Cat-killing bird-watcher heading to trial

The Houston Chronicle ^ | April 13, 2007 | HARVEY RICE

[ozzymandus]

This guy claimed he was only shooting feral cats, but I believe he was also caught shooting people’s pet cats, according to an earlier thread.

[mugs99]

I suspect global warming is the cause
LOL!
I think you're right!

[Fawn]

Aw.
2 of my cats were 'feral'.....they are the BEST cats I'll ever have. They were pretty quick to tame since I gave them attention and food. People are so quick to judge and write them off. Poor misunderstood cats.

[-YYZ-]

House cats are not native to the Americas, so killing them is restoring nature’s balance. I think it’s your thinking that’s a little fuzzy.

I love cats but feral house cats are not pets and generally want nothing to do with people. They spread disease, make a racket (and a stench if they take up living under your porch or someplace like that) and kill wild birds. Although, I’ve read that it’s actually well-fed pet cats that are the most dangerous to wild birds, while feral cats tend to concentrate more on easier to catch rodents.

[ClearCase_guy]

House cats are not native to the Americas, so killing them is restoring nature’s balance.

Next time I see a pony, I'll be sure to shoot it.

[Constitution Day]

Quite right.

[SuperSonic]

Paint your kitty if you don’t want it shot. Here’s how.

[Fawn]

Not exactly true. My cats were feral and I still consider them that way since they lived a 'feral' life. But, the point is...that people consider them different from other cats because they have no home and are super scared and considered wild. When in reality, they could be just as tame as your house cat given the chance. People don't want to hear that though because it takes away their excuse to shoot domesticated animals.....instead of helping them. It takes time and money to help an animal in need. Most people won't even consider doing that. I don't consider those people good people.
But, it's their conscience that really knows the difference and I hope to God that God remembers their cruel heartedness.

[mugs99]

They are not a NATURAL part of our ecosystem and should be shot on sight.
LOL...
Depends where you live, Gator. Feral cats have been a natural part of our ecosystem here since the 1840s. The mice here carry the hanta virus. Without the feral cats, human deaths from hanta would not be as rare as they are now.
.

[Graycliff]

Now this is interesting.

I feed about a 100lbs of maize a week behind the house. I’ve got hundreds of Mourning, Whitewing, Urasian and the smaller ground dove, feeding there every day. Add in the fact that I’ve got 12 outside cats and you’d think it would be a dove massacre. That’s not the case, the cats are constantly hanging around the barn and feed shed or out in the pasture hunting the rats and mice.

[Constitution Day]

Then you have good (and non-feral) cats.
Maybe they just don’t like dove meat. LOL!

[-YYZ-]

Well, I can tell you that I had two cats, one of which had been a stray (not feral - it clearly had an owner at one time) for a while. While well fed, that cat was also killing at least one bird (that we knew of) every day or two. It even managed to catch and kill a red squirrel, and those little suckers are quick.

[Jeffrey_D.]

Ding - Ding - Ding
I think we have a winner.....

feral

fe·ral or fe·rine

adjective
Definition:

1. gone wild: describes animals or plants that live or grow in the wild after having been domestically reared or cultivated
feral cats

2. savage: similar to or typical of a wild animal, or living wild

[ca centered]

He’s a realistic guy. I had a friend once complain about Ducks Unlimited going out and killing ducks. The thing she didn’t understand is that groups like them preserve areas so animals have habitat. Sure they kill some, but they don’t want them to disappear. Feral cats can do a lot of damage. He did nothing wrong. If animal control picked up the cats they would have killed them too.

[Graycliff]

Naw there just to lazy. I’m no expert on cats but i do have close to 50 years observation time around them and their wilder cousin the Bob-Cat. From my observation, I’ve seen very few birds taken by either. What i have observed is allot of rodents and small lizards and bugs taken by cats. I would love to see the study proving the damage cats do to the bird population. I lose more of my Quail and Dove to Raptors than i do cats or other varmints.

[Jeffrey_D.]

Nice tag...lol

[Sundog]

Sorry about that deep-linking bug on your last post.

[-YYZ-]

Which are they, feral, or pets? They can’t be both. Either they’re feral and you’re just feeding them, or they’re pets and belong to you.

[Viking Ski Bum]

I took out a feral cat about five years ago after it took a swipe at my dog Wilson and scratched his eye. Plugged the thing with a .22 cal. Taurus revolver out by the woodpile. I could have lived with the thing but after it went after my dog, that was it.
... and Wilson is fine. Old and slow, but fine.

[Constitution Day]

I don’t know about how much damage they actually do. The fact of the matter is, they don’t belong on someone else’s property.

My family owns a farm and stray or feral cats are a problem. (FWIW: we use Havahart traps and call animal control...usually)

My dad and I are quail hunters, BTW. He used to raise them but is now more into hunting wild turkey.