What’s the best way to get rid of feral cats?

[Ohio Homesteading]

Hey all,
I live way out in the sticks, and people like to drop off cats at the abandon house next door.  Some percentage of the cats survive, and go feral very quickly.  I have two dogs that love what the cats leave behind. I am obviously concerned about the health implications for my dogs and my 20 month old daughter. What's the best way to get rid of these feral animals? The local animal shelter is underfunded and will not pick up any animals. I have called the pound 4 times and they have not returned any of my calls.   I am now open to any ideas!

[john gillis]

I use a 6mm.

[Oil Lady]

I use a 6mm.

Is that legal??

[yodal]

Here, we have to catch the cats and the shelter will fix them and you can release them back to where they were. Feral cats are handy to have around! Great rodent control!

[clayfarmer]

Feral cats carry disease and decimate songbirds and upland game.  Kill them all.

[Mr. Bill]

[moderator]

We are not going to have a discussion of techniques for killing cats (or dogs) here.  These topics always turn into ugly arguments very quickly and get sent to Dead Threads.

If you must kill a feral animal, first check your local laws, and do it quickly and humanely.

[/moderator]

[Cedar]

Make a sign and attach it to the front door of the abandoned house. Say that--

"Hundreds of cats have been dropped off here. The quality of life is not good for these animals as they are starving. So they have been and will continue to be euthanized."

SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS!!!

Cedar

[Cedar]

Is that legal??

Not if you are in city limits for sure. And you can also get hauled up in front of the judge if you do if there are complaints.

Cedar

[Ohio Homesteading]

@ Cedar Great Idea!
@ moderator Sorry, I don't want trouble or a dead thread.

The problem I have found with live trapping is you never know whats going to be in the trap when morning comes. When I have set the live traps I usually have an angry raccoon who did not enjoy his accommodations. No matter what i bait with, he comes back.

[soupbone]

[moderator]

We are not going to have a discussion of techniques for killing cats (or dogs) here.  These topics always turn into ugly arguments very quickly and get sent to Dead Threads.

If you must kill a feral animal, first check your local laws, and do it quickly and humanely.

[/moderator]

Not to contradict Mr. Bill, but I just couldn't resist this:

http://www.buckstix.com/CoehornMortarHunt.htm

Sorry 

soupbone

 

[fuzzy]

Soupbone   Thanks!  You made my day.  I needed a good laugh!  Thanks again!

[cheryl1]

Check your local laws on nuisance animals. In many rural areas nuisance animals can be shot or trapped any time of the year.

[john gillis]

I call the sheriff's department to get ok on shooting stray cats and dogs. Cats bring fleas and other things to my rabbitry, they kill or damage the baby rabbits, they kill the birds at the feeders. Got in my house and ate a cocktail and 2 parakeets. Friend was going to feed a stray in the garage, got to close to the food and was bitten on the ankle. Over $800.00 in doctor bills because of the bite infection. I've nothing good to say about stray cats or dogs. Very few of them at my place for any length of time.

[hedgewitch]

i live in the country and people drop off cats around me too. so far i have had no health issues regarding this and they do keep the rodents away which in turn keeps the snakes away this is a plus, i do not like snakes, do your dogs chase the cats away? if not you might consider a bigger more aggressive dog......the cats stay away from your house and it is no problem

[nelson96]

i live in the country and people drop off cats around me too. so far i have had no health issues regarding this and they do keep the rodents away which in turn keeps the snakes away this is a plus, i do not like snakes, do your dogs chase the cats away? if not you might consider a bigger more aggressive dog......the cats stay away from your house and it is no problem

We have a huge problem with strays too . . .  I don't keep house cats but I do keep barn cats (to keep control on rodents).  All five of my barn cats are strays that happened to make our home their home.  If they get along, we keep them, fix them, and feed them.  The problem with most strays for me is they (mostly the males) create vet bills when they attack my other cats.  These cats do find themselves in the bottom of the manure pile.

[blademan]

Hmmm,
   Difficult problem to solve. The solution is multifaceted. First you have to stop the supply. Second you have to get rid of the current population.
    You may try contacting the current owner of the property and see if there is something you guys can work together on to reduce or eliminate the supply. Don't be angry or confrontational about it see if you can find someway it benefits him to help you. I don't know what that could be, but if something occurs to me, I will pm you with it. If there isn't an owner, you may contact the county to seel what you can do on your own within the law, and what if anything they can help you with.
   However, there may be a better way. See if you can find a rescue organization that specializes in abandoned cats. They may be able to give you advice about humane or not lethal measures you can take if they are not local to you and if they are, they may be able to help you directly for free, a small fee or more.
   
   Now, getting the current neighbors to move out without being an ass. That's a harder problem
      You could do something similar to what jack suggests for catching ferral hogs. A large non threatening enclosure with bait and a trigger to close it. This would need some adjustment to work in your situation and then even if you trapped a bunch of cats that way then you would beed to figure out what to do with them.
   
I hope you find a solution. If I think of anything else, ill let you know.

[bdhutier]

A huge country living problem.  I greatly dislike shooting dumped animals, but have lost so much livestock, even my devoted animal lover wife will say to grab the shotgun.  Our problem extends to dogs as well.  If I call the local Sheriff's office, their first question is, "Do you have a gun?"

There's absolutely no satisfaction in shooting a cat or dog for me, I'v an avid hunter, and do not oppose humanely killing animals for the benefit of humans.  But I'm out of options, and will not risk my family's health or welfare.

[nelson96]

Our problem extends to dogs as well. 

The few close neighbors I have also have dogs.  Having lived the country life, all my life, I've had a few run-in's with dogs killing goats and chickens and such.  When we moved here we didn't have goats but we had horses and cattle.  One day the neighbors dog got on to my property and started chasing the horses, nipping at heals and running them in to fences.  I of course was pretty upset and frantic until the neighbor got control of his dog.  When it all settled down (but I was still jacked up) I told him "if I ever see your dog on my property again I will shoot first and look for you second" . . . .  Well he took me to heart.  About six months later his dog got loose and was on my property without me even knowing about it (he wasn't chasing anything).  He couldn't catch the dog right away so he ran to my house in a frantic literally begging me not to shoot his dog.  I felt so bad to have left that impression on him.  I of course wouldn't shoot his dog, I just wanted to make sure he realized the importance of keeping his dog from chasing my livestock.

Moral of the story is, if you want to keep good neighbors be careful how you get your point across.  And build good fences.

[Entity]

we own cats for rodent control, one of which was a stray that managed to win us over. The major problem I have with strays, is the disease problem. ( the damage to small stock is, where I am , nearly unavoidable to some degree, and a sign to build better enclosures)
For most of the dumped animals, putting them down is a kindness, at least it is over quickly.

Keep your own animals well looked after ( including shots), and they will help move on strays, but at least sometimes the answer is to trap them if possible and either have them picked up by some animal control agency, or put them down as painlessly as possible.

FIV and extreme infestations of worms and fleas give very very nasty ways for these animals to go, even assuming that they are able to catch enough food on their own

[fritz_monroe]

We haven't had to deal with feral cats since we moved to this property.  But when we were in a townhouse, I had 6 feral cats killing off the birds on my feeder.  I contacted Animal Control.  They had a waiting list for their live traps, so I bought one.  I caught each one of the cats and called Animal Control to pick them up.  Only 1 time did I end up with a raccoon.  I released him a bit away from my property.

I call the sheriff's department to get ok on shooting stray cats and dogs. Cats bring fleas and other things to my rabbitry, they kill or damage the baby rabbits, they kill the birds at the feeders. Got in my house and ate a cocktail and 2 parakeets. Friend was going to feed a stray in the garage, got to close to the food and was bitten on the ankle. Over $800.00 in doctor bills because of the bite infection. I've nothing good to say about stray cats or dogs. Very few of them at my place for any length of time.

When I spoke with Animal Control, they let me know that in my state, if you feed a feral animal, that the law sees you as the owner.  You are then responsible for all required animal shots and responsible for any damage done by this animal and legally responsible if that animal bites someone.

[bdhutier]

Moral of the story is, if you want to keep good neighbors be careful how you get your point across.  And build good fences.

Luckily for us, all of our little "community" is on the same page regarding our dogs.  A dog being a nuisance gets a visit or a phone call from the victim party.  A dog endangering livestock/people gets a bullet.  We all have animals we depend on for sustenance or income, and everyone realizes that takes priority.

[nelson96]

When I spoke with Animal Control, they let me know that in my state, if you feed a feral animal, that the law sees you as the owner.  You are then responsible for all required animal shots and responsible for any damage done by this animal and legally responsible if that animal bites someone.

Even a cat?  Nobody owns a cat (If you know what I mean), it's like owning a racoon.  And I thought my State was bad. 

[Ohio Homesteading]

@ soupbone... love the link...lol
@bladmen... the next door neighbor is a nature sanctuary who has no plans for the abandoned house but to let it wrought.
@hedgewitch...my dogs do not chase cats unfortunately (we used to have a cat at our previous home) as far as getting a more aggressive dog, that is on the to do list once our small dog is no longer with us. He is very old and in bad shape and I'm afraid a puppy would be to much for him. Our large dog (Shepard lab mix) is a great watch dog for other k9's, coyotes, and people (she will try to eat strangers) but i think because we used to have a cat, she give the feral cats a free pass.

Thanks for all the advise.

[MaddoginMass]

We had problems with feral cats a couple years ago......until the coyotes came through and cleared them out.  Nature solved the problem for me.

[Pigulg]

Live animal traps are cheap and readily available at your local hardware store. What you do with the cats once trapped is up to you.

[Cedar]

Live animal traps are cheap and readily available at your local hardware store.

My advise is to also put a LONG rope on the cage if you dont get a covered one. I live in skunk central. Never seen as many skunks in the world as I have this town. They say that skunks cant spray if they cant arch their back, but ........

Raccoons which are trapped smell horrible as well. I never realized how much they stink until I trapped a couple. They are also vicious.. so having ropes on the cage and two people to haul the cage between you is a good thing. Cover the cage with a old tarp you care nothing about as it will get pulled into the cage by a very mad animal. And DO NOT get bit by cat, raccoon or skunk!!!

In my state it is only legal to turn them loose on federal lands, not state lands or elsewhere. And if you turn them loose they have about a 25% chance of surviving as it is out of their range and will be in another skunk or raccoons territory. Also if you dump them less than 30 miles away, it is likely they will be back.

Cedar

Cedar

[cheryl1]

FYI- if you catch a skunk, throw an old blanket over the live trap. They won't spray in an enclosed space.

[blademan]

That's neat information about skunks. I remember listening to a animal trapper speak at my school who told a story about having caught a skunk in a enclosed live trap that did spray him. It was a baby spotted skunk and the trap was one of those small metal box traps with the baited switch plates. It sprayed when he opened the door just a little to see what he had. I like the rope idea. And racoons are viscious as heck. Do not mess with them. Keep your hands as far away from them as possible.

[nelson96]

That's neat information about skunks. I remember listening to a animal trapper speak at my school who told a story about having caught a skunk in a enclosed live trap that did spray him. It was a baby spotted skunk and the trap was one of those small metal box traps with the baited switch plates. It sprayed when he opened the door just a little to see what he had. I like the rope idea. And racoons are viscious as heck. Do not mess with them. Keep your hands as far away from them as possible.

I think what cheryl1 meant by an enclosed space, is enclosed enough that they can't lift their tail.

[cheryl1]

I just know that if you throw a blanket over it and quickly put it in a trash can full of water, you don't get sprayed. It's also kind of fun to leave it at the shop door for the employees to find when they come to work