat falls on the scale of "right to life" between, say, a mosquito & a human. I don't get upset about shooting gophers. Why should I be upset about cats? I'm not. I just don't feel the need to shoot them. If someone else does & can do it safely, within the law, & without impinging on the rights of others...go for it. Hell, there are people that exist who don't feel much more reverence for their own bird dog than they feel for a pair of boots. 🤷‍♂️
 
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Broad day light around my buildings, absolutely. Down by the lake and it’s trying to get out of Dodge, no.

By the way, they are Raccoons. When I taught school I told the kids to get the word “coon” out of their vocabulary. Someday it might save them some grief.
 
sorry i grew up in a different time when you could abbreviate things and not think it was racist. you guys are something else on here.

1) it's a cat.
2) no one gives 2 cents about cats.
3) 40% of people with schizophrenia own a cat
4) the guys that think shooting cats is wrong need a big hug and giant bottle of vagisil.
5) the guys that think shooting cats is wrong, why is it that you think shooting pheasants is ok? what if you shoot a pheasant and dont find it? isnt that the same as shooting a cat and leaving it. or does it make you sleep better at night knowing you "atleast tried" to find it. its no different both are out there laying dead for some other predator to eat. or is it better because you had "intentions of eating the pheasant. what if you totally obliterated a pheasant and threw it away. is that ok too? kind of two faced and hypocritical dont you think.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
Now you know. Pretty safe bet that I'm not the only one with an opinion on something. But yes, this became pretty popular.
But the cat shooters aren't really coming 100% clean on here. I've been around a few years. I've been around cat shooters. Sure, they think they're helping a cause, whether that be preventing reproduction, protecting other wildlife, or whatever. And on some tiny level, they may be. But the root explanation seems to be that they feel cats are worthless & don't deserve to live. The same way I feel about skunks & mosquitoes. They're convinced killing cats is the right thing to do, & they enjoy it. My experience has been that it's killing for the joy of killing, just because you can. No sport. No reverence. Just killing a cat & leaving it lay. Every time. I didn't get it then. And I don't get it now. And most of the cat shooters I knew 30 years ago grew out of it. I guess it all depends on your opinion of where a cat falls on the scale of "right to life" between, say, a mosquito & a human. I don't get upset about shooting gophers. Why should I be upset about cats? I'm not. I just don't feel the need to shoot them. If someone else does & can do it safely, within the law, & without impinging on the rights of others...go for it. Hell, there are people that exist who don't feel much more reverence for their own bird dog than they feel for a pair of boots. 🤷‍♂️
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For those of you wondering, Yes the quoted is a fine example of a strawman. That is where instead of honestly discussing differences, you demean the character or distort their position to one you would rather argue against.

For the record, I don’t shoot cats and don’t see them as the coyotes are pretty thick in the areas I hunt and any cat that wanders very far from the farmstead has a short life expectancy.

The estimated 60-80 million feral cats take a huge toll on wildlife and it seems most cat advocates turn a blind eye to this.
Toll from cats
 
dg57 said:
For those of you wondering, Yes the quoted is a fine example of a strawman. That is where instead of honestly discussing differences, you demean the character or distort their position to one you would rather argue against.
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dg...in your view:
1. What differences was I avoiding discussing?
2. I stated I don't believe cat shooters have any reverence for the cats they shoot a) because they believe they're helping some cause by shooting them, & b) because they feel the cat falls somewhere on the "right to life" scale that's low enough to deserve being shot. Just like I feel about mosquitoes, skunks & (in the past) gophers. Is that how you feel I demeaned cat shooters? Or is there some other example of how I did it?
3. How did I distort a cat shooter's position & what position do you feel I'd rather argue?
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
dg...in your view:
1. What differences was I avoiding discussing?
2. I stated I don't believe cat shooters have any reverence for the cats they shoot a) because they believe they're helping some cause by shooting them, & b) because they feel the cat falls somewhere on the "right to life" scale that's low enough to deserve being shot. Just like I feel about mosquitoes, skunks & (in the past) gophers. Is that how you feel I demeaned cat shooters? Or is there some other example of how I did it?
3. How did I distort a cat shooter's position & what position do you feel I'd rather argue?
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Brother you are not going to change the mind of those that just like to kill for the sake of killing. They try to hide behind some noble idea that they are making the landscape a better place, but in the end they get off on it. To the poster above who asked if some of us take issue with killing pheasants, no for me it is not the same. And yes when I fail to recover one ( because my non blood trailing lab fails to find it :) I do feel bad and will count it in my bag limit. And yes there have been times Looking down at that awesome bird that has avoided so many predators before me, I do feel a little melancholy about it. I don’t really have the same feeling on hunting at 55 that I did at 25 when it was all about how many I could kill. If that means I need some Vagisil, then I will pm you my address and you can send me some of yours
 
carptom1 said:
Brother you are not going to change the mind of those that just like to kill for the sake of killing. They try to hide behind some noble idea that they are making the landscape a better place, but in the end they get off on it. To the poster above who asked if some of us take issue with killing pheasants, no for me it is not the same. And yes when I fail to recover one ( because my non blood trailing lab fails to find it :) I do feel bad and will count it in my bag limit. And yes there have been times Looking down at that awesome bird that has avoided so many predators before me, I do feel a little melancholy about it. I don’t really have the same feeling on hunting at 55 that I did at 25 when it was all about how many I could kill. If that means I need some Vagisil, then I will pm you my address and you can send me some of yours
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That's just it. They think I'm trying to change their minds....but I'm not. I say flat out, "If someone else does & can do it safely, within the law, & without impinging on the rights of others...go for it."
 
When I started this thread, my intention was not to have this thing go off the rails. Some of you just couldn't help yourselves, could you?

I have legally shot feral cats that belonged to no one every now and then because I believe in the science that says they should not be out there. Someone was irresponsible with their "pet" and they proliferated into an invasive predator that does not belong. Do I get off on shooting one for the pure pleasure of it? Absolutely not. If I wanted to do that, I'd go to the pistol range and shoot zombie targets.

I don't care for cats. I'm not going to be shy about that. I would never own one and I will never have one as a pet. But if someone wants one in their house or barn or shed and they can control that animal like a responsible pet owner, go for it. Its when people let them wander off into the countryside and start killing birds...that's when the problem starts and doesn't go away unless you do something about it. And if you want to maximize upland bird populations, habitat availability is the primary solution. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. But not having feral cats in the available habitat also can clearly play a role too.
 
gimruis said:
When I started this thread, my intention was not to have this thing go off the rails. Some of you just couldn't help yourselves, could you?

I have legally shot feral cats that belonged to no one every now and then because I believe in the science that says they should not be out there. Someone was irresponsible with their "pet" and they proliferated into an invasive predator that does not belong. Do I get off on shooting one for the pure pleasure of it? Absolutely not. If I wanted to do that, I'd go to the pistol range and shoot zombie targets.

I don't care for cats. I'm not going to be shy about that. I would never own one and I will never have one as a pet. But if someone wants one in their house or barn or shed and they can control that animal like a responsible pet owner, go for it. Its when people let them wander off into the countryside and start killing birds...that's when the problem starts and doesn't go away unless you do something about it. And if you want to maximize upland bird populations, habitat availability is the primary solution. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. But not having feral cats in the available habitat also can clearly play a role too.
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You don't like cats, a lot of folks don't like cats. That's fine. But a lot of folks do like cats. It shouldn't be a surprise that killing cats would offend someone. How many kids are bitten by dogs each year? Would it make sense to kill every dog without a collar or human attached to it? I've come across way more stray/wild dogs while hunting than feral cats. I know that a lot of these dogs likely don't have an owner. Still, I have a connection to dogs and don't have it in me to shoot one, even though the world would be better off if it were dead. And that's what I believe some of these guys are trying to say.
 
Golden Hour said:
I've come across way more stray/wild dogs while hunting than feral cats. I know that a lot of these dogs likely don't have an owner.
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Stray dogs don't decimate wild bird populations. And since this is an upland bird hunting forum, you should be able to see the connection to feral cats and upland birds. If there is some data out there that proves stray dogs are effective predators of birds (or any other wild game for that matter), I'd like to see it. Stray dogs biting children has nothing to do with feral cats.

I do agree that stray dogs do not belong roaming the countryside either but they are not nearly efficient enough to make a dent in any wild bird population, and they clearly don't reproduce at an alarming rate either. The other issue is the legality of it.
 
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gimruis said:
Stray dogs don't decimate wild bird populations. And since this is an upland bird hunting forum, you should be able to see the connection to feral cats and upland birds. If there is some data out there that proves stray dogs are effective predators of birds (or any other wild game for that matter), I'd like to see it.

I do agree that stray dogs do not belong roaming the countryside either but they are not nearly efficient enough to make a dent in any wild bird population, and they clearly don't reproduce at an alarming rate either.
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Since this is an upland bird hunting forum, I'm trying to grasp why it's so important that you feel justified in killing cats. Just do it and accept that some folks aren't going to like it, some folks aren't going to care and some folks are going to agree.

The stray dog reference was to demonstrate that there is a deep connection between mankind and certain animals, no matter how destructive one may be. A couple years ago a young girl was killed by a pack of stray dogs here in South Dakota. Yet, some hunters aren't going to shoot a stray dog, despite it being beneficial, and potentially life saving.
 
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