We are having problems with wild cats and I need suggestions on getting rid of them. My husband only has a 22 rifle and he's not very accurate with moving objects and I don't want them to suffer. On the other hand If we live trap them I hate to turn them loose on someone else and I don't have the money to get them put to sleep. Have any of you had this problem?

-- Vickie Allen (ouvickie@hotmail.com), April 11, 2001

Answers

Hi Vickie! Yes! We have had that problem. I would say make sure there is nothing they can eat around your place, but that didn't even work for us. We rented a farmhouse in IA before moving and we had two huge wild cats that would run our kitty's up on top of the porch every night and just raise a ruckus. They would hunt around the corn bins for rats or mice and we never fed them, but they stayed around anyways. We had to take some shots and I think we scared one away, but the other one was stubborn. Good luck getting rid of them. I never wanted to hurt wild cats either, but since I couldn't take them in for rabies shots, they are a risk if you get bit, especially for kids that like to try to pick up cute things. ~Brenda~

-- Brenda (brenclark@alltel.net), April 11, 2001.

Try to get rid of them now before the spring onslaught of kittens! With even the possible problem of H&M you certainly don't want lots of stray dogs and cats around your stock! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 11, 2001.

The local spca should have a trap for you to use and then they will take them.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), April 12, 2001.

Even though I come from an animal rights & rescue perspective, I would say that killing these cats is a valid option. They are absolute hell on small wildlife, and they breed like crazy. AND, their quality of life is often very poor...fighting, infections, cars, starvation, dogs, disease, etc. The life of a feral cat is not usually a happy one. They live long enough to reproduce, and then die a miserable death. One other thing to try is trapping, neutering, and releasing them...if you have the time, patience, and resources to do so. At least that would keep their numbers from growing.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), April 12, 2001.