Feral Cats

[LovelyLadyLux]

Anybody know much about feral cats?

I understand they're basically wild and I also understand that around here people seem to catch them, neuter them and then keep them in their barns. The organizations that catch them always seem to be looking for homes for them but you have to be able to give them a good home, agree to feed & water them, give them shots etc.

Do you think feral cats actually DO catch mice and ideally baby rabbits? Or do you think if they're fed (fed well) they'll actually continue to hunt?

[Horus]

A feral cat is basically one that has not been exposed to human contact at a very early age, this leads them to dislike human company. For a cat to be friendly it needs to be handled from an early age otherwise this feral nature seems to kick in. Even though she is a house cat and reasonably friendly my own cat Buffy is a bit on the feral side, she does not like to be handled at all and will not sit on your lap, but in other ways she acts normally. She was a prolific hunter when younger and nothing we did could stop her killing all sorts from mice to birds, I have no doubt she would have killed small rabbits had she found them.

[Ruby Slippers]

Feral cats are the best cats in the world! Because they stay away from me! Can't stand cats!

[Horus]

I prefer dogs to cats, but would I not harm one.

[Grandad]

I have no experience of feral cats, the only family pet we ever had was a siamese over 40 years ago. She was lovely but kept running off. Good neighbours would telephone to say she was with them but on one occasion she went and we never saw her again.

A daughter and son both have family cats. Lovely animals who will let you pet them WHEN THEY CHOSE. That is what appeals to me about cats, their independence. I think they all have 'feral' in their genes.

[Kiya]

The house/area my daughter moved into have many rabbits running around, when she lets their cat out it disappears for a while then comes back with a rabbit.

The rabbit is not dead to start with while the cat Arora plays around with it , teasing all the time then when she lets go their dog Fred gets it then makes a meal out of it.

Arora & Fred have had some scraps together but, Arora always comes off best.......she is the boss!

[Grandad]

Pictures please Kiya.......tell your daughter to always have a camera handy.

[Jayway]

Here we have a yearly campaign run by the charity to trap and neuter feral cats which are returned to where they came from, never given to people. The vets come for 2 weeks and work voluntary, its like an assembly line but its dis- assembly ! !

[LovelyLadyLux]

There is a group here that does the same thing. They're catching, doing the spay/neuter + immunizations and then releasing feral cats back to whomever will take them.

More and more I can tell we're getting this inundation of rabbits and I want somebody in place to, at a minimum patrol the backyard and keep them out. Am basically thinking a small dog though and it won't bother me in the least IF it becomes a catch and kill.

Not sure what I'll manage to do out front through but I will be devastated if the infestation of rabbits moved here.

We have IDIOTS here who are trapping them, spaying and neutering them and then sending them off to sanctuaries (one in Texas and I think the other was Costa Rico) all at a cost of THOUSANDS of dollars.

I can see a disease getting them all and that is going to be worse than culling them down but we have too many do-gooders who will protest the culling of anything! Hate to think what they think when I smack a mosquito!

[Kiya]

Pictures please Kiya.......tell your daughter to always have a camera handy.

I'll take my camera with me next time I visit out their place

[LovelyLadyLux]

Talking to a neighbor about feral cats - well - mostly we were talking about the rabbit issues and our yards and gardens. She has 2 domestic fancy cats. One looks like a Siamese or something like that and the other seems a flat faced long hair cat. Her cats never get outside and wouldn't hunt as they're too well fed and that was her opinion re: feral cats. IF you're feeding them they don't hunt - or do you think a cat will hunt regardless their eating well or not?

Part of the deal here if you take a feral cat is you have to agree to feed it. I would feed it but only basically dry cat food - nothing fancy.

[Horus]

ALL cats will choose their owners, if a cat gets something better elswhere then it will move in if it can, I have seen it happen many times.

[Jayway]

LLL, I dont understand how they can give feral cats away, this seems nonsense to me. A feral cat will not stay around people how ever much you feed it. Is the word "feral" not understood by canadians ?

[Horus]

Thats a good point Jay, a feral cat will only stay around if you feed it and IMO will never become tame and as the name implies it will just go where it chooses once you let it out of the box. You may get rid of the rabbits only to find a feral cat population killing all the birds.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I hear all what you're saying and it has crossed my mind too. I don't know 'where' they're trapping these feral cats but IMO a cat will go where it wants and nothing you can do short of caging it will keep it somewhere. A feral kitten might stay in a big barn but not an adult cat.

Anyway - I'm giving up on the feral cat idea as this (ahem) rescue group seems a bit ditzy to me. They've trapped/neutered & spayed these cats. Not sure how many they have. They're now quite actively touting them all over and want to get them new homes. The new owners have to guarantee these cats will get a safe place to live, constant food, yearly vaccinations (like I'm going to go out and re-trap it? SURE I WILL) and monthly FLEA treatments (again I'm going to go out and TRAP it so I can put FLEA drops on it? SURE I WILL) AND allow this Rescue access (whenever they request) to make sure you're looking properly looking after their feral cat (SURE - come on down anytime at all during the daylight hours and FIND IT!)

I'm also going out of my way to entice birds to the yard so I don't really want a killing machine to be dropped into their midst.

I am worried about the pending rabbit infestation and the damage it is doing but I also think my answer is a small terrier type dog. I think one of those would be my best bet for keeping rabbits out of the backyard. Not too sure about the front and these rabbits seem stupidly half domestic in that they're just wild enough you can't really catch them but will definitely let you get real close.

[Horus]

I have to scrag my cat down wearing leather gloves to give her the flea treatment and she is supposed to be domesticated

[Grandad]

I have to scrag my cat down wearing leather gloves to give her the flea treatment and she is supposed to be domesticated

Are you sure she is not also feral H?

LLL, I will get my son in law and grandson to come over with their guns......they will soon sort your rabbits out.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I honestly seriously this afternoon have been thinking "Sling shot"!

What does it take to learn how to use one, are they really accurate and could a strike be a kill shot or a stun shot?

[Horus]

Are you sure she is not also feral H?

I have no doubt about it Grandad

[Jayway]

Slingshot. The farmer here is adept with his slingshot, he has killed pigeons and rabbits with it. I tried but I am useless, better with a gun.