cat shootings

[Hunt Stoddard]

Dick seems to think everything written here is directed at him.

[wailani]

Feral cats are a big problem on every island. The money the state spends on control has risen in the past ten years. They are everywhere. From parks to the dump, In your neighborhood and up in the forests eating young Nene goslings. Yes they are Vermin.

[Hunt Stoddard]

"Feral cat problem" is basically a moral failure of a community. It's ultimate cause: people don't give a crap. People call TNR idiotic, but trap, neuter and release is a very effective, and very humane solution, so long as it's adequately funded (and it doesn't cost a lot, and costs diminish with time and effect) and isn't undermined by the laziness of people who, again, don't give a crap, don't spay/neuter their own pets, drop litters off on back roads and at the beach, etc. TNR has very effectively dealt with feral cat populations in areas much more problematic than anything Hawaii has, so long as there's community support. But of course, that takes effort, and again, people don't give a crap.

If there is any idiocy here, it's with the people who mistake the apathetic attitude of communities in the face of a very soluble problem for failure of a method that has been proven effective. And then, to top things off, use that as a means to congratulate themselves for their rugged mercilessness in solving the problem "their way," by killing ferals and people's pets, willy nilly.

THAT is idiotic, and frankly, pretty damn disgusting.

[Obie]

What's "idiotic, and frankly, pretty damn disgusting" is people who think it's ok for their pets to roam free in my yard.If you truly love your pets you would keep them safe and at home.

I have a neighbor who has 2 indoor cats that are never outside.They seem to be pretty happy with their existence and they have never been exposed to all the dangers of roaming free !

Unless the feral's that I see are ingesting mice and rats complete with bones I am not seeing them eating rodents.I have however seen numerous partially eaten birds and have seen cats stalking birds in my yard.
I like birds and believe I should be able to protect them as I see fit.

[DickWilson]

I Just don't see the logic. The TNR people do this. Now someone else gets to try to trap this now trap wise cat and remove it from where it is continuing to cause damage to the property and environment. Granted, its not the cats fault it is in this situation, but that does not remove the problem. And feeding them only concentrates the problem. Sorry these pests just need to be eliminated as humanely as possible, they will not change their behavior, and neutering only prevents reproduction. The original problem has still returned to the area and is now more difficult to eliminate. When trapping is no longer a viable solution, other methods are unfortunately employed. I hate poison and could never employ it, but shooting if done as humanely as possible, may eventually be the only method of control left. This problem becomes a health issue and governmental agency are not as adverse to using hunting as a control method.

dick wilson
"Nothing is idiot proof,because idiots are so ingenious!"

[Derrick Barnicoat]

Hey Dick where do the unneutered feral cats come from? They aren't born in a vacuum. My point is human behavior is the problem. You can trap them all you want there will still be more cats because of people who don't spay or neuter their pets. So the TNR people are actually tackling the real issue meanwhile your trapping technique doesn't work as you are clearly frustrated.

[csgray]

Either technique, TNR or putting feral cats down keeps only those cats from reproducing. Neither does anything about the endless supply of more kittens from irresponsible cat owners. TNR does put the cats back in the community to become someone's problem.

Carol

[MarkP]

How does TNR address the problem of cat owners being irresponsible? TNR deals with cats that have already been abandoned so does nothing in that department. This is what I find so offensive about TNR and feral cat advocacy, the fuzzy logic, comparing apples to oranges, the aversion to accepting real definitions about what the goals are, failure to do even the most basic reality checks, riding on the coat tails of science while the real scientific community finds their efforts laughable. Then ultimately the temper tantrum when they don't get their way. It is like dealing with spoiled children. Is the HSUS really populated by scientific illiterates? I doubt it. I bet they just see their goal as trying to get along and going up against a bunch of fanatics seems like a losing bet to them.

I for one do not believe that dealing with irresponsible pet owners who don't spay and neuter their pets will fix the problem, in that I feel that is an un-achievable goal. It's like saying "the problem with crime is the criminals". Why didn't I see it before? Just ask the criminals to be good! Furthermore, we hear all the time from cat advocates who argue against lethal control methods how hard it is to keep fluffy from running out between their legs when they open the door. That's true. There will always be a supply of cats leaking into the environment even if we all did our best to contain them. As such the problem is with the cats SURVIVING in the wild. There needs to be a policy of removing cats from the environment permanently. Fluffy getting caught up in that process is an unfortunate cost of doing business and that risk should be factored into the decision to let him out. Fluffie's collar (with ID) getting caught on a branch and strangling him/her? I personally have never seen it happen although to read on the net there are people who, to hear them talk, have had bad luck in that department. Nevertheless, it is a risk that should be weighed against not getting Fluffy back because he/she was deemed a feral.

When I read the question "How will you know a cat isn't someones pet?" my standard answer is that a pet has a house around it, although I am willing to give a cat wearing a collar a pass providing their behavior at the moment does not warrant immediate action.

[DickWilson]

I'm only frustrated because the world is over-run with idiots. Putting neutered ferals back where they came from only passes the final solution on to me or others. Need to put down the morons who turn there unwanted pets loose to starve or turn feral. You have a cat and you are not a RESPONSIBLE breeder, neuter the damn thing. Unforunately society won't allow us to use a final solution for the morons turning there unwanted pets loose. Seems like the HS could do double duty and put down the owners at the same time.

dick wilson
"Nothing is idiot proof,because idiots are so ingenious!"

[terracore]

quote:

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Originally posted by Hunt Stoddard

I see we have a fine bunch of cat haters here. As for domestic cats killing "livestock," (rolls eyes) I'd like to see the numbers on that one.

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On our farm, I would estimate the numbers to be near 100%. I don't look for cats, what I hear is the commotion they cause when chasing and attacking our chickens, then when I run out there the cats run off. One time our dog was injured by a cat. I don't know if the cat was feral or somebody's pet. Maybe I should try to find the owner and ask them to pay the vet bills (rolls eyes). Some people raise and eat quail and other small animals. "Livestock" doesn't mean cattle.

quote:

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Some may ask why I and others react with a certain agitation to killing pet animals. For me the answer is simple. How a person treats animals is a window on their personality. Animal cruelty is a gateway to human cruelty, and animals suffer a ----load, particularly, frankly, around here. I've never been to a place where there's as much animal mistreatment as I've seen (actually witnessed) here. Cats, for whatever reason, are a special target for heartless people. And people do terrible things to cats, hit them, kick them, torture them. People will fill bags full of kittens and throw them in water to drown them. I don't care what you say, a person like that is not balanced. There is something wrong about a person who can kill without even a second thought to humaneness.

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I agree 100%. Killing an animal that is attacking your livestock/pets/wildlife isn't cruel for the livestock/pets/wildlife, and it should be done as humanely as possible.