Posted on 04/12/2005 6:54:55 AM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Feline lovers holding pictures of cats, clutching stuffed animals and wearing whiskers faced-off against hundreds of hunters at meetings around Wisconsin to voice their opinion on whether to legalize cat hunting.
Residents in 72 counties were asked whether free-roaming cats - including any domestic cat that isn't under the owner's direct control or any cat without a collar - should be listed as an unprotected species. If listed as so, the cats could be hunted.
The proposal was one of several dozen included in a spring vote on hunting and fishing issues held by the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. The results, only advisory, get forwarded to the state Natural Resources Board.
Statewide results were expected Tuesday.
La Crosse firefighter Mark Smith, 48, helped spearhead the cat-hunting proposal. He wants Wisconsin to declare free-roaming wild cats an unprotected species, just like skunks or gophers. Anyone with a small-game license could shoot the cats at will.
At least two other upper Midwestern states, South Dakota and Minnesota, allow wild cats to be shot - and have for decades. Minnesota defines a wild, or feral, cat as one with no collar that does not show friendly behavior, said Kevin Kyle with that state's Department of Natural Resources.
Every year in Wisconsin alone, an estimated 2 million wild cats kill 47 million to 139 million songbirds, according to state officials. Despite the astounding numbers, Smith's plan has been met with fierce opposition from cat lovers.
Critics of Smith's idea organized Wisconsin Cat-Action Team and developed a Web site - dontshootthecat.com. Some argue it is better to trap wild cats, spay or neuter them, before releasing them.
In Madison, about 1,200 people attended the Monday evening meeting at the Alliant Center - more than the 250 or so in a typical year, but less than the 3,000 or so who took part in a debate in 2000 over whether to allow hunters to shoot mourning doves.
One of the attendees was Katy Francis, who wore cat ears, whiskers, a cat nose and a sign that read, "Too Cute to Kill." For Francis, "The cat hunting thing brought me out because it was very extreme."
All last spring and summer, I had a running battle with two or three cats that lived 2 houses down from me. These are things I tried to discourage them ... none worked:
Red pepper, vinegar, crushed mothballs, jalapeno juice and chopped up jalapenos, oh yes and the expensive pet store cat deterrent, and ant poison.
Since my desert rock front yard was involved, at the end of the summer, I tried spreading thorny branches of Texas Ebony, pyracantha and/or bougainvilla all over the place. Last November, the owners moved and I had relief for a few weeks and could rake up my yard and enjoy a nice yard.
The people who moved in have two cats, but they seem to do less damage and seem to stay out of my yard most of the time.
I see them occasionally, but for some reason they didn't gravitate ot my yard like the others.
Even if AZ had a hunting law to kill them, ya can't shoot in the city, so that wouldn't help.
It took me seven months to develop a real hatred for cats.
g
ROFLMAO. Why do I have this image popping into my head all of a sudden?
I've seen thousands of cats climbing on cars and scratching the paint--some to the extent that the paint scratches were so deep they rusted, because one cat on top of a car is often there because another chased them up and they fight on the cars for the warm spot! And I know of at least one Mustang that was permanently put out of action (the car was sold, it reeked so bad) because a cat peed in the vent trap on the dash.
I'm sorry, but a cat pissing away a perfectly good Mustang or scratching up a five hundred dollar paint job does not make me particularly well-disposed to them. That a single member of the cat community as a whole f'ed up a Mustang...makes me furious thinking about it.
Now, if it had been a Mustang II, I'd have been all for finding that particular cat and awarding him his own desert and aquarium.
This is ignorance, run amok. Snot nose kids and short-penised males will be hunting cats in neighborhoods.
LOL
It's wild cats, not the domesticated kind, I think.
You don't think numb-nuts will be shooting neighborhood cats? Please.
I want another, but need to at least wait until summer vacation so I have time to train it properly....but then come fall I'd hate leaving it alone.
Your baby does need to learn some tricks. You know they understand English, and can even learn to spell? ;-)
I didnt know about the spelling part. But this one knows what sounds in the kitchen mean and which ones mean to keep a keen eye on the floor for crumbs.
Cat claws are not sharp enough to scratch a decent paint job.
I've had cats all my life, and seen them scratch all kinds of things, from trees to furniture, but never make a dent in automobile paint.
I just don't believe it.
They need to be able to dig into something soft. Then, they can rip it to shreds. But something hard, they just paw at it pathetically.
My favorite cat tries to follow me when I go to the bathroom, and paws at the door trying to get in, and never leaves a mark on the door. My favorite chair she's clawed to pieces.
I wonder if coyote urine deters cats?
I have had many, many cats for many, many years, and only had a couple of times where the neighbors had problems, both of them really anal, neurotic people.
It is said that cats perversely like to torment people whom they sense don't like them. I have no idea whether that is true.
Didn't you know?
Those precious kitties have special rights that mere canines will never have.
Leash laws never apply to cats!
< /dripping sarcasm>
That's because an unleashed dog can and will kill humans. Cats won't.
Or do you think that a convicted and unreconstructed murderer should be allowed to own firearms?
You are simply wrong. I have seen it happen AS THE CAT DID IT. We're not talking about them intentionally sharpening their claws--just walking, or worse, jumping quickly off as they were scared. And we aren't talking about some crappy hundred dollar paint job, but the original paint.
Don't believe it if you want, but I'm not making it up.
You mean the crappy original Ford paint that scratches if you rub hard?
Cats can't scratch real paint.
Grrrrrr!
Crappy? You Chevy loving, rusty little [muttering]... :)
Cats can scratch anything they damn well please, from what I've seen, and I'll tell you again: I've SEEN them scratch cars. And it wasn't just the clearcoat or some "crappy paint" old Ford. It was clear to the METAL.
Same to you! : )
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